Summer 2018 – I took my foot off the pedal. I became complacent, letting external circumstances drive me as opposed to being the designer of my life. Reflecting on it now, it’s a shitty feeling. I can be so much better.
I’m snapping out of it by going back to the habits I know work for me. These activities include: meditating; journaling (morning/evening) with the 5 Minute Journal – this format has you write out daily goals, which help steer my day; long runs (moving meditation for me); focusing on relationships (I’ve done a good job with this in 2018. I want to continue it for reasons stated here); reading books (by and large, I have found that the most successful people in the world are avid readers); diet – I feel the best when my mind/body are clean and healthy. I want to get back into trying and failing on a mostly vegan diet.
The thing is… I have done all of these activities before, and even wrote about many of them in my goals for 2017 post. The hard thing and something I struggle with is consistency. Aristotle was onto something when he said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.” Repetition isn’t sexy, but it works. For example, I’m amazed at the people I see in the gym when I’m able to get there at 6:00AM. Rain or shine, Monday or Friday, September or March, these same people are exercising and starting their days right. Similarly in business and sports, people at the top didn’t just fall there. There’s a CBRE awards trip each year for the top producers. A large portion of the people invited each year have been invited the previous 3, 5, 10, 15 years. They didn’t let up at initial success, they kept going. LeBron has been in the finals eight straight years and still wants more. Ray Dalio, worth $18 billion, still meditates daily and is now continuing his growth through writing and charity.
If there’s one thing I want to develop in the next few months, it’s getting better at being consistent. Not too much where I’m rigid and therefore miss out on opportunities (some issues discussed here with that), but at following through with the habits/activities I know are good for me and not letting up when they become routine. Fortunately, it only took a few summer months for me to feel the “I’m not growing, I need more” feeling. I’m convinced humans need to be striving for something to be engaged and happy. A complacent life is not a happy life. A happy life is growth towards clear goals.
It’s easy to chase new exciting things. What’s challenging but pays dividends is the consistent work done day in and day out. Consistent work and/or consistent good habits is a compounding investment in yourself.
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