Category: mindset

A quick reminder to not take life too seriously

Unless the events that are happening to you are life-altering such as a birth, a death, a job change, a (fill in the blank)… if it’s something that is a one-time event that can change the rest of your life, then don’t take it too seriously. It’s not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. Will one night of poor sleep affect you for the next 10 years of your life? Will one missed work out mean that you are shortening your lifespan? Will one bad performance or bad review kill your career or business? Get into the habit of asking yourself, “will I even remember this happened to me a month from now?” (let alone ten years or more from now).

Of course, if you let these small things happen often enough, they will affect your life. But you don’t need to stress yourself out by overemphasizing the importance of every single event, every meal, every bedtime, or every workout. Do the right thing most of the time, but don’t stress. Everything is going to be ok.

Measuring success

The popular thing to say is to stop comparing yourself to others. I agree with that to a degree. It should not be your primary focus. You need to measure your performance by asking yourself if you did the best you could. After all, if I compared my three-point shooting to Steph Curry’s, I would feel pretty bad about myself. But if I put in the dedicated practice everyday to get better, that’s all I could ask for.

But at a certain point, if you really want to become better, you have to measure your performance against others. Competition brings out the best in you. Otherwise it’s too easy to get complacent. It’s almost like when you’re working out. Your body can go a lot further than you let it, if only you allowed yourself to really open up/push yourself. But if you’re only working out by yourself, it’s easy to take your foot off the gas pedal. Plus, if you’re never around people who are better than you at something, how will you know what is possible? If they can do something, so can you. You just have to work for it.

So, yes…you shouldn’t primarily be focusing on comparing yourself or your situation to others. BUT that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t look around to find motivation to better yourself. If you’re the best at “X” then you need to find others who can push you to new limits.

Credit vs blame

Get over “blame” or “credit.” Don’t do things to look good in the eyes of others. Do what is right and be humble about it. Do not brag and do not throw others under the bus. But be gracious in accepting credit for what you have done and quick to point out the help you received along the way.

On keeping an open mind

Be aware of confirmation bias in order to minimize it. If you deeply want something to be true, you’re more likely to stretch truths to aid your argument. You’re looking for reasons to be right about something and are more likely to ignore facts that don’t match the narrative you have in your head. Don’t do this. Try to keep an open mind. Try to listen to other’s ideas and truly understand them before taking a stance on the subject. And when you do form your own opinion, don’t cling so tightly to it so that you cannot fathom changing your mind (even when new information presents itself).

When will you actually pull the trigger?

You’ve been talking about how you want to do this or how you’d like to do that…but how long have you been saying this?

Stop procrastinating. If you want to do something, make it happen. Just do it.

It all starts with taking action. Sure, you need to plan and prepare. But you can only do that for so long. Eventually, you’re just lying to yourself that you need more time, more money, more…something…

When are you actually going to pull the trigger and do what you want to do? Do you want to get healthier? Start today. Do you want to go on vacation? Book it today.

What if you wait ten years to do something, only to find out you absolutely love it? Wouldn’t you want more time to experience that thing? Start now and live without regret. Because even if the experience isn’t everything you dreamed it would be, at least you would know if you like it or not. You would have clarity on what is, and not worry about “what if.” Stop waiting and just do it.