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How far you get in life is determined by your mental fortitude. It doesn’t matter how strong you are physically if you can’t handle the pressure or quit. It doesn’t matter how smart or talented you are if you can’t persevere through a little adversity. The most talented people aren’t always the ones who win out in the long run. It’s the ones with mental strength who win.

Re-train your brain. Get used to living in your discomfort zone. Monitor your thoughts and don’t believe everything that you think. 

There’s a difference between “I Can’t” and “I’m not willing to do whatever it takes to do this.”

What are you doing to improve today? Sometimes, this involves adding things to your day. Are you eating enough fruits and vegetables, getting enough protein, fiber, and healthy fats? Are you working out enough or reading? 

Other times, improving requires that you eliminate things from your day. Instead of eating that chocolate or those pretzels, maybe you commit to feeling a little hunger pang. Maybe you watch one less tv show at night so you can go to bed a half hour earlier. 

Everyone can improve, and everyone can optimize their day by either adding or subtracting something to/from their day. The key is to be intentional about it. If you live your life without any thought or any reflection, you probably can vastly improve yourself in a short period of time by making small changes. But the first step is to be aware. 

Review your average day and look at making the smallest, but most impactful changes today. 

Work on building up your courage. Do the right thing always, not just when it’s convenient for you. Stand up for the little guy. Stop others when they are gossiping. Go against the grain, against the status quo, and against what is popular if you feel that it is incorrect. 

All of this takes courage. It can be difficult to disagree with others, especially with your family, friends, or co-workers. Sometimes it’s easier just letting it go, but easier is not better. 

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” – Martin Luther King Jr. 

“If you see fraud and do not say fraud, you are a fraud.” – Nassim Taleb

“If it is not right, do not do it. If it is not true, do not say it.” – Marcus Aurelius

If it’s free, it isn’t valued. If you give something away “freely” to anyone/everyone, then whatever you are giving away loses its value. It’s economics 101…supply is high/scarcity is low, so demand is low. Not only that, but we typically want to stand out amongst our peers. “I have X, Y, and Z”…we compare ourselves to others. When everyone has what you have, it no longer makes you feel special, because it no longer differentiates you between anyone else.

This is why I don’t think college should be free. I love higher education. I encourage anyone to get a degree after high school. But college isn’t for everyone. And giving away free college is not the answer. Suddenly, a college education will mean “nothing” in the workplace because everyone will have one.

On a related note, I have mixed feelings about student loan forgiveness. I’ve paid off my student loans, but I did that by working throughout college 25+ hours per week, then after graduating, putting as much extra as I could toward that debt. To do so, I had to sacrifice other things. I didn’t go out eating or drinking with my friends as often as I liked, but we found other (cheaper) alternatives to hang out and have fun. I lived below my means, spending less than I made.

Everything in life has a trade off. If you want that college degree, great! But if you can’t afford it? Well, just like with anything else in life, if someone else loans you money, they’ll expect to get a return on their investment (getting their principal back with interest). If you agreed to borrow money from someone to buy something you couldn’t afford, then you should pay them back. It’s part of the deal that you agreed to. Just because you don’t like the deal doesn’t mean that you don’t have to keep your end of it. Stay true to your word and pay off your debts. Don’t expect a free handout, which only hurts our government and teaches you that someone will be there to bail you out when you make poor life choices.

Sacrifice. Be an adult. Live on a budget. Keep your promises.

“I don’t think of all the misery but of all the beauty that still remains.” – Anne Frank

Your reality is all in your head. Everyone’s reality is different based on how they view the world around them. Even in bad times, you can focus on the good in life.