Everyday is a new adventure.
When it starts to feel like groundhog day is when it is time to change something.
There is always something new to learn. There is always something I can improve upon. There is always a problem I can solve.
My goal is to be a little bit better everyday, to have more good days than bad and take one step closer to where I want to be.
Life does not go as expect. There are always detours and challenges that get in the way of goals. Ray Dalio’s book “Principles”, is correct in that most of these challenges happen over and over in one’s lifetime and definitely throughout human history. If you develop principles for dealing with challenges then you will be able to get over them much quicker and with less pain.
You can develop your own principles or adopt other people’s who may have been through a challenge you are going through currently. One of Ray’s biggest principles is Pain + Reflection = Progress. When you fail it causes pain and then you reflect on this pain and wonder how you can do things different then try again.
A day missed can be a huge deal. A date missed early in a relationship. A day missed early in a new job. A training session missed when starting a new workout. In the beginning one day can make or break where you will go from there. Until you have great habits then a day missed can cause a whole collapse if you let it. Missing a day or an appointment can lose someone’s trust. Work so hard that you can miss a day.
A flood starts with a few drops of rain.
A marathon begins with a single step.
A house starts with a solid foundation and is built brick by brick.
Anything worth doing takes time. Progress is made slowly over time. Take the time to do it right and you can build something that will last forever.
Just because there is a deadline does not mean you have to sacrifice quality. The deadline is there to keep you focused. Work backwards from the deadline and capture all of the little items you have to do to complete your goal on time. Do these little items the best you can and the project will be done with quality and on time. Once you complete an item then you have to decide what is the next most important task to accomplish. The sequence of moves is just as important as the moves themselves. A thought out plan can make a project much easier and make you not feel as stressed.
It’s not going to happen overnight so stop stressing yourself out. Enjoy the moments and celebrate the small victories. Break down the huge goal in manageable baby steps. Set deadlines for these smaller baby sets by estimating how much time it is going to take to accomplish each task. The deadline is there to help motivate you to accomplish things and stay on task. It is there to push you and prevent procrastination. The act of setting a deadline tells you that this is important for you to accomplish. Deadlines are your friend.
Without a deadline there is no timeframe. You will accomplish something, “Whenever you have time or when you feel inspired.” This day will never come and you will always be waiting. A deadline will force you to make progress and not procrastinate.
If you want something done then keep it simple.
If we are learning a new skill or starting a new hobby then we tend to make it overly complicated. We assume the worst and it deters us from ever starting in the first place. We think that we can’t do things and only experts can.
The key is to start small. What is the smallest step you can take to make progress? Make this small step as simple and easy to do as possible.
The best part of starting something new is that growth happens so fast and often. Then beginning is also the scariest because you are going into the unknown. This fear and uncomfort should not be feared but should be embraced. Embrace this fear and step into this darkness. Once you start down the path you will be greatly rewarded with new skills, new brain connections and new everything. Your value will keep increasing and your rewards will keep coming as long as you keep stepping into the uncomfort. Each time will be scarier and each time there will be more resistance. That is why the rewards become so great because many are not willing to go there. Sometimes you have to face your worse fear to attain freedom.
The pleasure starts out as a result you want. If only I had a million dollars. If only I had a six pack. If only I was dating the person of my dreams. If only I was a rock star. If only all this was true then I would be happy. People see the end as the goal for happiness. I am here to say that none of that will make you happy. It might for a moment but then it will fade. Easy come easy go.
The real pleasure comes in progress. The reward is becoming the person you want to become. This becoming is small baby steps. The pleasure is accomplishments that are on your path to success. Stop waiting to win the lottery and stop waiting to be happy. Take action to make progress and feel the pleasure that comes along.
There is nothing quiet like the feeling of knowing that right now at this moment you are better than you were a year ago, a month ago or even better a day ago. Progress is one thing that makes me happy. Progress lets me know I am doing some things right. Even the smallest amount of progress can lead to huge amount of happiness. The only way to measure progress is to measure yourself. Have points of measurement to keep up with. One of the most common is money. How much are you making and saving? Another one specifically for a blogger is how often you are posting? How much traffic is your website getting? There are many ways to measure but the most important is what makes you the happiest.
noiz viol8ion 