We are venturing out onto another journey…again.
The after effects of going down to LA are flowing…and it the most positive way possible. I see opportunities and ways to capitalize on something that became such a bad situation.
For a long time, I felt like I had wasted my time down there. I know I had people telling me that “learning was great and it was the experience that matters” but I am a man full of pride, and when things fail I just hate it.
There’s this great line from Moneyball where Brad Pitt goes “I hate losing. I hate losing more than I like winning.” That pretty much sums up my attitude about everything.
But we grow, we learn, and we take a fresh attitude into a new experience.
I have written on my big black board in my room “never rest on yesterdays accomplishments.”
For a few weeks after I had accomplished my initial weight loss and health goal, I felt kind of lost. I had enjoyed the journey so much that when it came to the final day I missed the process of “working for it.” I was on the grind and it was the grind that I missed so much when it all ended.
So I looked for ways to advance. In fact, I have been constantly looking for ways to create a stronger mind & body connection. I believe that without a strong mind or a strong body, you are going to have some issues.
Why?
Well one is because I have been on both sides of the fence and understand how important a healthy brain and a healthy body are. But the second reason is mostly about this feeling of just being incredibly out of sync when I am suffering in one area or the other. That is one of the worst feelings there is. And honestly, 90% of the time it is completely in our control to do something about it.
Rarely do other people dig you into holes.
Most of the time we dig the holes ourselves. A piece of this project is looking at those holes I dug a long time ago. I’ve filled in many to make solid ground, but there are still a few that I am working on. I am sure there will be many more holes dug throughout my lifetime.
Most of the time the best things that come at you are completely unexpected and they are so great that you must make room for them.
That hit me a couple weeks ago and I freaked out because honestly, I wasn’t really used to having someone cannonball into my life and make such an impression that it not only made me change my plans, but made me look at the things I was doing and want to do them in different ways and/or better. It wasn’t anything negative that really made me freak out…it was so positive…overwhelmingly positive. I guess, since things all sorted themselves out in a good way, that the momentary lapse on my end brought me a few steps ahead of where I used to be.
I don’t believe in quantum leaps.
I think that’s where we get into trouble with New Years Resolutions.
In fact, I know that’s where we get into trouble. Some ridiculous percent of people fail at their resolutions a month into them. But why? I think its about trying to change everything at once. My writing has and will continue to be about pulling learning points from life and seeing how I can develop myself into a better man. Simply put…there you go. I have tried quantum leaps and it has never worked out for me. It’s actually too hard. I’m not saying that in a complaining way either. It frankly is too hard to make so many major changes in your life and behavior at once. By doing this, you are setting yourself up to fail.
So what do I believe then?
Taking it slow with great intention.
You have to figure out what you have right now and what you want in the future. That sounds pretty basic but if you don’t know where you are and you have no idea where you are going, then you have absolutely no chance of landing on “we did it” island.
The more I read the more I begin to understand that greatness is methodically seized.
The “genius” that the world refers to is often the result of thousands upon thousands of hours of repetition, studying, and experimentation. The problem is that most people don’t want to put in that type of effort.
Most can’t even fathom the amount of work it takes. 3 hours a day, 365 days a year, for 10 years.
There are times when I wonder if I can keep up my commitment to this. However, despite the arduous parts of the journey, I continue on anyway. And maybe that’s an answer to all of the madness in itself.
No matter what…continue on.
At the end of the day, when you take out all of the stuff that really doesn’t matter, you are left with a couple of things: how you make other people feel and who you feel about what is going on with yourself.
If you’re in the dumps you need to look at those two main things and see what is going on in your life. When you start to treat others well you warm up inside and when you start to actually take care of yourself – your world changes – because finally you have given yourself the ability to fully chase after your dreams.
I don’t want to rise to the top and become irrelevant by the time I’m 50.
I want to stay relevant to the day I peace out. The only way to do that is to adapt, morph, and adjust…daily…and to never stop.
I don’t plan on stopping
Evan Sanders
The Better Man Project