The Hard Truth
Life is Simple But Not Easy
How can we expect to make a positive change in the world if we cannot first influence ourselves?
It's a shift towards the hard things that will make life easier in the long run instead of the easy things that will make my life hard.
1. Waking Up With The Birds
Anyone who says it is easy to wake up early is lying.
For the past eight months, I have woken up at stupidó-clock, 4 out of 7 days, and every single time, it sucks.
However, the mental edge is a massive advantage.
As the cortisol pumps through my veins, I have to consciously interrupt my thoughts, laughing in the mirror as I think ", you crazy bastard!"
As my thoughts race, I make a conscious effort to stare in the mirror to break the spiral.
I become more present as I look into my eyes.
Then I smile at myself and think, "what are you doing!?" and crack a smile at the insane man who stares back at me.
I think, "what is something small I could be grateful for?"
If I’m able to trigger a memory, I expand that feeling of gratitude to think how lucky I am to be alive.
If nothing comes to mind, I use my default ;"my time is limited, and my ancestors went through so much struggle for me to be here now".
There is no better time to enjoy life than in the morning when the world is quiet.
2. Getting Sh!t Done
Do you have to wait to be in the zone to get something done?
Doing meaningful work or practice can seem like a chore. So how do we fight procrastination?
Recently I have been using the 20 | 10 working method similar to the pomodoro technique.
The basic premise is to set 20 minutes of uninterrupted focus on the task at hand.
Close tabs, put your phone out of reach and allocate 20 minutes to a single task.
Then take a 10-minute break to do whatever you want before repeating.
The technique forces me to break tasks into smaller chunks, that are more approachable.
3. Complaining is a Long Battle
There is a time and place to vent your frustration, but constantly complaining benefits no one.
The antidote for me is not asking someone to do something I wouldn't do or don't want to do to keep my expectations in check.
Don’t waste your precious time being spiteful allowing others to rob you of your mental energy and just do it yourself.
The time spent thinking and complaining about something is valuable time you are losing.
We are all guilty of spending time agonising over something than doing it.
Life is simple; It's Just Not Easy.
The practice of hard work gives you an unexplained edge throughout life.
Sometimes this means doing things we don't want to do.
Part of growing and gaining wisdom is gravitating towards things you need to do but don't feel like it.
We only have this one fleeting life as far as we can prove and part of the romance is the struggle.
When others say they are tired, you can smile, knowing in the back of your mind that you had had a more productive day before the other person even got out of bed.
This mental advantage is why it is worth putting in the hard yards.
With a bit of practice, challenges become a reward instead of a means to an end.
Set yourself three hard but helpful habits, and tell me if you feel more empowered to tackle the complex challenges in life.
You know what you need to do, but if you feel stuck, you can try my three of:
Waking Up Slightly Earlier, Even when its cold🥶.
Doing Something Meaningful, Even When it's Easier to do Nothing🧐.
Not Complaining, Even When You Have Every Right To😤.
"As any change must begin somewhere, it is the single individual who will experience it and carry it through. The change must indeed begin with an individual; it might be any one of us. Nobody can afford to look round and to wait for somebody else to do what he is loath to do himself."
- Carl Jung