189. purpose
Wake up everyday with a purpose.
How do you know if you have purpose?
If you don’t feel like getting out of bed in the morning, then you haven’t found it. If your days are wasted on activities that fill your time, instead of create meaning, then you haven’t found it.
If you haven’t found it yet, that’s okay, but be aware that you’re wasting your fucking time on things that do not matter, and at the same time will keep you as a lesser version of who you can be.
How do I find purpose?
It starts with awareness. Who you are today, and what you consistently do is either keeping you within the bounds you’ve created for yourself, or seeks to continually extend the limits of where you feel comfortable.
Everything of beauty and awe in this life is predicated on growth, this includes you. The purpose of the flower is to bloom, just as the purpose of the caterpillar, much like your’s is to transform into something new. That newness and beauty comes from the metamorphosis, the change, the ability to redefine ourselves, and continually draw lines in the sand further and further away from our starting point, so that one day, when we look back we can’t recognize who we used to be because we are so enamored with who we’ve become.
Purpose comes with whatever makes you a better version of yourself. It’s the reason to get out of bed in the morning, its the reason not to waste time on things that don’t matter. It’s what people of lesser ambition, and who are scared to answer the call, think of as “work” when in reality, it’s just ceasing on every small opportunity to recreate our identity. Eventually, the those incremental changes become part of our purpose, creating a life built on momentum that we never want to stop.
That’s purpose.
188. distractions
Anytime you’re chasing after something that isn’t aligned with your highest values, just know that by default, that desire will fade away.
If what we’re after isn’t absolutely inspiring or deeply meaningful, we’ll eventually find distractions that take our mind away from the things we think we want, only to return it to the things we do. Allowing yourself to notice where your attention goes, what it is distracted by, and what it ultimately returns to is a good way to orient because if we’re leaning into our highest priority, you won’t be bothered by distractions.
When we do, it’s a bit like entering flow, where we’re in the moment, executing on all cylinders through inspired, strategic, and focused intention. Whereas, if we pursue something we only think is important (because of someone telling us so), something of lower value to us, we automatically go into another part of the brain that seeks to avoid this short-term unease or pain, and seeks to replace it with pleasure which comes in the form of distractions.
Easily finding ourselves distracted from the things we think we need to accomplish, in an effort to be someone we think we need to be, is not because we need to try harder, to double down, but that we need to rethink or refine the goal. There’s still a bit of fantasy whirling around in our mind, that the things we continuously try and fail to achieve are simply remnants of who we thought we needed to be. When we stop and become aware of what is happening, we can stop chasing shadows.
It mostly stems from our comparison to others, allowing their ideas to work their way into our decisions. Because of this, we inevitably try to become something we’re not, all the while wondering why we repeatedly fail to do the things we should be doing to deliver us into a life we think we should have, not understanding that we’re distracted for a reason.
187. all in
If you want something, go after it with your whole heart. Don’t wait, shuffle, or dally in your attempt because it’s only with full intention that we’re able to truly discover the possibilities that lay waiting.
We often have the highest of expectations as we endeavor into a new territory, yet we stay reserved in our approach. Why? Because we want to keep enough distance from something so that we can pull back if we need to, but the thing is that reservation is going to keep you from truly understanding what that thing has to offer.
The only option should be to go in with everything you have. To fully feel, love, see, taste, touch; and to immerse yourself into the experience of what it would be like to be that person. Anything less will never offer a true representation of that thing you’re after, and can very well give you the wrong impression.
Let the fire light the way, so that the experience can brand you. Let it lead you to a new life, or leave you with a memory to never return. Fully explore the thing you’re after so that you can truly know whether or not it is what you want, because anything else is just an assumption.
184. if it doesn’t scare you…
If what you do doesn't scare you, you're not trying hard enough.
We often find the excuse not to do things because we are waiting for the perfect confluence of events to produce something spectacular. We do this because we are afraid to fail, but it is the execution and the continual practice that will allow you to deliver the result you're after.
No one hits a home run every time they step to the plate. The great hitters strike out more than they connect, but what separates them from others, is that they swing for a home run every time. They don't let creeping doubt play a part in their efforts. They execute every time they step to the plate, and because they do so they are able to deliver results.
Do they fail? Yes. Does is suck? Yes. Will there be critics? Yes. But, will they be who they are if they didn't continually execute? No!
We can always find a reason not to put ourselves out there. It can be fucking scary to show the world who you are. It requires a certain amount of vulnerability, and for most, that's enough of a reason to hide, or not to try.
We forget that the ones we look to for inspiration didn't start out hitting home runs. They put themselves out there, swung and missed continuously until they found their groove.
183. keep your head up
We get so locked into a certain way of doing things — whether by choice, habit, or simply not knowing better — that we create a situation which limits our potential to feel, experience, or become more. Grinding away can only take us so far, as keeping our head down and going through the motions only works if the destination lay straight ahead. But, we forget that this isn’t how life is supposed to happen.
Life is what happens along the way. It’s keeping our head up so that we can have the awareness to take the detour when something catches our eye, or completely change course if someone or something catches our heart.
It’s the experience we should be after, not the result. Keep your head up, or you may miss out on what life is all about.
182. mistaken destination
It’s easy to find someone to aspire to. The allure comes from our belief that this person is a finished product.
It’s our understanding that if we walk the same path, we can arrive at the same destination. So we mistakenly mirror all our efforts to those we look up to, in hopes that we can one day become just like them, without realizing that it isn’t about the destination, but the journey.
A wise man once said; “do not seek to follow in the footsteps of those you admire, instead honor their legacy by continuing to search for the things they sought.”
Too often we mistake the destination for the journey. We think, if we do all the things the person we wish to be like did, we can arrive at the same place. Yet, I can guarantee you, that if you had the privilege to ask whether or not they “arrived,” they would wholeheartedly disagree, and instead tell you that they have a long way yet to go.
It’s never going to be a bad thing to model your efforts after someone you aspire to be like, but don’t let your view on the destination become so myopic that you can’t enjoy the journey, because if you ever do “arrive” at that magical destination, your passion will quickly wane, whereas a dedication to the journey will offer a lifetime of fulfillment.