To feel more at peace and more successful, you don’t need genius-level brain power, access to some secret society, or to hit a moving target of “just” an additional X dollars.
Those are all distractions.
Based on everything I’ve seen, a simple recipe can work: focus on what’s in front of you, design great days to create a great life, and try not to make the same mistake twice. That’s it.
If you really want extra credit, try not to be a dick, and you’ll be a Voltron-level superstar.
The secret to winning any game lies in not trying too hard.
Feeling as though you are trying too hard indicates that your priorities, technique, focus, or mindfulness is off. Take it as a cue to reset, not to double down.
And take comfort in the fact that, whenever in doubt, the answer is probably hidden in plain sight. What would this look like if it were easy?
In a world where nobody really knows anything, you have the incredible freedom to continually reinvent yourself and forge new paths, no matter how strange. Embrace your weird self.
There is no one right answer . . . only better questions.
Be forgiving with your past self. What's done is done. Take the lessons with you and release the guilt.
Be strict with your present self. Win the moment in front of you right now.
Be flexible with your future self. There are many paths to success. You don't need life to be a certain way to live well.
Unnecessarily slamming weights in the gym isn’t just annoying… it reflects low situational awareness and no respect for shared space. These deficits likely show up in other areas of life, too.
Don’t look at a new exercise as something you need to commit to for six months, much less the rest of your life. Look at it as a test drive of one to two weeks.
If you want to walk an hour a day, don’t start with one hour. Choosing one hour is automatically building in the excuse of not having enough time. Commit to a fail-proof five minutes instead.
Take the pressure off and do something small.
Rig the game so you can win.
Setting the bar low allows you to do what matters most: getting started.
“You come to understand that most people are neither for you nor against you, they are thinking about themselves. You learn that no matter how hard you try to please, some people in this world are not going to love you, a lesson that is at first troubling and then really quite relaxing.”
— John W. Gardner