#398 Break free from who you don’t want to be
Running when you actually don’t want to go outside.
Writing when you don’t feel like writing at all.
Standing up for who you want to be.
That’s how you finally break free.
Running when you actually don’t want to go outside.
Writing when you don’t feel like writing at all.
Standing up for who you want to be.
That’s how you finally break free.
I don’t know yet what I want to say today, and I write anyway.
I write anyway because it’s the only way to figure out what I want to say.
I do yoga because it’s the only way to understand why yoga is important.
I run because it’s the only way to figure out why running is worth it.
I spend time with family because it’s the only way to understand why love is important.
There’s no need to wait for reasons of motivation.
You do what you do to figure out why you’re doing it.
Giving it your best doesn’t mean you’ll always create your best work.
But when you give it your best daily and you zoom out, you’ll notice how, slowly but surely, your best work becomes better and better.
And that’s all that matters.
Fulfillment doesn’t come from closing the gap between wanting and having.
It comes from closing the gap between wanting and doing.
Want to write a book? Then write every day – even if you don’t have the book yet.
Want to start a successful business? Then start the business – even if you’re not successful yet.
Want to run a marathon? Then run every day – even if you haven’t run a marathon yet.
After all, you might never close the gap between wanting and having.
But the gap between wanting and doing, you can close right this very moment.
I don’t know why I decide to write every day.
But I know writing feels right.
I know it feels like what the person I want to be would do.
Sometimes, that explanation is not enough.
But usually that’s all the “why” I need to write again.
Without sadness, how do I know I’m happy?
Without happiness, how do I know I’m sad?
Without anger, how do I know I’m grateful?
Without gratitude, how do I know I’m angry?
Without pain, how do I know what pleasure feels like?
Without pleasure, how do I know I’m in pain?
Without bad moments, how can I appreciate the good ones?
Without good moments, what gets me through the bad ones?
Contrast.
If you don’t make a conscious choice to do something new, the choice will be made for you: you’ll stick with the default behavior you were doing before.
Your job is to stick to your conscious choices for long enough so they can become the new default behavior.