#441 Changing path is not a spur-of-the-moment thing

What gets you going – and what keeps you going?

Pain. Pleasure. Usually, a combination of both.

I like being disciplined – it gives me pleasure.

I also know very well that I don’t want to go back to jumping from one project to another, giving up before reaching any meaningful level of skill or results, and ending up frustrated with myself – the thought alone is painful.

The pain often gets you going, later to be joined by pleasure in a cocktail of motivation, discipline, and persistence.

And in this case, strong emotions, passion, and yes, also pain, often lead to more leverage – if you allow yourself to see the lessons it can teach you.

I never want to be that person again – which helped me figure out that I really want to be this person.

Living your never again might well help you figure out your yes, for as long as I shall live.

Be fulfilled with what you do (and be happy with what you don’t do).

Be intentional with what you do.

Be consistent with what you do.

Because what you do will change you.

And when you change, you might just get everything you ever wanted.

And you might just become happy with what you have.

Habit hardliner. Epicurean. Ruthless achiever. Compassionate pushover.

I identify with all of the above, my friend. And even though they can all be positive, I’m pretty good at letting those qualities shine in the wrong situations.

The habit hardliner over-disciplining themselves and those around them.

The epicurean making indulgent food decisions every day.

The ruthless achiever neglecting their family.

The compassionate guy being a pushover in business negotiations.

So more out of necessity than ambition, I started asking myself: Who’s in charge right now?

Are they the adequate identity to be in charge in whatever situation you’re in?

It’s insightful. Not always fun. But insightful.

And as you know by now, I like to share insights with you, my friend. Because who knows, maybe one day, one of these insights will be enlightening to you, too?

So I invite you to give it a try.

Right here, right now: who’s in charge?

Maybe you’ve let some of your qualities shine in the wrong situations too.

All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone

Blaise Pascal, https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/19682-all-of-humanity-s-problems-stem-from-man-s-inability-to-sit

We often equate sitting quietly in a room alone with loneliness: a word with a negative emotional charge.

But sitting quietly in a room can also bring solitude: the simple state of being by yourself, without any negative connotation.

Solitude can give relief of the pressure to be constantly “socializing” (through social media apps or in real life).

Relief of the pressure to socialize can make space.

Space you can use to hear the thoughts in your head and the feelings in your body.

Thoughts and feelings that can tell you what’s truly important to you.

And then you realize that what’s truly important to you is nothing new.

It’s something you already knew, before you learned not to listen.