The wall separating you from what you really want is real – until it isn’t.
If you dared to get close enough, you’d realize it’s an illusion.
And once you walk right through it, you’ll understand that everything you want is possible.
Not just for others.
Also (and especially) for you.
When you write 50 pages a day, only to be forced to recover for a month.
When you start running 5 miles a day without any preparation, only to end up injured.
When you start studying a language for 5 hours a day, only to give up after a week.
When you fly so close to the sun, your wings melt.
When intensity and excitement radiate too brightly, and the reality of life suddenly slaps you in the face.
That’s when you start appreciating the slow, steady flame of consistency that burns long and becomes brighter over time.
And that’s when you’ll see lasting change.
No matter how long it takes
As long as you can say
“I am on my way”
Everything is going to be okay.
You build self-trust by taking actions – Tiny Trust Builders – in alignment with who you want to be.
I want to be a writer, and build self-trust by writing every day, even if it’s just one line.
I want to learn Portuguese, and build self-trust by practicing every day, even if it’s just 2 minutes.
But often, what stops you from taking these actions in the first place is a lack of trust in yourself.
I don’t trust myself to write every day – I’ll give up anyway.
I don’t trust myself to learn Portuguese every day – I’ll probably get busy and skip a day.
There’s only one way out of this vicious cycle:
When you don’t trust yourself to take the actions, you take a leap of faith instead.
Because with every leap, fear turns into faith, and faith into trust.
If the storm ChatGPT is causing shows us one thing, it’s how unoriginal most of our thoughts are.
AI builds on a massive library of what others have learned before.
(Individual) humans build on a much smaller library of what others have learned before.
If we merely do what others have done before, in some fields, AI has caught up to us already.
What happens we build on what others have learned before, and combine it with what we learn ourselves (in other words, practice and skill building)?
Now we’re talking about innovation: we’re doing things that haven’t been done before.
And even then, one day, AI will possibly also innovate and do things that haven’t been done before.
Sheer “processing power” is not a game we can win.
The true question here:
If raw intelligence and “brain processing power” isn’t what makes us truly, uniquely human, then what is?
Whether you believe you can write today or not, remember: there’s no physical law, not even a mental barrier stopping you from putting pen to paper or opening your phone or laptop and writing.
Start like this: “I am writing.”
Do it now.
Then keep going.
See?
Believe whatever you want. Change your beliefs however often you want. Your innate ability to write is steady.
And if you know that, why wouldn’t you align your beliefs with your innate ability?
Learning a skill isn’t so much about getting better – that’s just a side effect.
It’s about discovering new ways of doing the same thing – just because you can, and just because you’re curious.
Doing the same thing, this time precisely – then doing it again, not precisely at all.
Doing the same thing, this time deliberately, carefully thinking about every step – then doing it again, not thinking about any steps at all.
When you stay curious, you learn to discover nuances you couldn’t perceive before.
When you stay curious, you learn to be deliberate until you can be intuitive.
When you stay curious, you learn to become less blind to what’s already here.
And when you stay curious, you realize there’s not much more to a fulfilling life than sculpting away, day by day – and anything can be a fulfilling skill.
