#549 This is your true competitor
When you’re focused on outsmarting the competition
The true competitor becomes your ego.
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#38 Regret, worry, forget
ByLukasWe regret the past, worry about the future, and forget about the now.
What if I:
- learn from and let go of the past
- create an empowering vision of the future, informed by your imagination AND lessons of the past
- act in the now, confident that every action you take brings you closer towards that vision
To let go of the past:
- Write Morning Pages – Stream of Consciousness journaling
- Did I give it my all? Whether my actions were aligned or misguided, did I go for it 100%?
- Did I allow myself to learn something and see the silver lining?
To create a future with fewer worries:
- Write Morning Pages – Stream of Consciousness journaling
- Develop trust in yourself and your good intentions
To be in the moment:
- Write Morning Pages – Stream of Consciousness journaling
- Breathe
- Walk in nature
- Create something
- Talk… and listen
The constant: write Morning Pages.
#265 Dance the barbell balance of life
ByLukasLiving a balanced life doesn’t mean living average experiences.
It’s more like a barbell, or a seesaw, where you go all in on complementary actions.
Work hard, rest hard.
Write with total focus, then fully let go when you’ve hit your word target.
Work out with full intensity, then let your body fully recover.
So when you’re out of balance, the solution is not to come closer to the middle.
Instead, you start doing less of what you’re already doing or add more of the polar opposite of what you’re already doing.
Figure out your polar opposite pairs, and give them both the attention they deserve. That’s how you dance the barbell balance of life.
#169 The things you never need to be good at
ByLukasThere’s nothing wrong with striving for excellence when you’re passionate about something.
But being passionate doesn’t come with an obligation to be – or even try to become – good.
It’s fine to write for the sake of writing, not to write a bestseller novel.
Paint for the sake of painting, not to be the next Picasso.
Run for the sake of running, not to finish a marathon.I don’t need to be good at this today.
And some things I just never need to be good at.
You always have a choice.
#2 Why I write
ByLukasIf writing and creating every day were as vital to my survival as drinking water, ingesting food, and bonding… What would life look like?
Biologically, all behavior is driven by pain, pleasure, and the triggers and habits that come from repeated reaction to those stimuli.
So I eat because I want to escape the pain of hunger – or heartbreak, sadness, and frustration.
I connect with others because I’m neurologically hardwired to feel pleasure when bonding… and pain and deprivation when I’m abandoned.
Similarly, I write because I want to escape the frustration of not being able to put into words an insight.
I also write because I enjoy the rush resulting from finding the words that convey what I want to say.
I write because I love the tingling in my back and neck when I combine those words into sentences with just the right rhythm, just the right cadence capturing the meaning, context, emotion of what I want to say…
I write because writing wrests the essence from the whirlwind of thoughts and emotions racing through my mind and body.
I write because when when I write, I feel that at last, I can make sense of life.
And the more meaning I find, the more likely I am to write.
#407 You won’t achieve your greatest desires
ByLukasWriting every day won’t always help you achieve your greatest desires.
But it might help you lose them — when you realize that what you really wanted was not the outcome, but the feeling of consciously choosing who you want to be, and consciously acting in alignment with that choice.
Once the desires have fallen away, all that remains is the fulfillment every day.
You can relax now.
#148 It’s not a choice
ByLukasWhen everyone starts using AI chatbots to write, but the insights inside your body and mind scream to be poured on the page – writing is not a choice.
When everyone dreads yet another practice session, but you know running the same route for the millionth time is all it takes to make you feel alive – running is not a choice.
When you’ve tripped over the same bar a thousand times, but you know the release of getting it right will energize you for days to come – playing the guitar is not a choice.
When your big vision has been rejected over and over again, but you know you will not rest until you’ve brought your life-changing ideas to the world – being an entrepreneur is not a choice.
When what drains others is your lifeblood, deep inside, you know life leaves you no other choice.
Because life is all about passion.
Passion is about a lifetime of practice.
A lifetime of practice becomes your identity.
And your identity is what makes you put your heart on the line.