#182 Uncertain future visions

ByLukas
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I can say I want to run a marathon, write a book, or have a successful career – which doesn’t mean I’ll actually end up running a marathon, writing a book, or having a successful career.

But if I’m serious about it, it does mean I’ll take daily steps towards that goal – daily actions that will change my identity.

Can I live with the present-day implications of my uncertain future visions?

If I don’t know yet if I’ll ever write the book – will these daily actions still be fulfilling to me?

Will they make me happier?

Will I be happy with the person I become by taking such daily actions?

Do these daily actions contribute to a fulfilling emotional, mental, physical, and social life?

If not, am I willing to make emotional, mental, physical, or social sacrifices?

This is a choice everyone makes for themselves.

But I don’t want to make my present day miserable for an uncertain vision of the future I don’t even know will happen.

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#260 Dancing circles around your gut

ByLukas

You’ll write the book until you start doubting if you have it in you to write it… then realize that the only way to find out is by actually writing the book.

You’ll prepare for the marathon until you start doubting if you can finish it… then realize that the only way to find out is by actually running the marathon.

You’ll build the business until you start doubting if this is a viable idea… then realize that the only way to find out is by actually building the business.

No matter how much you dance circles, ignoring what your gut has been telling you, deep down, you know: this is where you should’ve gone all along.

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#314 You don’t need to see progress every day

ByLukas

In the moment, I don’t feel like a yoga pose comes easy to me – until I look back to how it felt 6 months ago.

In the moment, I don’t really feel like particularly good writer – until I look back on how hard it was to write these daily insights a year ago.

You don’t need to see progress every single day to know that you’re getting better.

Because the things that truly matter often change so slowly that you don’t notice them… unless you take the time to reflect on them.

Changes too small to notice today become impossible to ignore when they stack up.

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#188 Predictable pathways

ByLukas

Eating junk food for dinner. Because that’s what you always did.

Having home-grown vegetables for lunch. Because that’s what you always did.

Scrolling through social media apps for 20 minutes. Because that’s what you always did.

Meditating for 20 minutes every morning. Because that’s what you always did.

Working 15-hour days. Because that’s what you always did.

Taking the time to relax, let the mind wander, and be with family. Because that’s what you always did.

Our lives are full of predictable pathways, paved and reinforced by our past and present actions.

But not all pathways are desirable.

Luckily the past doesn’t equal the future.

You can change your present actions to change the course of your pathway, away from a predictable future towards a desirable future.

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#81 Am I willing?

ByLukas

I can say I want to publish a new book.

Double my income.

Get in shape.

Learn another language.

But hidden beneath the surface of lofty goals are daily actions.

Publishing a book… What does that really mean?

Who is that person who has published the book? (Not just written… actually published?)

What do they say to themselves?

What do they think?

What do they feel?

What do they do every day? And what can I start doing every day to become more of that person who has written that book?

Most importantly, am I willing to take those actions every day to reach whatever goal I’m after?

Am I willing to change?

If not, is that goal even important to me?

Who do I choose to be?

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#21 Action Defies Excuses (day 20 update)

ByLukas

Day 20 of my daily publishing experiment. What I’ve learned (or remembered) so far:

  • Self-trust is built by taking action. On some days I woke up stressed out, thinking “I have no clue what I’ll post about today”. But then I start writing, and the post reveals itself on the page every single time. After experiencing that several times, the fear of posting (or not being able to write anything) is fading away. In other words: action defies excuses.
  • Starting to journal (Morning Pages) over 600 days ago led to an explosion in creativity. Starting to publish a daily insight is giving me a similar boost.
  • In the past, I leaned towards bigger, longer writing projects that required a lot of energy and thinking before I produced something “valuable”. I now see there’s power in consistently writing short posts about ideas and insights, no matter how insignificant and no matter how imperfect the writing. Because through the writing, I understand them better. I remember them better. And I’m confident that over time, from all these small insights, bigger ideas will emerge.

In short, a pattern I’ve observed many time in the past years is playing out again:

When I start defying my own excuses by taking action, no matter how small, my self-trust grows, my self-image shifts, and I become more of the person I want to be.

Which begs the question:

Where else am I frustrated, holding on to a static identity of the past that I could prove wrong by taking action?

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