When we fixate on the future, we rob ourselves of living right now.
Tirelessly working to get ahead, yet it never seems to be enough.
It never quite gives you enough breathing room to feel 'ahead'.
The goalposts move and that inner voice tells you that you need to work harder, otherwise, you'll lose everything you've worked for.
And what a freaking embarrassment that'd be.
But what are you even getting ahead OF?
Have you defined that?
I mean actually tried to define it. On paper.
Try to write it out in detail and you'll find it impossible to clearly define what you're getting ahead of.
Because it's never been about the money.
Otherwise, we'd have zero billionaires who are depressed, lonely, and unfulfilled.
It's never about the achievements.
That's why our mind keeps changing the target.
It's never been about the stuff.
That's why the shine wears off and it never makes you as fulfilled as you thought.
So what's it REALLY about?
It's learning to be completely at peace and in harmony with your surroundings regardless of what's going on around you.
To understand that you have the power to be OKAY right now.
To have full agency over your internal world...
WHILE working hard to create an amazing life for yourself.
When you allow both to exist together, your life becomes unbeatable.
This is why so many people love the book, The Alchemist.
A story of a boy who learns that everything he was looking for was within him all along.
He just had to go on a quest to realize it.
And we're each on a quest of our own right now.
You won't all of a sudden have all your life's answers after today.
But by simply allowing yourself to LOOK and be open to the idea that you won't find what you're looking for OUT THERE...
You'll begin to find the sense of peace & happiness you've been looking for.
The moment we become aware that the OUTCOME we've been chasing is an empty container...
Is the moment life begins.
This goes for your job, your fitness, your love life, your business, or anything.
We have to stop believing that once we reach an OUTCOME, we'll be happy.
That moment of awareness is a signal that it's time to explore that which feels off.
You're not meant to just be a butt-in-seat your whole life, grinding away to make tons of money to buy stuff and pay taxes.
You're so much more than that.
Hard work is imperative for your well-being.
Having a stable, well-paying career is an absolutely amazing blessing.
But it's time to do it through the lens of possibility, curiosity, & creation.
Instead of fear of loss, fear of judgment, and a sense of NEED to survive.
And tune INTO your "higher" self.
To start living as the best version of yourself creating a life you LOVE waking up to.
There's a YOU deep inside that is curious about life.
A YOU that asks deep questions about why you're here, what you're meant for, and what it all means.
A YOU that is begging you to explore those questions, try new hobbies, lean into your fears, and get back to LIVING life.
Not everyone is meant to quit their job, hike Machu Pichu, and become an influencer teaching people how to quit their 9-to-5 and travel the world.
That's what makes this life so amazing. We each have our OWN thing to figure out.
The amazing thing about peace, happiness, & fulfillment is that it already exists right where you are.
You don't need to DO anything or GO anywhere to find it.
Because it lives within you.
I struggled with this my whole life.
I believed that once I got into tech, got promoted, made more money, went to a bigger tech company, moved in with my girlfriend, moved to a big city, moved to another city, saved for a down payment on a home, got married, traveled the world, got a six-pack...
THEN I'd be happy.
But it doesn't work that way.
It NEVER works that way.
All your life you've been taught to look outside of you to validate your worth...
To get good grades, get into a great school, apply to top companies, interview well, make lots of money, get married, buy property, have kids, buy more property, max out your 401k
NONE of those things are bad.
But none of them addresses the real you.
None help you discover the real you.
Everything I listed (except kids) has been MADE UP by humans in the last 1% of our existence as a species.
Yet it's all we chase.
No wonder we feel so disconnected from ourselves.
No wonder we feel like there's GOT to be more to life than working to earn money to pay bills.
The pain we feel on the OUTSIDE is a direct reflection of how much we're burying the REAL US on the inside.
I find that it helps to think of yourself as having 2 parts:
- The survival mind
- The REAL you
The survival mind is pre-wired into your body.
It's crucial, we wouldn't have survived as a species without it.
It's there to be on the lookout for danger, food, shelter, water, and to fight or run like hell if needed.
But it's not meant to be engaged 24/7.
Yet that's how we live when we're consumed with work stress, politics, news, social media, gossip, comparison, etc.
Always looking at what needs to be done, what you don't have, engaging in arguments, putting others down to feel better about yourself...
It SHOULD be like your personal alarm, sounding only when you need to be protected.
Instead, it's like Secret Service - always on, stressing about any potential threat.
At least Secret Service members get to take breaks, go home, and sleep...
Your survival mind is redlining, running on 15 Redbulls a day, and in need of a 10-year vacation.
The problem is it thinks everything is life-threatening.
So it's always telling you what COULD go wrong, what WILL go wrong, and that it's better to be SAFE than to risk anything.
The good news is you were also wired to be WELL.
To live happy & healthy.
To be at peace.
THAT is your true nature.
To be WELL 99%+ of your life and leave the 1% to times when you might need to do something to survive.
Not the other way around.
My invitation to you is to start exploring the part of you that is happy, healthy, and at peace.
3 ways to start
- Get off of screens & remove distractions
- Get into nature
- Dedicate 20 mins/day to just spend with your thoughts
Ask yourself these questions and just let your mind answer:
- What matters MOST to me?
- What beliefs are holding me back?
- How would I spend my day if I was in control of it?
Let me know what you come up with.
