It’s not ok. Settling.
The purge, the dramatic, ongoing transformational proof of age that drains our self-faith and self-belief; and lures us by the gravitational pull of the norm into the stream of what’s acceptable, far from which we were all born uniquely unattached from. Wake up. Pick a battle. Pick your life. There was once a time when you were pursuing something beyond yourself. You settled. The automated drag toward what seems more appealing corrupted your conscious pursuit and now you have what everyone else has. And you’re as unfulfilled as everyone else too. No, it’s not ok.
The cure. Find the fight that’s worth your life and don’t give up.
If you are that minor percent who needs not be told how to eat eggs, as you were, I look forward to offering a casual nod as we pass on the trails of effort and struggle. If you are not, which is the most probable – as those that are will continue for the sake that it is not in them to withdraw, and those that are not quit before this paragraph read – allow me to inspire some enlightening thought.
Pick your battle. Let’s find your fight again.
Remember why you started.
Staying in tune with the energy, momentum and belief of thinking that kick started your journey is one of the most rewarded techniques to continue the fight. Motivation is at its highest when we take our first step, accordingly, maintain an uninterrupted supply line to that energy source and draw from it when the drive to push forward wanes.
Do it in a team.
History, self-reflection and plain logic provide us all the proof we need to know that we can accomplish more when we find a team on the same or similar journey. Where you lack – they prosper, where they stumble – you stride. If you find your journey has hurdle after hurdle to leap and wall after wall to climb, find your team and use their map to make your path.
Just one more effort.
Have the discipline to ensure your sacrifice and struggle are worth it. Promise yourself – no matter the feeling, failure or triumph – you’ll always give one more effort. If you always give another then you’ll never give your last.
You are reading this because you want to change. You have found a way to break the tide, to pursue the unknown, achieve the unthinkable and create a world where that in which you want each day to be is as it is. Something uneasy has arisen within you and you search for the exceptional. It’s hard-work, I get it, but we’re all in this together.
And if you’ve travelled thus far I thank you with a gentle reminder. There is another level. Try harder. Try longer.
You can.
Michael Puhle is a Performance Coach & Executive Speaker and the founder of WordsWithOz.