The following three questions have been guiding my life for the past several years:
1. What does my ideal day look like?
2. What does my current day look like?
3. What can I do today to get my current day closer to my ideal?
Would recommend.
In Martial Arts, one of the goals is to learn how to maximize the creation of power while minimizing the expenditure of energy.
Essentially, it’s the practice of learning how to fully press the “gas pedal” while fully releasing the “brake pedal.”
Pressing the gas and brake pedal at the same time is wildly inefficient for driving. And so is it for moving the body. Yet, this is the default when it comes to moving the body with any degree of intensity.
Both the protagonist and antagonist muscle groups tense which, in effect, slows down the attempt to speed up all at once.
…And wastes a bunch of energy in the process.
The art then becomes learning how to selectively tense certain muscles while selective relaxing others in real time. And the challenge, of course, is that there isn’t only one gas and one brake pedal—there are hundreds.
And so it is for life.
The question to consider is this: in each task that you’re trying to complete, what resistance could you simultaneously reduce?
Sometimes we focus so much on the doing that we forget about the un-doing. Because while a 10% increase in speed for “doing” is good, a 20% decrease in resistance is better.
And this isn’t a question that’s asked and answered only once—it’s an ongoing awareness.
We’ll never get this perfect—for our bodies or for life. But, progress—any progress—makes the effort undoubtedly worth it.
P.s. This became the introduction for: 23 Greg McKeown Quotes from Essentialism and How To Live Better Via Less
You might not think that what you did this morning was important… but it was.
In the same way that sharpening the saw before you cut the tree is…
Or in how warming up and stretching before intense exercise is…
Or in how planning before acting is…
Try and cut the tree, do intense exercise, or act without the ideal precursor and in each case—the task will suffer.
So, too, will your day.
When you get the start of your day right—you get to cut through the rest of the day with a sharpened mind, a loose and flexible body, and a clearly defined plan.
Which reminds me… you might not think that what you do at night is important… but it is.
Feeling distant from people?
Like you’re lacking connection?
And don’t know how to initiate a good interaction?
I have a challenge for you.
What you do is simple… in any task(s) you choose… you buy, create, make, collect, gather… more than you need.
This could be groceries, brownies, art, soup, berries, books, solar lights, coffee, tools, cups, candy, gadgets, etc.
And then the challenge is to give away the extra—for free—to whoever you think would appreciate it.
No strings attached. No expectations of return. No gift tallying.
Just a real gift given that comes from a real place in your heart.
Some examples:
Real begets real. And if you want to form more real connections… this is an excellent place to start.
…Who’s in?
Know someone who may enjoy reading these? This is me kindly asking if you’d forward it to them :) …Did you get this forwarded to you? You can subscribe here :)
You should wait for someone else to create the life of your dreams for you.
…Ridiculous.
Yet, I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss it as being a belief you don’t—in some way—hold.
…Or do you already know what the life of your dreams looks like and are you already building towards that vision each day?
Because if you’re not… how do you think the life of your dreams is going to be realized?
Are you absolutely sure you’re not waiting for someone else to create circumstances that’ll lead to the life of your dreams?
Because if you are… reality check: you will only ever live the life you create for yourself.
P.s. In case you missed it, you can read the best of what I posted to MoveMe Quotes last week, here.
Many people don’t do it right.
Upon receiving a gift, many will try and reciprocate with something of equal-ish value.
While it might feel like this is what’s fair and rebalances a previously unbalanced situation… what it actually is is a misunderstanding.
The purpose of a gift isn’t to barter.
If the person wanted to barter, then they would’ve (should’ve) made that clear from the onset (i.e. “I’ll give you this book for that $15 gift card).
The purpose of a gift is to receive back not a material item, but an emotion in return.
When I give you a gift, I’m after the look on your face; I’m after the warmth; I’m after the liveliness/gratitude/joy that it might bring you.
And what many people don’t understand is that: what you return in barter, you take away in emotion.
Imagine on Christmas morning, after each present was given, the receiver pulling out their wallet and paying you back exactly the price of each gift.
…It would defeat the whole point!
Gifting shouldn’t be seen as an obligation (to give back what’s been given); it should be seen as an opportunity to exchange emotion.
Because ultimately, while material items might seem like the goal, emotion is what we’re always really after anyways.
And gifting is one of the most beautiful ways to evoke that warm, loving emotion that fills us up so quickly—both when giving and receiving.
Don’t rob someone of that opportunity to fill up by returning in barter what they gift graciously.
Be a good receiver and give them in emotion what their gift (or effort) genuinely provides.