Category: Investing In Yourself

Your body adapts to the demands of its environment.

Sit at a desk all day, take the elevator, use valet, consume passive entertainment on the couch, skip your workouts… and what you’ll effectively be telling your body is: all of that beautiful life energy you gifted me… isn’t needed.

And your body will reduce how much it produces in the future. Until you get to the point where doing even the most basic of tasks is exhausting.

Do the opposite and use it all up though? And your body will find ways to not only produce more, but increase your future stores.

The people with the most energy aren’t the ones who have saved their energy the most… they’re the ones who have used it up most consistently.

Remember this when you’re on the fence about showing up to your workout or playing with your kids outside or going for a walk around the block… because you’re tired.

…Yes, there’s a line that needs to be honored and rest could very well be the better decision if you’re truly fatigued.

But remember that what you agree to as being your energetic limit is what your body will adapt to from there. And if you’re being dishonest with yourself, then your energy stores will iteratively shrink. And if you’re being honest, then they’ll iteratively grow.

And why lie to yourself about something that can so drastically affect your life? Life energy is one of the ultimate life currencies… and the good news is that you get to spend all that your gifted each day and you’ll be fully replenished, plus some, the next!

Hope you have an exhausting day ;)

…To illustrate this, watch this video of a guy interact with his dogs at a low vibration and then at a high vibration.

The dogs have no idea what he’s saying (and neither do we)… but there’s definitely a version that both the dogs and I (and maybe you) would prefer to be around… who we’d prefer to give back to… who we’d prefer to help out and present opportunities to…

Two questions to consider: what helps you raise your vibration better than just about anything else? How can you increase the frequency of this in your life?

I’ll never forget when somebody criticized a high school friend of mine on her desire to “look good” before playing in soccer games. The criticism being around the idea that she’s going to play a sport and get dirty and sweaty and messy anyway… so why do all of that extra “look good” work before the practices and games?

She replied simply, “When I look good, I feel good. And when I feel good, I play better.”

And it really does play out like that.

When we’re feeling our outfit… we’re also feeling more confident… and our actions reflect that versus what we might’ve done if we were feeling self-conscious and awkward. And better actions, of course, lead to better results and outcomes.

I recognize a similar correlation when it comes to martial arts. The students who take the time to get their uniform right and look sharp also tend to be the students with the sharper technique. And the ones who arrive disheveled, tend to have sloppier technique.

The reminder today is simple: invest a little more time, energy, and/or effort into feeling good. Whether that’s in your appearance, your fit, your workspace, your room, your wellness routine… it’s all correlated. And by investing into the one… you’ll likely be pleasantly surprised to find some positive returns in the other aspects of your life as well.

I came across a sale to learn a new language for 60% off.

For $239, I could learn a whole new language and have lifetime access to the lessons.

A pretty killer deal if you ask me.

But, I didn’t buy it yet.

I’m reality testing my actual commitment level by creating a space for free language learning first.

It has ads and I assume it isn’t as good as the paid option.

…But, that isn’t the point.

The point is I’ve bought similar courses in the past and never finished them.

Because while it sounded great in my head, I never reality tested it to gauge my actual commitment level.

Before you take the plunge and commit to a full on sprint: create a space. Establish a bit of a pace. Test it against your reality. See if you can make adjustments on the hard days. See if it eventually sticks. Then… double down on your investment.

You’re free to log-in to Facebook—but you’re not free from its algorithmic feed.

You might log-in with the intention of checking in on friends, but what results is a firehose of content that each carefully analyzes your every touch of your finger—down to the pixel—so as to craftfully, cunningly, with an incomprehensible amount of precision… guide you into a rabbit hole… featuring content that keeps you logged in, swiping and scrolling, vegetating and droning for as long as it can manage.

See what we need to realize is that in so many cases in life, we’re free to make whatever choice(s) we want, but we’re not free from the consequences of those choices.

Logging into social media apps is a free choice, but what we get shown is no longer completely up to us.

Hanging out with certain people is a free choice, but what gets done, discussed, and experienced is no longer completely up to us.

Choosing where we spend our time is a free choice, but who we run into, the vibes of the environments, the types of experiences we’re prone to having are no longer completely up to us.

Which is why it’s more important than ever to take control of our free choices and choose to act in ways that minimize the potential downside and maximize the upside.

Rather than log-in to social media apps, maybe we choose to log-in to reading apps instead.

Rather than hang out with toxic types, we make more space for and hang out with healthy types.

Rather than choose to spend our time at bars/clubs, maybe we spend more time at gyms/cafes.

Freedom has consequences… choose wisely.

The only shortcut to getting where you want to be (success) is learning from those who have traveled there.

That said, important tip #1: Pick wisely where you want to go. Not every mountain peak elicits the same reward for every traveler. It’s best to listen to no one at this step… except yourself. And to nurture curiosity (especially from childhood) and build a clear understanding of your aptitudes and ambitions while simultaneously unlearning everything you were told to do/want. The picking must come solely from you.

Important tip #2: Pick wisely what path to take. There are endless ways to the summit. Some significantly better than others. This is where research matters. Don’t just take the easy route. Don’t just follow the first path you see. Meticulously measure the pros and cons of each path, challenge the information sources, and fight to understand fully.

Important tip #3: Pick wisely who you’ll listen to. The person who has never climbed? The person who speculates from afar? The person who climbed a completely different mountain? Or the person who has hiked your mountain numerous times?

These kinds of mountain people aren’t the easiest to come by either. They only have so much energy to give to others: they’re climbing mountains for god’s sake! And what they have to give outside of their inner circle is sparse.

Which is why important tip #4 is: Pick wisely what you’ll offer. These people have already climbed the mountain so they probably won’t need your resources. What they’ll need is something else… something personable… something interesting or inspiring… some meaning or calling to do so… something only you can offer…

…Something to reflect on.