Category: Living Well

I haven’t published them anywhere online yet… but, the library is loading…

I stopped making videos years ago because I complicated the process.

I obsessed over every detail of each video and eventually burned out.

And what I realized from that process is that what I really cared about was the core content behind the production of each video—the written word; the message.

So for years, that’s all I’ve been focused on producing. Short, insightful, written messages to help busy people do inner work—myself included.

What’s been on my mind as of late, however, is how there’s another gap to bridge.

…Just because I “word wrestled” and clarified some thoughts and came up with a core message for a day… doesn’t mean that that message was internalized.

And that’s what creating videos again is helping me do—internalize my clarified thoughts.

I’ve simplified my process significantly. And for now, the goal is to publish to one platform, one message, that was recorded in one take.

I’m not reading the words I wrote verbatim and splicing together multiple takes. What I’m doing behind the scenes is internalizing the essence of the message and challenging myself to convey it authentically by recording that one take again, and again, and again… until I get that one, uninterrupted, concise, clearly communicated train of thought.

…You know, as it would be done in reality, in conversation, in practical every day use.

“Whenever something isn’t working in our career or our business, we naturally stop and ask why. We look for patterns, analyze what went wrong, and try to improve it. But we don’t always do the same with ourselves.” ~ Rosy Singh

Isn’t that the truth…

Why is it that we take our professional growth so seriously… all the way down to the cent on our profit and loss statements… and create the most elaborate graphs and visual metrics to understand trends… and do all of this complex training and research to improve strategies…

…While when it comes to our personal growth, we don’t even have the slightest clue how many calories we’re eating or need to be eating each day—let alone grams of protein or sugar or carbs. We can’t seem to type the questions into search bars that would tell us how to exercise optimally, create a profitable side hustle, or create content that resonates with people. We can’t even seem to read a page or two of a book that promises to transform the entire fabric of our lived reality as we know it.

…Isn’t that something?

Maybe it’s the accountability of having a boss and coworkers and dependents?

Maybe it’s the years of programing and brainwashing and test taking?

Maybe it’s the mismatch in priorities and perspective and energy expenditure?

…Whatever it is: maybe it’s time to reclaim some of that mental acuity, attention to detail, and borderline obsessive care and point it more generously at our personal life?

…Keeping up implies comparison.

And comparison falls short because there’s always somebody you can compare yourself to who is below your level and somebody who is above your level.

Do this too much in either direction and the end result is the opposite of growth.

Compare yourself with those below your level too much and you’ll stop trying. You’ll lose your hustle. It’ll all become “too easy” for you and you’ll become complacent—growth’s enemy.

Compare yourself with those above your level too much and you’ll lose hope. You’ll burn out. It’ll all become too hard for you and you’ll become frustrated—maybe even to the point of quitting. And there’s no growth in that.

Take comparison out of the equation altogether.

Return your focus back onto yourself. Measure where you were yesterday, take action that will result in a step forward from there, and repeat tomorrow.

Growth isn’t about keeping up—it’s about moving forward in your own way.