If the goal is more free time (freedom)…
Stop equating all of your free time to available time.
They are NOT the same thing.
Available time gets filled with tasks.
Free time gets filled with life.
I help busy people do inner work.
If the goal is more free time (freedom)…
Stop equating all of your free time to available time.
They are NOT the same thing.
Available time gets filled with tasks.
Free time gets filled with life.
Freedom isn’t only an experience reserved for when you’re done with work.
In fact, it can very well be an experience that you have WHILE you work.
And since we all need to engage in work in some way, shape, or form (out of obligation or for fulfillment)—finding work that aligns with your soul and allows you the freedom to be… is one of the ultimate forms of freedom there is.
P.s. I asked, “Besides sleep and coffee… what gives you energy for your day?” I hope the answers help you find ways to keep your energy high throughout your days :)
Not every awake moment is created equal.
The trick, is aligning the ideal tasks with the matching naturally occurring state. Some examples:
If I tried to do my social interaction in the morning and my workouts at night—there would be an extra layer of resistance in both.
Flipping them works significantly better for me—which means not only am I in a better state for both, but I’m much more likely to continue doing them because the resistance is significantly less.
The opposite might be true for you. Self-awareness is required and that’s not something I can give you.
The bottom line is this: don’t fight yourself. Align with your natural rhythms and reduce resistance in every way you can.
P.s. I asked: What’s one small thing you’ve done that has had a big impact on your mental health? I received a ton of great answers. I hope they inspire you to start doing something small for yourself.
There’s a game I play in martial arts classes called the A/B Game.
It’s simple.
When I say “A,” students fire off a given technique as fast as they can.
When I say “B,” they stay frozen.
My goal is to mess them up by getting them to fire off the technique on “B.”
Their goal is to have such great focus that they don’t even so much as flinch on “B.”
In the early stages of the game, getting flinchers is relatively easy—some because they’re just unfocused; some because they’re too focused on being fast; and some because they need to mess up before they actually understand the game.
As the game progresses, there’s usually a handful who are hard to mess up—so, I’ll pull out one of my tricks from my bag.
Right before I call “A” or “B,” I’ll nonchalantly say… “Okay, now I want you to beat the person next to you. Don’t let them beat you…okay? Ready…”
And then quickly yell “B!” …And get a huge chunk of students to flinch. It works almost every time.
…Why?
Because instead of focusing on themselves, I got them to focus on the others. Instead of focusing on doing their best, they were distracted on being THE best and lost connection with their focused mind.
See… When we focus on beating everybody else; on racing the person next to us; on trying to be the best—we lose sight of the most important thing… focus on ourself.
P.s. I also published 46 Impactful Bruce Lee Quotes from Striking Thoughts today.
…And some people realize that they have nothing to prove to anyone except themselves.
….And so they build. Not to have something bigger than anybody else—but, to have something built that serves a purpose; that fulfills a vision; that realizes a dream.
A purpose, vision, and/or dream that comes from within, that’s built with the tools within, that helps nourish feelings that can only ever be influenced from within.
Because those who try to get feelings from letter grades, fist fights, or number games end up taking a long detour that winds up, down, and over an incredible terrain—only to leave them back where they started… looking at the only person who had the ability to give them the feelings they so desperately sought out the whole time…
…The same one who was there with them right from the beginning.
…Themself.
Sharing publicly a highlight-reel version of our lives feels like it’s in our best interest because it:
What’s really in our best interest is sharing an authentic version of our lives because it:
Worth mentioning that these two aren’t mutually exclusive, though.
A public presence can certainly feature both—we can have an authentic highlight-reel.
But, more often than not, the former is focused on at the expense of the latter. And our mental health pays a toll in the long-run.
P.s. I asked: “What cleanses your soul?” I hope the answers inspire you to do more of what cleanses yours.
Information is an ocean—and most of us are drowning.
Those who get ahead, are the ones who learn to swim.
They take the ocean seriously and never mindlessly wander into its depths.
They learn how to float; how to tread; how to stroke; how to dive; how to navigate.
Similarly, proficient swimmers in today’s information-based world learn how to:
Being in an ocean when you don’t know how to swim is terrifying because the water is in control (and can lead to drowning).
Being in an ocean when you do know how to swim is incredibly refreshing and rewarding—because you are in control (and you get to swim in the ocean).
…And what a beautiful opportunity it truly is to swim confidently in the ocean.
P.s. Here’s an article I wrote on better managing your information diet: How to Upgrade the Quality of Your Life in 1 Hour.