30 Things

After my workout today, I jumped on Facebook and saw that Neghar Fonooni had posted THIS article. I came across this blog a little while ago, but read a different post. This one is special.

Holy shit. What an amazing list. Frankly, I couldn't have written it better myself. Unless I had thought of it and actually written it myself. A lot of the items on this list are things that I have been personally working on trying to do. A lot of people would look at this list and be overwhelmed, or think it's horse shit. It's not. Take an honest look at yourself, evaluate what's going on. Start to chip away at some of these things, I think it will make a huge difference in your life.

Some of the points that jumped out and punched me in the mouth:

Stop being idle. – Don’t think too much or you’ll create a problem that wasn’t even there in the first place.  Evaluate situations and take decisive action.  You cannot change what you refuse to confront.  Making progress involves risk.  Period!  You can’t make it to second base with your foot on first.

I have a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad habit of over-thinking and over-analyzing. Getting out of my own head is one of the absolute hardest things for me to do. I know when I'm doing it, and can make myself stop, but it takes legitimate effort on my part. Being inside my own head is a dangerous place for me. This is one of the things I'm really trying to work on.

Stop worrying so much. – Worry will not strip tomorrow of its burdens, it will strip today of its joy.  One way to check if something is worth mulling over is to ask yourself this question: “Will this matter in one year’s time?  Three years?  Five years?”  If not, then it’s not worth worrying about.

For me, this goes hand in hand with the previous thought. If I could get out of my own head, I would be able to enjoy everything a lot more. For me, living in the moment is pretty hard.

Stop running from your problems. – Face them head on.  No, it won’t be easy.  There is no person in the world capable of flawlessly handling every punch thrown at them.  We aren’t supposed to be able to instantly solve problems.  That’s not how we’re made.  In fact, we’re made to get upset, sad, hurt, stumble and fall.  Because that’s the whole purpose of living – to face problems, learn, adapt, and solve them over the course of time.  This is what ultimately molds us into the person we become.

This is something that I have recently done a very good job of. I know who I am, and where I am headed. I understand that there are things that I need to address in order to get where I want to go. This particular step takes a lot of balls to do, but you will be pleasantly  happy with the results.

Stop putting your own needs on the back burner. – The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too.  Yes, help others; but help yourself too.  If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do something that matters to you, that moment is now.

I love making other people happy. It makes me feel good. I also don't expect anything back. I'm comfortable playing the role of the martyr. I guess this isn't, intrinsically, a bad thing, right? It's really easy, however, for me to forget to do me. I lose myself and suddenly find that I'm doing something that might not be great for me. I'm able to follow my passion, but there are bumps along the road. Any road worth traveling, though, is going to have those bumps.

Stop berating yourself for old mistakes. – We may love the wrong person and cry about the wrong things, but no matter how things go wrong, one thing is for sure, mistakes help us find the person and things that are right for us.  We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past.  But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here NOW with the power to shape your day and your future.  Every single thing that has ever happened in your life is preparing you for a moment that is yet to come.

This last one is a big one. What's done is done. You can't un-do it. We've all done and said stupid things that we wish that we hadn't. Things that we wouldn't do again if we had the opportunity. Stop beating yourself up over it. If the opportunity arises again, show that you learned from your mistake. Just move forward.

Hopefully you can find something to take away from this post. Take a look at the list, what jumps out at you? What seems important for your own life?

Figure it out. Then go lift something heavy!