Your Feelings Don’t Matter When It Comes to Success.
There, I said it. It’s out in the open, it’s on the internets, and well, this is for your own good. :)
I was thinking a lot this morning about what it means to be successful, and more specifically, what it entails. I used to think success was a destination, some far off place, where if I just put in the time and “work really hard” I’ll get there. But until then, it’s all hard work and very little play.
What I’ve realized over the last couple of years is that it’s not the end goal. In fact, my friends and family have been telling me for years it’s not the end goal. It’s funny to me now that after all this time it’s finally sinking in. It’s the journey, it’s today, it’s this hour, this minute, that IS happiness and success. Everything else, including money, great friends, etc., is just a byproduct of what we do right now.
Because truthfully, and if we really have an honest moment, the only thing we have control over is what we do right now. We can’t change what happened 10 minutes ago, and we sure as hell can’t predict the future. So, like it or not, we’re stuck Here.
But that’s also the good news. We have so much freedom and choice with right now. You can choose to hate your job or choose to take pride in your work and kick some ass. You can enjoy your minutes and hours and make them useful or you can spend them worrying and wishing things were different.
Change what you can, accept what cannot be, and build with what’s in front of you.
Once we realize we have so much power in how we run our lives we can really start to be free from obstacles and place ourselves in abundant opportunities. But you have to want to be willing to risk dropping BS that no longer serves you (or that which harms you like negative self-talk) and start putting yourself ON the journey instead of wishing you were on it.
You’re already on it.
So even if you want to start a business, or want to get in better shape, or want to be more social, then you have to make time for it and practice. Then, make a commitment to yourself that you’ll see it all the way through no matter what. Which means, doing things even if you “don’t feel like it”.
**** feelings.
I’m not saying feelings are bad or not to feel at all. What I’m saying is that how you feel about something is what usually holds you back.
“I want to work out but I’m tired and don’t feel like it.”
“I know I should apologize, because I really did mess up, but it’s been a long day and I don’t feel like it right now.”
“I know it’s late but if I just put in this extra hour today, that will save me a lot of time tomorrow. But wait! Game of Thrones is on!!”
Get over the idea that these types of feelings, the ones which should be easy to identify by now, help you or seem like a good idea. It’s hard, I know, because they almost ALWAYS seem like the better option!
Yet, if there is one tool to practice that will get you to where you want to be, which is the path you’re on right now, is to do a little extra. Nothing crazy, but small little things every day that add up to big things. If you don’t feel like doing something, but know you should, then practice doing it anyways. Even if it’s just once for this day, great! Practice, practice, practice.
Practice so much that it becomes a habit. This is what becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable means.
Just know that on the other side of gritting our teeth is fulfillment, confidence, feeling proud of your work, feeling victorious, and most of all, feelings that your time was well spent today.
Lastly, have patience for yourself. And maybe you already do, but I don’t. This is my practice, and it’s taught me that while there are situations where I must do something even if I don’t feel like it, that I can still enjoy it, and that in the grand scheme of things, there’s nothing better to do anyways. Great things happen over time, but it’s what we do with this time that we build the things we want to build. Which is why tomorrow is a complete illusion. You don’t have a tomorrow, you have a today.
