
To become the person you really want to be, you are going to have to defy your most essential instinct in life. You are going to have to differentiate yourself. You are going to have to do things others would not. In the words of Mastin Kipp, you must live as others won’t, so you can live as they can’t.
This means that you need to be willing to be different. It means that you have to make choices, and at times, sacrifices for the greater, long-term good. It means you have to think ahead, to live in the service of the wellbeing of your future self, as opposed to the moment-to-moment cravings and desires of your current one.