I’m feeling a bit different today from the days prior, I feel a slight increase in energy and ambition after spending many days off script and not in a good way, so unproductive. I received a bit of inspiration yesterday evening and it seems to have fueled a subtle, but not unnoticeable, flame inside of me. Simply put, I’m getting back on track, to hell with my ego and the parts that hold me back. I historically have had a high risk tolerance, however, in recent years I have dramatically reduced that threshold to risk but I need to break free from the chains that hold me down. There will be a day, a day not so far away, that I will be able to strike it out on my own. Make my own way in the world and have financial freedom to work from anywhere in the world. Not 100% how yet but that doesn’t really matter, all that matters is that it’s going to happen.
It is important to know that there has been many important things that have come out of my life so far. I may have been set back many years because of my addictions and mishaps but these are things who have made me who I am today, they have fueled my ambition and my successes to this point in time. Not wanting to suffer and go back to that lifestyle has been a strong motivator to move as far away in the spectrum as possible to that place, so far it has worked. I have now hit a brick wall, actually I hit that wall nearly 2 years ago. In my current position and situation there isn’t any future, and I would be settling for far less than what I have and the result would be an unfulfilled life. I won’t let that happen.
I was actually watching a SoulPancake video last night on YouTube titled “What Don’t You Do That You Should Be Doing?”. When I watched this video I realized how many things that I wasn’t doing that I should’ve been doing. I had been saying it the last few weeks and especially all weekend, “I have been unproductive and not doing what I should be doing.” I know exactly what I am suppose to be doing or what I should be doing but lately I had lost the steam and ambition to do such. Last night though it triggered something in me and add fuel to the flames a bit, I may not have a massive fire under my ass but it’s better than it was.
It’s funny how the littlest things can have such a large impact on us. A simple YouTube video produced by a team of extremely thoughtful people helped bitch slap me back into doing the things that I should be doing. Sometimes I lose my way but I always seem to, very fortunately, find my way back. In my short life span I have become an expert in the stumble. Sometimes stumbling and losing your way doesn’t have to even be that big of a setback, sometimes it’s just little things but those little things can become massive setbacks and then you’re really fucked. Sometimes those setbacks are just the thing you needed to realize you are off track again. Tucking your tail and clawing your way back to the path can be a very uncomfortable and humiliating process, most of us will have to experience this throughout our lives, I can say this with great confidence though, when we have to experience these things that make us more humble and sincere humans.
Being open to the small things and the signs to remind you what the fuck you should be doing with your life can be a difficult task and from my experience, it’s definitely a learned skill. Some people can drift throughout their whole lives without seeing the signs or what is right in front of them, they are more comfortable with settling for much less and throwing away the rest. For myself, I definitely don’t want to settle for anything but extraordinary, why should we? We are all capable of doing extraordinary things and living extraordinary lives, however, that doesn’t mean everyone wants that life or they are too afraid of risk and consequences to try. Extraordinary doesn’t come without its own risks and displeasures. All paths have their trials and tribulations, the more extraordinary the larger the trials.
To never settle is a goal that we should all be striving for everyday. Yes, you may have to go to your shitty 9-5 job, hell you may even like it, good on you, but we should always strive to just become a little bit better each day. We could settle for being the same or less each day but then we don’t actually get to live each day. It’s trite and cliched but the phrase “live today like it’s your last” is extremely true, we may not have tomorrow so why settle for less today if we don’t have tomorrow guaranteed to us. If you knew you would die in a weeks time you wouldn’t spend that weeks time at your shit 9-5, you would go out and experience life the way it should be experienced, no holds barred. You wouldn’t just drearily drift into death and obscurity would you? I sure as hell wouldn’t, I would go out with an explosion of exuberance, love, and excitement. If you want to just drearily drift into death and obscurity then just keep settling for less because that will be the result. Some people need that solace and I will not judge.
The little things in life, that otherwise would go unseen if we are not open to them, are the things that can make the most impact on our lives. Seeing these things can and will be tricky throughout your life but you can start today to develop the required skill to see them, it is a learnable skill. We develop this skill to some degree throughout our lives but like any skill it can be honed and nurtured. Being open to seeing pivot points and inspiration can help us become adaptable to extraordinary things and wonderful lives. Life doesn’t need to be dull and boring, we don’t need to settle for the shitty unsatisfying 9-5 job, we can stop being sleepwalkers anytime we want, we just need to want it.
Zombieland Rule #32 ~ Enjoy The Little Things: “You can’t spend all your time worrying about where your next Twinkie is going to come from.”