Wallowing in self-pity is a terrible habit.
But I do it from time to time too. Setbacks happen all the time when you do a lot of stuff.
“It’s just not fair!”
Of course none of it’s fair!
The other guy has more money to being with. The other guy has better connections. The other one was born with a talent nobody can match. And then there’s that lottery winner, of course.
Life is random.
By the time you’re 25, nothing is equal between you and the others.
Complaining about it doesn’t help. Accepting it doesn’t make you feel good either.
But it’s the best course of action to take.
Accept the cards you were dealt and move on.
Winning but your Way
What is winning to you?
Have you ever sat down and asked yourself?
Winning, the way I see it, is nothing more or less than growth.
And the valid comparison points you have are:
- You yesterday
- You a week ago
- You a month ago
- You a year ago
In just one year, you can make progress on any 3-5 well-defined categories in your life. As long as you set good goals, put in the work, and stay accountable.
No money, no talent, and certainly no luck needed.
Things Anyone Can Do
There’s always something you can do.
That’s a powerful realisation.
I don’t know the source of this one, but it’s been circulating online for ages:
I find this picture motivating. It gives me hope.
Regardless of who you are, where you are, or how your life has been, you can always commit to a few of these areas and then put in the reps.
Here’s what I want you to do with your 2023:
1: Choose Three Domains to get Better at
Want to be coachable? Fine. More energetic? fine. Put in more effort? Fine!
Everything is fine!
But you have to choose.
Otherwise, you’ll end up drifting and going nowhere.
Be specific. Write it down for yourself somewhere.
2: Research
Spend a lot of time on this: at least 45 minutes per category.
Do one research session per day during the next three days, one for your each category.
Write down everything that you can do, within the resources you have available, to improve those areas.
How to improve energy levels? Google it. All the answers are out there already.
How to be more consistent? Someone has the answers already.
Make a list of what you can do about it.
Go small. Don’t take on too ambitious projects, to begin with.
Just come up with a list of things you can do, per each of your category you want to start winning at.
3: Commit to the Struggle
Look, it’s not going to be easy.
But once you know what all you can do, just choose 2-3 things from your list in step #2 and start doing it. Every day, every week, as much as you can.
This is why it’s important to start small.
You’re putting in the work. And that’s all that matters.
And when your comparison point is you, you cannot but win.
Sounds too Simple?
Yes!
It is simple!
Things are simple.
We just love to overcomplicate everything.
You don’t need money. You don’t need talent. You don’t need luck.
You need effort and consistency:
If you do that, I guarantee you will not believe the results you can get in just one year.
2022 was my first year of following what I outlined here.
And from a personal growth perspective, this year has been the best of my life.
Sure, I had a coach to help me.
But you don’t need a coach. You just need accountability. If you can’t be accountable to yourself, find someone to do this with. Do it together. Call each other every two weeks and talk it through. How it’s going? What are the roadblocks?
And work it out together.
Need help with this?
DM me on Twitter — I got you.