I quit politics a couple months ago.
My mental state is peaceful. Im happier.
And I can better focus on things that matter, things that I can control.
You become what you give your attention to.
LITERALLY.
That is very dangerous for a lot of people right now.
“The more you know, the less you diversify.”
@naval
I’ve been thinking about focus a lot lately.
In a sea of opportunity and distraction, winning REQUIRES intense focus.
It requires giving up good opportunities to pursue great ones.
It requires saying NO to a lot of options.
As you gain more experience, the more focused you should become.
What things can you eliminate from your life to free up time to invest elsewhere?
This is a very important question to ask yourself often.
“Unconscious processes seem largely responsible for much of what we do habitually in daily life, and conscious processes seem largely responsible for making sense of what we do so that we can explain it to ourselves and others.” Source: book MIndwise
Like the rest of nature, humans operate on autopilot as a result of their upbringing and current environment.
We are walking talking algorithms.
They do not think critically. They do not self-reflect. They delude themselves at every point they can to protect their worldview so they can feel good and right and justified.
This is why society is always moved forward by the outliers that challenge the status quo and are willing to step outside of society’s norms.
Why do I hear people talk so badly about themselves?
If people knew how impactful the words, labels, judgements, and stories they tell themselves are, they’d never utter another limiting thought again.
Here’s the thing about the words you use: THEY ARE FOREVER TRUE FOR AS LONG AS YOU SAY AND THINK THEM.
Until you stop with the negative, limiting beliefs and self-talk, you’ll never overcome them.
Im rereading How To Win Friends and Influence People after 10 years.
What a difference it’s having on me now compared to then.
This is a book we should read each quarter.
People are it.
They are your path to happiness, success, to life.
Yet how often are you applying these principles?
How often are you being interested in others?
Our culture is creating selfish narcissists more concerned with instagram likes than developing connections with other humans.
And that’s a damn shame.
It’s also an opportunity. So take advantage.
How many things are you foregoing right now because you are fallen for this illusion?
You can be happy right now. You can be at peace right now.
You can cultivate lifelong relationships right now.
equanimity definition: mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper, especially in a difficult situation.
Why do we so casually let others disturb our mental state?
Why do we let complete strangers upset us?
Why do we disturb ourselves by expecting the universe to act the way we want?
Cultivate non-response, non-judgement, non-ego, non-label.
Growth vs. fixed mindset is a foundational principle of personal development and success.
Whatever you are stuck on is likely rooted in your fixed mindset and the statements you make from this flawed perspective.
A growth mindset recognizes that anything you want to improve is based on effort. This is the mindset of winners that take responsibility for their results or lack thereof.
The fixed mindset is the mindset of the victim. For as long as you make statements about you not being "good" at something or of things being "hard,"
you'll never make progress.
You must destroy these labels and change this story before you can change.
This is how powerful this concept is. Ignore it, and you'll stay stuck forever. Embrace it, and you can change immediately.
Success is the inevitable byproduct of learning (not education). -Naval
No amount of schooling or knowledge accumulation will make you successful, healthy, or happy.
You have to take action, learn what works and what doesn't, and keep going.
That is the secret.
For anything you aren't happy with, it's on you to figure out what actions you need to start taking—and which to stop—to get you where you want to be.
In our age of victim culture, many would have you believe that it is someone else's responsibility to give you what you want.
You're welcome to try that route and figure it out for yourself, though it will be a waste of time.
Personal responsibility + action + learning = success.
Nothing else.