Since I stopped publishing blog posts back in June, a few readers have very kindly reached out and said they had missed my writing, which is both touching and humbling.

So, I’m back.

Well, I’m not technically back.

What I’ve decided to do, is once a week, on Saturday morning, I will republish posts that I’ve written in the past. Just one post on a Saturday. A tiny morsel for you to chew on as you slip into your weekend.

Of course, on occasion, I might even write a new post. Either way, we’ll once again be companions on this journey.

This is my way of honoring and appreciating those who reached out to me.

Thank you again for your kindness and support in this endeavor.

Intentionally,

Raj

P.S. Since I have an inventory of one thousand posts and am only going to publish once a week, we’re going to be together for…if my math is correct, about nineteen years. So, buckle up.

P.P.S. And of course, do share with one person you think might enjoy or benefit from the blog.

This is blog post number one thousand. And for now, the end of this writing journey.

I’ve been writing this blog since January of 2016, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and have only missed a couple of entries due to power outages and occasional issues while traveling. My process is simple, I write directly to a Word document and then publish it to my website. The Word document shows that I’ve written 278,236 words and is 1028 pages long.

For those that have been following along, you might know I started this blog because clients and people I’d been advising suggested I share my ideas with a broader audience. Like any other creative knows, I needed to define my audience, so I chose my daughters.

I wanted to leave them small nuggets of advice and ideas that might help them accelerate their learning and prompt them to think differently.

What began as an exercise in sharing advice that I thought would be relevant to them led to a published book and even speaking engagements with book signings.

I’m sharing this not to brag or boast but to illustrate some of the unpredictable results that can occur with consistent effort.

I hope that by reading this blog, I’ve also positively impacted your life and perhaps even inspired you to begin a small project of your own.

So, while this might be goodbye, for now, I will reserve the right to come back if I feel that there are additional thoughts that I’d like to share with you and my girls.

Thanks for reading!

Where do you go once you’ve reached your goal?

Where do you go once you’ve completed your trip?

Where do you go after winning the game?

I could keep going, but hopefully, you get the message, and I’ll give you the answer in the interest of time. Although, if you read the title, then you know the answer is home.

So, why am I bringing your attention to your home?

Because, as the proverbs say, home is where the heart is. What the proverb means is that your home is the place where you feel most loved and that you should love the most.

I want to add that you should consider your home your sanctuary, a special place where you feel safe. And a place where you can return daily to rest and rejuvenate your body and mind.

Research shows that the environment in which a person lives is connected to their sense of well-being. So, whether you’re single, married, or live in an apartment or a house, learn to treat your home with reverence. Fill it with objects and attributes that positively feed your emotions and brings you joy and peace.

When all is said and done in life, regardless of the wins, losses, accolades, and obstacles, the one place you always return to is your home. So, be intentional about your home. Treat it with care and love, and you might find that it’ll do the same for you too.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.

How do you motivate yourself when you don’t feel like doing what you know you need to do?

In the previous question, notice I didn’t say, do what you must do. I didn’t say you must do because you have to do only a handful of musts. You need little else for basic survival besides eating, sleeping, and bodily functions. And if basic survival is all you’re aiming for, you can stop reading and get back to it.

However, if you’re seeking any kind of personal progress, then you must learn to overcome inertia. You must find ways to motivate yourself, even when you’re not in the mood or feel like doing so.

While there are no hard and fast rules to motivating yourself, I can share a few ideas that might spur you to action.

First, start with the end in mind. If you can vividly picture yourself accomplishing a goal or living a life that’s compelling for you, you can use that as a motivating force to pull you towards it.

Second, learn to negotiate with yourself. When you find yourself in a lackluster mood, as we all do at times, remind yourself of the benefits of sticking to your commitments. Write out or think about the pros and cons of action versus inaction and consider the fact that whichever path you choose has the probability of compounding itself in either direction.

Lastly, think about the kind of person you want to be known as. Not to others, but yourself. Do you want to be the kind of person that you can trust and rely on, or are you willing to lose trust in yourself? Trust in yourself can be a virtuous or vicious cycle. You can either use it to build yourself up or let it erode to the point where you no longer attempt to do anything.

So, the next time you find yourself at the crossroads of knowing what you need to do but aren’t motivated to do so. Hopefully, one of these ideas will spur you towards moving towards what’s best for you.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.

How much time do you spend focusing on what you have versus what you want?

It’s been said that one of the most significant contributors to unhappiness is focusing on what you don’t have instead of what you have. While the previous sentence might seem obvious, the obvious is easily overlooked.

Focusing on what you have doesn’t require you to stop dreaming and pursuing goals. After all, you’re human, and humans are designed to think about the future. But there’s a difference between thinking about the future and being so consumed by it that you neglect the present.

Staying grounded in the present and appreciating your current circumstances requires effort, especially when you’re constantly bombarded with messages from external sources about how your life could and should look. You’re always being sold on the idea that you need more in order to be happy.

The idea that you need more leaves you with a hollow feeling of dissatisfaction with your current life – a bottomless hole you’re always trying to fill. But the only way to plug the hole is to be happy with what you currently have.

I understand that what I’m suggesting is easier said than done and is contrary to many of the messages of popular culture. But popular culture rarely has your best interest at heart. Its job is to prey on your unhappiness and keep you wanting more.

So, the next time you find yourself thinking you’ll be happy when you acquire a particular object or accomplish a specific goal, re-focus on what you already have. Learn to appreciate your current state in life, and perhaps even remind yourself that happiness can be a choice you make, and it doesn’t have to be contingent on what you have or do not have.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.

Who are your mentors?

Who do you allow to guide and influence you?

Are you actively choosing mentors or passively leaving it to chance?

Whether you realize it or not, you are being mentored. You’re being mentored by the individuals and, in some cases, the organizations you allow to influence your thoughts and, subsequently, your actions. That’s why it’s essential to choose your mentors actively.

How should you choose your mentors?

Fortunately, there’s not a one size fits all answer to this question.

Since the advent of the internet, which in case you don’t realize, has not always existed, you’re no longer limited to finding mentors that you know personally. Although there is an upside to mentors you know personally because there’s a greater opportunity to vet them in person and meet with them face to face. But if you’re judicious enough, you can also find excellent mentors online.

When identifying a mentor, it’s important to find someone who aligns with your values and guides you towards getting what you want out of life. You want a person that challenges your thinking, not because they’re attempting to influence you to think like they do but pushes you to think about why you’re pursuing your chosen path.

So, the next time you’re thinking about an area of your life that you’d like to improve, consider finding a mentor to help you on your journey. Identify a person or people that have your best interest in mind and let them guide you in achieving your goals.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.

Who knows more about you than you do?

No one.

That’s right. When it comes to you, you’re the expert.

No one will ever experience your life the way you will.

Now there might be people that know you well and can guess, with some degree of accuracy, how you might react or respond to specific situations, but that’s because they’re using pattern recognition based on your previous behavior.

So, what does it mean to be the expert on yourself?

It means that since you know yourself the best, you’re also the best-suited person to help yourself through life.

Before I continue, let me clarify. I’m not suggesting or recommending that you try to solve problems or overcome challenges by yourself. By all means, seek help when you need to and use whatever resources you can find to help you navigate life. But keep in mind that regardless of the solutions you find, only you’ll know what works for you.

Being an expert on yourself doesn’t mean you have all the answers to life – it means through trial and error and self-reflection, you’ll begin to learn what’s best for you. And, like any other expert, you’ll need to adopt the mindset of a researcher, constantly looking for answers to questions and embracing ambiguity as you encounter new circumstances.

So, keep in mind that while the idea of being an expert on yourself can sound like a huge burden to carry, it’s also liberating because, deep down, if you listen closely, you will always know what’s best for you.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.

Has someone ever persuaded you to do something?

How did they do it?

They appealed to either an obvious or, in some cases, your hidden self-interest.

Professional salespeople, the outstanding ones, are excellent at saying and doing things that entice your self-interest.

If appealing to your self-interests sounds manipulative, it’s because it is. And although manipulation might carry a negative connotation in your mind, it can also be a positive force.

For example, if you have a self-interest in health, you can manipulate your living environment by eliminating unhealthy foods to increase your chances of being healthy.

Appealing to your self-interests begins with knowing what you want out of life. Without this first step, there’s nothing to entice.

Once you’ve identified a few concrete self-interests, then you can begin to take steps to draw yourself toward them. These steps include, but are not limited to, self-praise, focusing on gain and not sacrifice, and imagining how you’ll feel in the future.

Self-praise may feel awkward at first, especially if you’re not used to complimenting yourself, but it’s important that you learn to do so. Self-praise is about shifting from seeking external validation to validating yourself for your efforts. It provides you with acceptance for who you are and encourages you to keep working towards what you hope to accomplish.

Focusing on gains rather than sacrifices shifts your attention away from some of the hard work that comes with achieving anything worthwhile. It is akin to self-manipulation but, as I noted earlier, is a great weapon when used appropriately.

Your image of how you’ll feel in the future once you’ve hit specific goals or milestones speaks directly to your self-interest because that’s the person you desire to be. Leverage your future image to persuade yourself to act in your own best interests.

So, spend some time today identifying your self-interests and then take the necessary steps to act in ways that bring them to life.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.

How often do you extend the benefit of the doubt?

If you’re not quite sure what the benefit of the doubt is, here’s the definition to help you along. When giving someone the benefit of the doubt, you are believing what they say and taking their word because you, yourself, have some doubt about what happened.

The last part of the definition is the most crucial point. You take their word because you have some doubt as to what happened.

How often do you feel you have all the facts about a particular event or situation?

Now, let’s be honest, just between you and me. How often is it even possible to have all the facts?

Hopefully, we can both agree that having all the facts is rarely possible.

So, what happens when you have partial information or think you know what might have occurred?

Do you dig your heels in and maintain your position as holder of the truth, or do you extend the benefit of the doubt?

Giving a person the benefit of the doubt doesn’t mean you take the position of a pushover and let people take advantage of you. It means extending grace, patience, and taking the position that the person you’re dealing with doesn’t harbor harmful intentions towards you.

Obviously, extending the benefit of the doubt works better with people you’ve known for a while, but it can also work well with strangers if you believe you live in a friendly and not hostile world. By the way, research shows that while there is the occasional bad actor, most people are not only friendly but, in certain circumstances, willing to help others.

So, the next time you find yourself questioning a person’s actions towards you, if you don’t have all the facts, try giving them the benefit of the doubt. You may find that when you do, they may do the same for you too.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.

Your idea didn’t work.

Now what?

You were rejected.

Now what?

You lost the game.

Now what?

You failed.

Now what?

I could continue listing several more unfortunate scenarios that will lead to asking, now what, but I figure you’ve got the point.

So, what will you do when you encounter failures, rejections, and setbacks?

Wallowing in self-pity and quitting are both valid options, but for how long?

Eventually, you’ll have to ask yourself, now what do I do?

When you’re faced with the question of now what to do, your options are live a life of resignation, one where you no longer attempt anything you want to do or pick yourself up and continue moving forward and pursuing the things you want out of life.

While the first option of not pursuing what you desire might seem like a safe bet, it will leave you feeling hollow and unfulfilled. It may even lead to a life of regret when you realize that, as the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote, “tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”

Now the second option of picking yourself up and continuing your pursuit is one that is dotted with emotional landmines, some that might be obvious but others hidden. When you encounter them, you’ll again be forced to deal with a now what scenario. But even though this path may leave you with scars, emotional and at times physical, it will also leave you feeling more fulfilled and even a sense of pride because you went for it.  

So, the next time you find yourself in a situation where things didn’t go the way you wanted, and you’re asking your asking yourself, now what to do. Remind yourself that while it might be tempting to turn inward and lead a hermetically sealed life, that’s not what you’re designed to do. You’re meant to create and pursue, not because you’ll always be successful, but because it’s what life is all about.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.

What’s the problem with inspiration?

Well, there’s nothing inherently wrong with inspiration, except that it only strikes as frequently as being struck by lightning. And while we’re happy that we can escape the infrequent strikes of lightning, we long for inspiration—that magic moment when we’re moved to do something fresh and original, to act.

You probably know how exciting it feels to have an aha moment when a new idea or thought comes to mind, and you feel compelled to do something. But what happens once that moment wears off?

How do you maintain momentum?

If you speak with any professional who appears to have been inspired to produce any lasting body of work, they will tell you that while inspiration might have played a role initially, it wasn’t enough. They had to commit to putting in the work to bring the inspiration to fruition.

Inspiration is the spark that lights the kindling, but the continuous effort is the oxygen that allows the fire to stay alive.

Newton with his apple, Einstein with his beam of light, and the Wright brothers with their flying machines are just a few examples of historical figures that were moved by moments of inspiration. But then spent countless years formulating and birthing their ideas into the world.

I’m not by any means attempting to say that feeling inspired is not a good thing or even something you shouldn’t actively seek out. I’m just letting you know that it’s only the beginning of a potentially long journey.

So, the next time you find yourself struck by inspiration, capture the moment so that you can revisit it and use it as your north star, your why for doing whatever you’ve chosen to do.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.

How can you navigate the fine line between accepting who you are and yet, working on improving yourself?

Whenever you think about self-improvement, you’re sending a subtle message that you’re not happy or satisfied with aspects of who you currently are. And if you’re not careful, your messages to yourself can be overly self-critical and disparaging. But on the other hand, if you don’t motivate yourself to improve, then there’s a chance that you’ll fall into to trap of complacency.

While there’s no one answer to the predicament of accepting and also looking for ways to improve who you are, there are steps you can take to help you manage the challenge.

Self-acceptance begins with learning to accept yourself regardless of whether others accept you or not. So much about how you feel about yourself has been transmitted to you, without your implicit approval, by people you’ve spent most of your life with. Parents and close friends, especially during your formative years, are significant contributors to how you feel about yourself and often lead you to feel conditionally accepted. And as you go through life, you carry this feeling of, if only I do or accomplish a particular goal or task, can you accept yourself.

The feeling of conditional acceptance can be a strong influencing factor in your seeking self-improvement. Essentially, it’s a message you send yourself saying that you’re working to improve yourself, not for the sake of improvement, but because you’re not good enough or don’t accept who you are.

Transitioning from conditional to full acceptance of who you are allows you to build a strong foundation upon which you can now begin to improve.

So, then next time you find yourself thinking about improving an area of your life, ask yourself if you’re doing it to fill a void left by conditional approval or because it’s something you want to do for yourself. You’ll find that if you’re trying to fill a hole, your efforts will be futile, and you’ll always be looking down. But, if the improvement is for yourself, you’ll be moving upward, and the sky’s the limit.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.

What comes to mind when you hear the words, Pro Bono?

If you’re like most people, then you probably think of an attorney performing legal work for free. And you wouldn’t be mistaken in your understanding. But it’s not just attorneys that can perform Pro Bono work. You’re just as capable of doing so too.

The Latin phrase Pro Bono means for the public good. The term generally refers to services rendered by a professional for free or at a lower cost. So, as you can see, almost anyone can perform Pro Bono work.

Why would you perform Pro Bono or work for free?

As stated in the definition, for the good of the public. And, although you might, on occasion, forget, you are also a member of the public.

You might also be thinking, how can performing work for free benefit or be good for you. Another valid consideration. So, here are a few reasons that might convince you to give your expertise and time for free.

First, there’s the obvious, which you may or may not believe in, karma. As they say, what goes around comes around.

Second, when you perform Pro Bono work, you get the opportunity to sharpen your skills outside of your current realm of employment. For example, there might be a non-profit or cause you’re interested in that doesn’t have the resources to hire someone with your skills, and in this case, you can support them by volunteering your services.

Lastly, there’s network and reputation building. You’ve probably heard that your reputation precedes you, and this simply means that people have heard about you from other people. Therefore, if this is true, why not actively manage what people are going to hear about you?

So, regardless of your skills or vocation, consider spending at least a small fraction of your time performing Pro Bono work. In doing so, you might just find that not only will other people benefit from your contribution but being good to the public will be good for you too.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.

What’s the one area where only you can be guaranteed to achieve success?

If you read the quote I published along with this post; then you already know the answer. It is, of course, in being yourself.

There’s no other area in life where you’re almost guaranteed to achieve success except at being who you truly are. I left a lot of wiggle room by writing almost guaranteed because being successful at who you are requires work.

Being yourself doesn’t occur by chance. It requires changing beliefs and re-evaluating lessons and messages you’ve been taught to believe. It requires an emotional and mental metamorphosis akin to a caterpillar liquifying itself to become a butterfly.

Becoming who you are at your core is one of the most incredible journeys you can ever embark on. Using reflective questions to peel away layers of who and what you’ve been told to be and exposing parts of you that have been dormant for years can be both liberating and jarring.

So, why go through the pain and trouble of becoming who you really are?

That’s a great question, and the good news, which I say with a hint of sarcasm, is that there’s no requirement to do so. You can, and many people do, live as a shadow of who they are.

The greatest thing about becoming successful at who you are is that you don’t have to do it overnight. It can be a journey that evolves over time, which is perfect because making slight changes allows the real you to emerge slowly without causing too much upheaval in your life and, of course, those accustomed to the current version of you.

So, now you know the one thing where only you’re guaranteed success, you can decide whether to pursue it or not. And while becoming successful at being you might not yield some of the metrics of success that society traditionally measures people by, you’ll be content and have the satisfaction of knowing that you are becoming the person you were meant to be.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.

How often do you play whodunit?

Whodunit is colloquial slang for who has done it and is most commonly known for its use in crime or murder mystery stories. Essentially, it’s asking the question of who’s the culprit or who to blame for a crime.

But, there’s a version of whodunit, that you might, at some time or another, engage in when you’re looking for someone to blame for a challenge or problem that you’ve encountered. You look for an aggressor because you’ve adopted a victim mentality.

Before I continue, let me be clear that I’m certain there are times when your claim of being a victim is legitimate, and you should seek judgment for actions taken against you. But hopefully, these times are few and far between.

It’s easy to fall into the trap or even habit of blaming others for your misgivings and tribulations because it shifts responsibility from you to someone else. And, of course, it allows you to seek attention and sympathy from others.

While blaming others might seem easy, it actually undermines your self-confidence and weakens your self-efficacy. However, shifting from whodunit to a version Idunit, yes, I just made that up on the fly, helps you take ownership of your life. And the sooner you take a position of owning or being responsible for your actions, the sooner you’ll shift from a victim mentality to a creator and, in some cases, even a victor state of mind.

So, the next time something goes wrong in your life, ask yourself how you contributed to the situation instead of looking for whodunit. Find how you also are to blame, not for the sake of self-flagellation, but to learn and regain control of that area of your life. As time goes by, you’ll find that the less you blame others, the more you’ll feel in command of your own life.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.

Have you ever completed a word search puzzle?

Isn’t it interesting how in a jumble of what at first glance seems to be random letters thrown together, words that are provided to you in a prescribed list seem to appear magically? Sometimes words seem to jump off the page in seconds.

How is it that you’re able to locate the words in the puzzle?

Because you know what you’re looking for.

Life works very similarly to a word search puzzle.

There’s a term in psychology called motivated seeing, which, in a nutshell, means you see what you want to see. Just like in the word search puzzle where you prime your brain to look for specific words, you can do the same in everyday life.

What does this mean for you?

Well, you can prime your mind to look for opportunities, for good news, and even for people acting or doing things in your best interest. Of course, you can also look for the opposite of the list I gave you, which will work for you too.

You might argue that instructing your mind to only look for good or favorable situations isn’t reality, and you might be correct in some instances. However, factually speaking, you’re already priming your brain to look for what you want to see. You’re just not doing it consciously. And, there’s a high probability your mind has already been taught what to look for by forces, i.e., other people.

So, now that you’re aware of motivated seeing, you know you have a choice. You can either choose or prescribe to yourself what you’re going to look for as you go through life, or continue to see the world how you’ve been trained to see it. The former will feel as though life is working for you, and the latter, well, that’s your current experience of life.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.

How are you enjoying the good old days?

I understand that my question might seem a little strange because it’s referring to present days as days that have already passed. But if you think about it for a moment, you’ll quickly realize that today and every day in the future have the potential to fall into the category of the good old days.

To make today and future days into good old days and ones that you want to look back upon and reminisce about fondly, you must start with today.

Many memories of the good old days fall into the category of serendipitous events. Unplanned and impromptu decisions that led to fond memories cherished for a lifetime.

But what if there was a more conscious way to create the good old days?

Well, there is. However, it requires you to play a more active role today.

If you have the desire to make today and days in the future fall into the category of the good old days, the first thing you must do is slow down. Schedules crammed with activities and living life as if on autopilot leave little time to create lasting memories because days blend and become a blur. Slowing down allows you to appreciate moments that might otherwise slip by and helps you make space for memorable events to occur.

While manufacturing memories might not sound appealing to you, it’s one way to ensure that at least a handful of your recollections of the good old days were because you paid attention to the time you had.

So, set out today and the days going forward with the intention to contribute to your good old days consciously. Create space in your life for events that you can look back upon fondly and say with a smile, remember when.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.

Is there a way to avoid pain, emotional or physical, in your life?

Hopefully, you landed on the obvious answer, no.

However, if you said yes by chance, you should bottle whatever secret you have and sell it. I’m sure you’ll do very well for yourself.

On the other hand, suffering from pain is not mandatory.

While I’ll admit that it’s impossible to eliminate suffering from life, there are times when you can choose to reduce how much you allow yourself to suffer.

Now you might think that suffering is a natural emotional response, and you’re right to some extent. But so much of suffering is also learned behavior. You see, we still retain much of the monkey see, monkey do, genetic makeup. This means that you’ve also learned to suffer by watching those around you.

For example, let’s take your emotional response to being slighted or wronged by another individual. You can choose to let them live rent-free in your mind and continue to suffer their wrongdoing towards you, or you can choose to move on. It all depends on how you choose to look and subsequently respond to the situation.

I agree that the preceding example might sound utopic. But if you think about it for a moment and perhaps even admit to the fact that while a person might have committed a severe grievance towards you, the second half of the equation, how and if you choose to continue to suffer, is up to you.

A similar mentality also applies to physical pain. If you live any measure of a normal life, then you will encounter physical pain, either from disease or injury. And while this might take a toll on your body, you can still choose not to suffer emotionally. There are countless examples, some that you might have even witnessed, of individuals with what some might consider horrific injuries or terminal illnesses that still manage to maintain cheerful and, in some cases, even a grateful outlook on life.

So, the next time you encounter an emotional or physical situation that causes you pain, remember, it doesn’t have to be pain and suffering. There is also the choice of pain without suffering.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.

How much variety do you need in life?

It’s been said that variety is the spice of life.

Let’s unpack that statement together. If variety is akin to spices, then let’s examine how spices are used. While almost all chefs recommend using spices, they use spices sparingly because they want them to enhance the flavor of the food and not cover or overwhelm the taste of whatever they’re cooking.

It would be best if you used variety in life, similarly to the chef’s recommendations. To enhance life, not overwhelm it. Unfortunately, in today’s day and age, you’re constantly bombarded with messages about how you should avoid boredom and seek more variety. But the messages fail to mention that boredom often equates to consistency, and there’s power in consistency.

I’ve had the good fortune of speaking to hundreds of people that have achieved their version of success in their lives, and almost without fail, the one thing they have in common is consistency. And even they often joke about how exciting and perhaps even glamorous their lives look on the outside. But, in reality, they’re usually plugging away, performing the same activities day in and day out.

Across the range of finances, health, business, and relationships, all success is usually the result of what might be considered boring activities executed consistently over a long period of time. This is true because only when you’ve stuck to one thing long enough can you learn from it and then if needed, make changes to improve your process.

Let’s look at one example from the list above. If you speak to a professional athlete, a person that makes their living based on the quality of their health, you’ll soon learn that they usually stick to the same handful of foods. They do this because, while it might be boring, it delivers the results they’re looking for. And while they might, on occasion, have a ‘cheat day,’ aka variety, they quickly revert to the stability of their boring diets.

So, while you might be tempted to continuously seek variety in your life, please understand that long-term success in any area of life is usually the result of long-term and, in many cases, boring activities performed consistently over time.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.

How do you define success?

Do you define it by wealth, status, or other accomplishments?

If you pay too much attention to media, then you’ll be constantly bombarded with messages about how you should define success. And you’ll begin to believe that if you don’t measure up to the most current views on success, then you’re unsuccessful and perhaps have even failed at life.

However, if you’re able to turn down somehow the volume of the popular views of success, then you can increase the likelihood of finding success that is meaningful to you.

Escaping or avoiding popular views of success isn’t easy. Even if you’re able to eliminate most media from your life, you’re still surrounded by people, and they will act as conduits between the cultural view of success and you. So, unless you’re willing to sacrifice almost all social interaction and embrace a hermit-like lifestyle, you really can’t avoid popular views of success.

So, if you can’t avoid them, how do you navigate them and still remain true to yourself?

I hinted at the answer earlier when I wrote about success that is meaningful to you. If you’re able to detach yourself from the common ideas about success and turn inward to focus on what’s intrinsically important to you, then you increase your chances of success as defined by you and not others.

Once you’re able to define what success is to you, then you’ll find yourself expending effort and pursuing your goals without seeking external validation of your efforts. You’ll move through life with the satisfaction of knowing that you are, as they say, marching to the beat of your own drum.

So, you have a choice to make. You’ll have to decide if you’ll pursue the success as defined by others or if you’ll commit to your own version of success. Neither path holds any guarantees, nor will they be easy. But if you follow your internal path, in the end, at least you’ll have the fulfillment of being true to yourself.

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