Yesterday, I shared a fable titled Who Moved My Cheese?. One of the key lessons that we can get here is how dwelling on past mistakes or things that we cannot control actually wastes our time and energy. It's easy to agree to this statement, but it is hard to break the habit. This is because complaining is so much easier than trying to come back and build something for ourselves. The key to breaking bad habits is to replace them with new ones. Here they are:
Gratitude is more than just a response to someone who did you a favor. Gratitude is a lifestyle. For me, gratitude starts in the morning. As soon as I wake up, I first meditate on at least ten things that I am grateful for. When I started this routine, I usually give thanks for good education, a nice house, etc. - mostly material things - hence my meditation routine is pretty short.
But then, I imagine scenario wherein if I'm not grateful for something, it will be taken away from me. This was an eye opener. I began to say thanks for the most basic but beautiful things in life. I have sight, hearing, complete limbs, a family who loves me, etc. I began to realize how blessed / privileged I am to live this life. I am a human being - not a tree, or a bus - but a human being. That's like hitting the lottery!
You will begin to question why you were even complaining in the first place.
Role Model: Tony Robbins. Search for this guy on YouTube.
Most people complain about how their job sucks or about their financial situation, but when you look closely, for the most part, their work ethic does not match their goals. Some do not even have goals in the first place. They complain about where they are instead of being excited about where they are going.
Let's say you have 8 hours of work, 8 hours to sleep, 2 hours for commute, 2 hours for family time, 1 hour to eat. What are you doing with the remaining 3 hours? Are you mindlessly scrolling through your Facebook news feed? Or are you trying to fix that broken relationship with a friend? Are you binge-watching The Walking Dead? Or are you trying you create new content for your Steemit blog?
I'm not advising anyone to shut their social media accounts down or stop watching series. If such things matter to you, that's perfectly fine. Personally, I use Facebook for a few minutes to check up on my friends and the latest news, and I watch Masterchef with my family. I'm just saying that if you have time to binge watch your series but say that you don't have time to work on your goals, then you really need to wake up.
Your schedule should match your ambitions.
Every second you spend thinking about what someone else has, is taking away from the time that you can create something for yourself. - Gary Vaynerchuk [NV]
Hustle and patience go together. Hustle is what you do everyday, but patience is understanding that there is still a long way to go. Beginners in Steemit (like me) could post high-quality posts everyday but still not earn as much. This, however, did not stop me. I don't complain and say things like, "hOW coMe WhALeS cAn jUsT pOSt oNE pARaGraPH aNd eaRn 400 dOLlaRs?? iT'S noT FaiR!!". Consider the hard work and the investment that they've done to get them at that point. I always tell myself to keep giving value in my articles, and the rewards will follow.
I remember one particular basketball team practice when I was young. I stole the ball from my opponent and ran with my life towards the other court, and turned the ball over by hurriedly passing to a teammate. After practice, the team captain told me,
"It's okay to be fast. But being fast is different from being in a hurry."
Go at your own pace. Set goals with realistic deadlines. If you are always in a hurry, then you will be frustrated, and you will continue to complain like there's no tomorrow.
I'll upvote your sincere answers!
I also wanted to share that I have set really ambitious goals for myself this week. One of them is to create well-researched, high-quality posts once every workday (Monday-Friday) of this week. I realized that haven't been posting as often as I wanted to. I included this in my post so you guys can hold me accountable :) Wish me luck!
Take a look at my three previous articles:
