Many of us who enjoy the process of self-growth often like to isolate inconvenient character flaws to work on them.
But depending on the person or the situation, the same character trait can represent a feature or a bug.
Stubbornness can equal tenacity and grit – but it can also make you the victim of a Pyrrhic victory.
More important than the character traits alone are the patterns in which they show up.
Self-awareness is a prerequisite for a #growth mindset.
#Uncertainty is a feeling I struggle with daily.Â
Am I making the best use of my time? Did I make the right decision? Have I contributed enough relative to the privilege that I have? Do I invest enough in myself, or do I spend too much? Am I working hard enough? Enjoying life enough? Experimenting enough?Â
The more questions I ask, the more I have – and despite the undeniable #growth that comes from exploration and introspection, the gap that keeps me from “having it all figured out” remains.
But that gap may not be a bad thing. After all, if we imagined a person that believed with 100% conviction in every action they took, regardless of how self-aware they were – we could only end up describing a sociopath.Â
In the face of inevitable uncertainty, faith is perhaps the only feasible solution—#faith in something greater than ourselves – such as karma, the universe, or God.Â
ht: Conversation with Kalliste Arienne
What does #home mean to you?
Some describe home as a place, while others describe it as a community. For me, home is a cocktail of feelings.
There is the #feeling of freedom: A space where I’m allowed to take space and customize as my own without any judgment or expectations.
There is also the feeling of belonging: A #community that has my back and accepts me for who I am.
The final and hardest one for me to find is a constant feeling of #growth and alignment. An #environment that challenges, stimulates and encourages me to become the best version of myself.
I’m on a little quest right now to find home. If you have any ideas, let me know.
Ht: Conversation with Reem Haddad
When beginners try to turn on a longboard, they only use their head and eyes – as if looking at the desired destination alone was enough to get them to turn. The opposite tends to happen as they lose balance and fall off the board.
A better strategy is to turn with the shoulders. This strategy creates a fully embodied response, where the hips, legs, and ankles follow.
In the context of personal #growth , awareness of the desired #outcome alone doesn’t lead to change. A deeper and more embodied sense of curiosity is necessary to revisit our beliefs so that the rest can follow.
In the wise words of Gandhi: Your beliefs become your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your values. Your values become your destiny.”
When we spend money on comfort, fun, and pleasure, we default to thinking about them as expenses.
By definition, an #expense is a net negative. It represents a subtraction of your available resources and comes with a negative connotation because, by definition, it doesn’t generate a return.
An #investment , on the other hand, aspires to be a net positive. It represents a cost that plans to generate a return. The investment can be good or bad, but it comes with a positive growth mindset.
It’s helpful to reframe expenditures of time, energy, or money as investments, and the #growth will follow.
When describing my hopes for the future, I often use the pronoun “I”.
I want. I need. I hope. I believe. I dream.
Eventually, I always get stuck on the How. No matter how much skill, knowledge, and expertise I acquire, the world’s complexities are always one step ahead.
But what if I switched to “We.”
We want. We need. We hope. We believe. We dream.
Suddenly, we can start finding the Whos that will help us figure out the Hows.
Words create worlds. Don’t exclude others from helping you achieve your dreams.
ht:Â Jason Brown
We’ve all experienced what it’s like to be blown away by a musical performance, an eloquent speech, or a stunning physical feat.
When experienced intermittently, it has the power to infuse us with a sense of awe and to remind us of humanity’s (and by extension, our own) tremendous #potential .
Thanks to social media, however, we are constantly bombarded by the accomplishment of others. That endless deluge transforms what might have once been feelings of inspiration into one of paralysis.
I find it helpful to remind myself in those moments that learning anything only takes 20 hours and that taking action is just a quick google search away.
Feeling inspired? Do something about it.