It always seems like new problems pop up every time we solve an old one. We can't get rid of this problem loop, but we can improve the quality of our problems!
It always seems like new problems pop up every time we solve an old one. We can't get rid of this problem loop, but we can improve the quality of our problems!
“Pick a fight” not, with some random person on the street, but rather with your own life problems. Ever feel so overwhelmed with all the stuff you need to get done? Or gotten frustrated thinking about just life in general? Most people believe that if they had all the money in the world, they could solve all their problems and be happy. But this wouldn’t solve our problems, it would only change them. Truly finding out the key to one’s own happiness requires a great deal of introspection and dedication to eliminating the noise that distracts you from what you really want to care about in your life. So, if you’re listening to this and thinking to yourself, man I don’t know if I can change, remember, it’s all about having a growth mindset, and it’s never too late to start discovering your purpose.
Everyone living probably didn’t have to go too long before realizing that nothing desirable in life comes easy. You have to save up to buy a new cell phone, have to consistently exercise to see results, etc. The problem is we humans are wired to continue to crave more. “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.” We aren’t likely to be satisfied with what we have if we continue to focus on what others have and we don’t. Instead of fantasizing over all the stuff you wish you could have or be, hone in on what you actually don’t mind working for. Because the thing is, many of us visualize what it would be like to stand on top of summit but forget about the hard climb we need to take to get there. That’s where picking a fight becomes an important life philosophy. The moment we stop focusing on having everything, and instead choose what is worth fighting for, we can finally start to live with intent purpose.
Life seems to be a never-ending cycle of problems. But that’s a good thing. Without problems our lives would be pretty boring. I mean, the rush of happiness we feel from accomplishing something and solving a problem is the reason we continue living! The secret though, to avoid getting too overwhelmed in a world of constant problems, is to choose problems that you enjoy solving. Because there are struggles to attaining any goal, what lightens the load is figuring out what you don’t mind struggling for. Seems difficult, I know. But reading books by people like Mark Manson, who writes self-help books, made me realize that most people, including me, are still trying to discover what they want to struggle for. What happens when we do start to identify our niche, is that the quality of our personal problems improves. Because we actually are working towards something that interests us and picking fights that we want to fight. You want your problems to feel worth it. Maybe, our cumulative life purposes should be struggling to improve your struggle.
Now you’re thinking, jeez, so what do I have to do to get there? What decisions should I make? In a perfect world, there would be some kind of aptitude test that would tell you exactly what you are meant to do with your life. But unfortunately, the human maze of feelings and personalities is too complex for that. So, we’re left to make some difficult decisions. Something to keep in mind though is that the worst thing you could possibly do is to make no decision at all. I’m sure you’ve heard it a million times - but only because it’s true - that it’s better to try, fail, and learn something new than to stay in one spot for too long. There are so many things to care about in the world, experience as many as you can and find what really resonates with you.
For today’s bit I want to ask you a really bizarre question, “How can you better embarrass yourself?” We can’t live without embarrassment. The only thing we can do is like Mark Manson said to do which is to embrace embarrassment. Because embarrassment might just mean you’re on the path to doing something that scares you, which is probably a good sign that you need to be doing it.
The bottom line is that although not all of us can be lottery winners, if we start picking our fights, we can at least say we’ve struggled to find a deeper meaning to life. Perhaps struggling, to improve our struggle, is the best thing we can do for ourselves any day.