In a world that often seeks easy rides and immediate gratification, we must learn the beauty of effort and patience. Be strong, present, and steadfast. Remember, life doesn’t always give you the circumstances and people you want; it gives you the circumstances and people you need… to learn, to grow, and to move forward.
You can’t do it all. Be mindful today and choose wisely. Say “no” to good things so you are able to say “yes” to important things. Truth be told, the quality of your life ten years from now will greatly depend on how well you respect your present priorities.The secret to getting ahead today is to focus your energy not on fixing and fighting the old, but on building and growing something new. Reset and step forward. There’s nothing about your present circumstances that prevents you from making progress, one tiny step at a time.
Think about it…
How often do you glance at your phone instead of being present with the person in front of you?
How often does the draw of comfort plague your best intentions?
How many workouts have you missed because your mind, not your body, told you that you were too tired? The answer to all three questions is probably “lots and lots” for most people. And obviously these questions can be reworked and applied to other areas of our lives too. The bottom line is that we all have patterns of thinking and behaving that hold us back.
How do we repair these faulty patterns? Daily practice, and it starts with our THINKING…
Truth be told, your mind needs to be exercised to gain strength. It needs to be worked on a daily basis to grow. If you haven’t pushed yourself in lots of small ways over time—if you always distract yourself and avoid doing the uncomfortable things—you’ll almost certainly crumble on the inevitable days that are slightly harder than expected.
So my challenge to you is this:
Choose to exercise when it would be more comfortable to sit around. Choose to create something special when it would be easier to consume something mediocre. Choose to put down the phone when it would be easier to zone out.
Mental strength truly is built through lots of small, daily victories. It’s the individual choices we make day-to-day that build our “mental strength” muscles. We all want this kind of strength, but we can’t wish our way to it. If you want it, you have to create positive daily rituals—MIND-STRENGTHENING RITUALS—in your life that reinforce what you desire.
And YES, I know that’s much easier said than done, but you are not alone on this journey. Many of us are right there with you, working hard to do the right things for ourselves.