Stop disappointing yourself: A 3-step guide on harmony
Alignment assignment
1 - Past vs Present self
The writer who doesn’t write isn’t a writer.
The artist who doesn’t make art isn’t an artist.
The vegan that eats occasional animal products, isn’t a vegan.
The day we graduate from university we stop calling ourselves a student.
Many of our other identities persist, at least in our minds.
We cling to ideas of ourselves that have nothing to do with the reality of our present-day existence.
Just because we have potential skills and enjoyment in the practice of something. If we do not practice it we are no longer a practitioner.
If you haven’t run in months, you are no longer a runner.
If you want to be a runner, start running again.
Lesson 1 - Kill ideas of your old self and live in reality. If you don’t like it, change it
2 - Future vs Present self
The entrepreneur that doesn’t make any revenue, isn’t entrepreneurial.
The influencer without any followers has no influence.
The charity that talks about what it’s doing and takes more resources than it delivers, is not charitable.
You do not become a black belt in Karate by declaring it so, it must be earned through hard work and not big words.
It is not enough to want something, we must be willing to do what is required to get it.
It is so enticing to get ahead of ourselves and live in the future, we can brush past all the problems and difficulties we don’t enjoy required to get there.
“If you don't want to live the lifestyle, then release yourself from the desire. To crave the result but not the process, is to guarantee disappointment.” - James clear
Lesson 2 - Forget ideas of your future self that do not align with actions your present self wants to do.
3 - Speaking vs Being heard
We all want to be heard. Feeling listened to is a fundamental human need.
The secret of public speaking is having something to say. If you look at guests on podcasts it is obvious who people want to hear:
The adventurer who cycled across the world is more interesting than the person who read their book.
The Olympian is more interesting than the person who watched them on TV.
The founder is more interesting than the employee.
You don’t necessarily need to be this extreme but you can still learn from the example.
If you want to interest people, it starts with being interesting.
What you want to have done and what you want to do can be very different. When these two exist in harmony your words and actions align.
Put time into things you want to do instead of talking about things you want to have done.
If your words are bigger than your actions they mean nothing.
After all, it is better to play a good game than to talk a good game.
Lesson 3 - Actions are louder than words. Always have actions bigger than your words.