NUMBER 8: Comparison is the thief of joy.
Most of what you see on people’s social media is only their highlight reel.
They’re showing their best and hiding their worst.
So please…
don’t compare your behind the scenes to their carefully curated and edited moments.
Instead, focus on your own unique journey because the only competition that matters is the person you were yesterday.
Focus on outdoing your past self and you will flourish.
And remember this: what makes you different is a superpower.
You were born with unique gifts, talents and skills.
Discover what these are and share them with the world.
There is no competition for being who you were meant to be because there is no one else here to do exactly what you are here to do in the way that you do it.
As Robert Greene wrote in his book Mastery: “We are a one time phenomenon in the universe.
Our exact genetic makeup has never occurred before, nor will it ever be repeated.” Number 9: Quit worrying about things you can’t control.
Too many of us attach our emotional well-being to things that are outside of our control.
So for example, validation from other people and relying on an event happening before we feel a certain emotion.
When this happens, you outsource your happiness to someone or something outside of your control.
When you focus on what is in your control, however small, you become empowered and energized.
Inner peace comes from accepting what you can’t control and focusing your energy instead on what you can.
This is why the journey is always better than the destination.
And when you discover who you truly are, you become less reliant on external validation for your self-worth.
This leads nicely onto…
Number 10: People don’t care about you as much as you think.
Harsh but true.
People are too busy with their own lives, so don’t expect validation from others and don’t worry about what they think about you.
What stops so many of us living the life we want is this need for validation and approval from others.
Let go of this worry about what other people think and you will feel lighter, more focused and surprise yourself with the progress you will be able to make.
Number 11: Embrace a white belt mentality.
One of the greatest skills you can develop in a rapidly changing world is the ability to adapt to whatever the world throws your way so that you can thrive over the long term.
And this skill is driven by your ability to remain an eternal student.
For as the futurist Alvin Toffler remarked: “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.” This is why your real education begins when formal education ends, because life teaches you the wisdom you cannot gain from education alone.
So stretch your mind, take on projects that challenge you and pursue the things you are curious and passionate about.
One hour a day is all it takes.
We all have the same 24 hours in a day yet somehow the idea of using just one of those hours to learn something new feels monumental for a lot of us.
One hour a day, however, is enough to learn a new skill, develop a passion, or build a foundation for something life changing.
Let me demonstrate with some numbers.
One hour a day becomes 7 hours a week, a full working day of learning something new.
One hour a day becomes 30 hours a month, the equivalent of an entire module of a university course.
And one hour a day becomes 15 full days focused on your learning over the course of a year.
Just imagine the progress you would make in that time. (To be continued)/PN
