If You Want The Life You Deserve, Then Live It
We're all caught up on thinking of the past, what we want in the future — which takes away from the present.
It's the detriment of an overactive mind. It pulls us away from how we're living today.
Pursuing our goals, we're bombarded by distractions.
Thousands of thoughts enter our brain and bounce around like a ping pong ball.
Our mental overdrive leads to increased stress, anxiety, and depression — all of which decrease your quality of life.
It stops you from living your life.
I'm a victim of this mental Ferrari, accelerating from one thought to another in less than one second.
I blame it on ADD, but is it? Or have I just lost control of my mind?
We all struggle with entering the mental "zone," focusing on one task, or living in the present moment.
We allow our minds to dictate how we're living our life, robbing us of living it.
We're trapped in our heads.
Live Not For Yesterday, Or Tomorrow, But Today
As I train for a half-marathon, Wes, a trainer for Aaptiv, reminds me of what it means to be present.
When I train, my mind races with endless thoughts — an idea, what I need to do later in the day, a spark of instant genius.
It all pulls me away from what I'm there to do, in the present moment — train. Nothing else matters during training.
"The past and the future aren't a reality, only the present."
According to Patrick McKeown,
"A skittering mind, jumping from thought to thought, is a leech to productivity, creative endeavor, and quality of life. Having a focused mind is probably the greatest asset in every walk of life, whatever your occupation or lifestyle."
Maximize the quality of life by quieting the mind, being present, and living your life to the fullest.
Most of us live a boring, redundant life, trapped in our mind by overactive mental chatter.
We follow the same route to work, don't take risks, and stay complacent. We swipe through social media, wish we had something we don't, and the vicious cycle repeats, day in and day out.
People are afraid to try something different. Of course, this doesn't mean flushing your life down the toilet; instead, live it.
You need to take more risks. Don't be afraid of making mistakes. Mistakes make for incredible stories.
Failure is a blessing. Be bold in your life.
Learn to public speak and get on a stage with fear tickling deep in your belly. Negotiate with a barista over a fifty-cent discount. Work remotely from Alaska for a month with your family.
Several years back, there was a conference in Dubai. My oldest son was six months at the time. Instead of following the norm, where parents travel without their family, my wife and I decided we'd all go together.
The sixteen-hour flight there went fast and was easy. The sixteen-hour flight back home that left at three in the morning was a nightmare.
My son persistently crawled across the aisle to a woman who happened to be sneezing all over herself. Five days after our return, I got the cold.
In these moments, we have many incredible stories, infusing our life as a family, with my career — which is all the same.
It's in these moments, you find what living is truly about. It's not about staying complacent. It's about daring to try new things and never negotiating with your rules for living.
Explore new ideas, places, and most of all, new skills. Live your life to the fullest. The past is forever gone, and the future will never arrive. All you get is today.
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