Do you wake up and do the same thing every weekday? Jump out of bed, mindlessly rush to work, work your 8/10/12 hour jobs, perhaps get dinner with a friend or a workout in, fall back asleep and then repeat? In those 24 hours, did you challenge yourself? How did you think about improving yourself, even if it was in the smallest of ways? Could you have woken up 10 minutes earlier to give another shot at that meditation practice which never seems to “clear your mind” and so you decided to give up? Could you have read 10 minutes of a book before going to bed, so that inch by inch you end up having a stack of books you’ve read? Could you maybe just have made your bed this morning? Easiest of all: could you have smiled at a stranger today? And yes, you have the time to do all of this.
Ray Dalio says that true pleasure in life comes from struggling. You work towards your goals, you fail, you get back up, you accomplish your goal and then you move on to the next challenge. It’s about constantly evolving. Each day adds up. Are you using each day to work towards these short-term and long-term goals?
Challenge yourself everyday. Use the power of momentum and compounding. It builds up. You will look back at a year (even 2/4/6 months) from now and notice the difference. Create memories. Stop being complacent.
Recommended book: Off the Clock: Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done by Laura Vanderkam (to make best use of your time)