Are you an achiever? Are you constantly pushing yourself to grow and evolve?
If you're like me, then the answer to the above is a resounding yes. Let's continue…
Do you often find yourself stressed or exhausted?
Be completely honest…
When was the last time you did absolutely nothing?
Now when I say absolutely nothing I don't mean procrastinating on Facebook, but consciously not doing anything and being 100% ok with it. If I lost you, I ask that you bear with me as I take you through a secret of life that wasn't clear to me until recently.
Think about what makes life worth living. It's not the achievements and trophies or the amount of money you make, but rather the moments where you felt on top of the world, where you felt fulfilled, where you felt loved and were giving love to those around you. That's what life is about!
If your journey is one of constant go-go-go and pushing yourself hard, you'll have a dampened experienced when those moments arrive. Or worse, you don't even recognize it because you're so caught up. STOP.
Stop thinking that you'll be happy only if you have the result and achievement. Stop trying to compare yourself to others. Stop thinking that you have something to prove to others. Stop it right now and start to GO INSIDE. Relax and fill yourself with the joy of being alive. Focus on how far you've come and how grateful you are to have come this far. In society today the model of life fulfillment is a one-dimensional axis ranging from complete laziness to multi-tasking-no-time-wasting-action-taking. And it's flawed. It correlates fulfillment with action.
Meeting local people in my trips throughout the world I am often astounded at how relaxed and happy most people are. And trust me, it's not their level of income or achievements. It's about the little things they take in: lying in the sun watching the waves crash, sitting in the old city enjoying a glass of wine, waking up to the warming sound of distant church bells.
Look, I'm not asking you to drop everything and become a monk just so you can be fulfilled in life. That's not your path. What I'm suggesting instead is that whatever your path, be present to enjoy life's moments. That's the first part of this, and incredible authors like Dan Millman and Eckhart Tolle explore this further in The Way of the Peaceful Warrior and The Power of Now.
The second part is geared more towards your path and process: Relax and be patient. If you're consistently doing the right things, and taking time to just enjoy life, you'll eventually get to your destination – with a big smile. And in moments where you have to turn things up a notch, you'll have more units of “life fulfillment” to go above and beyond what anyone thought possible.
Oliver Kahn is one of the best goalkeepers of our time. The man is the epitome of drive, focus, and success. In the late 90s he was a great goalie, but he had many problems as well. He regularly got into ‘aggressive exchanges' with opposing players. He was arrogant and without much joy in his life. Now despite this he was ‘achieving'. But in 1999 something happened – after a crazy year of countless incidents and zealous action-taking on his part, he reached the Champions League Final with his team where he experienced the worst defeat of his career. Later he mentioned this day as a turning point in his life: “I realised I had been a machine, a motor always running in red-alert ravs. I felt burnt-out. I had paid a price for my obsessiveness. I began to understand that there are other things in life than just breathlessly chasing your aims.” Now I could go on talking about this man – suffice it to say, he went on to win the Champions League and many other trophies later in his career, and found a joy and fulfillment that he never had before.
Reaching mastery in life is only hard if you make it. It can be a very enjoyable and fulfilling process. Take consistent action, follow through, but also take time off. Relax and have the certainty that it will happen. And enjoy your life now, not 6 months from now when X, Y, and Z happens. But RIGHT NOW.
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