Why the Struggle begins today — everyday
⏰ 5 A.M. in the morning, today. You wake up long before the alarm goes off because you are believing in the good life. You know it can be yours, but you realize the key to it is a mindset of personal growth and it is time to unlock it.
True success is always made up of two halves: The Given, i.e. the circumstances you find yourself in and the Taking, the part you have to fight for, I call it the Struggle.
The Given will serve you as your starting plateau. You will find certain conditions that favor your endeavor so that you can take advantage of them or that will provoke you so that you have to overcome or transform them to get started. No matter how they might look like, always be grateful for them and never feel entitled to have them. You received them from the cosmic lottery and chance is a b*tch.
Keep in mind: the higher the starting plateau, the deeper the fall: You have less potential to grow and the risk of failure due to inexperience is higher. It’s like taking half the tour to Mount Success by helicopter. So, embrace the more challenging conditions because winning the second half of success will truly empower you.
💪Welcome to the Struggle. Many people just stop at the Given and believe they can rest on the starting plateau forever, maybe take a few more steps and call it a day, but it is pressure that forms diamonds. The Struggle always comes as an uphill battle. This is where the growth lies. What you should realize on your journey is that in many cases it is not about climbing the hill, but rather about how much you grind on your way to the top. You will celebrate milestones along the way only to realize that it is the Struggle you are grateful for, the process, not the mere results. Keep at it, stay in the game — for if the Struggle stops, you drop dead.
One of the greatest struggles in my life is keeping the balance between two life-defining aspects: My rational and my emotional side. It is a struggle as old as humanity itself. I picture the two aspects as two figures in a game: There is the lizard who ponders the fields of life always hunting for the next moment of joy, the next adventure. He sparks energy and creativity, he heats things up, but it is hard to keep him at bay. And there is the wizard who resides in a chill ivory tower overlooking the fields of life, guarding my life’s most important decisions and making sure they are sustainable. His actual master plan is to tame the lizard to exert even more control, to calm things down. Ultimately, it is their interplay, the balance between the two of them that will have an impact on success in my life. This is my struggle.
This blog series (soon on thestrugglebeginstoday.com) will accompany you on (y)our journey to the good life, on your quest for ultimate personal growth, nothing less. It is my intention to share with you the most valuable lessons I learned, mental models, tools and mindhacks to fill up your backpack on this journey.
Pick a strategy based on a method, a book, a podcast, an organization — whatever works best for you — and embark on the Struggle today. Here are some suggestions for frameworks I tried to give you a kick-start:
- Brendon Buchard — High Performance Habits
- Tony Robbins — Unlimited Power
- The Entrepreneurial Business Book Club (EBBC)
- TED — Ideas Worth Spreading
- Simon Sinek — Start with Why
- Marnick Vandebroek — Stand Up to Stand Out
Start today? Yes, today! Build up the momentum for the Struggle from Day 1 because this is where you enter the game with most energy. And what about tomorrow? The Struggle begins again tomorrow. Make everyday Day 1 for the rest of your life…
⏰ 5 A.M. in the morning, the day after. You wake up long before your alarm will go off because you are believing in the good life. Four words are in your head:
The struggle begins today.
#thestrugglebeginstoday #day1forever #growthmindset
🔊 Tell us about your struggle in the comments below, share with us your lessons learned and let us strive for the good life — together!
(Originally publish on Pulse, on September 14, 2020)
