The past twelve months have been challenging not just for myself, but for many of you reading this as well. Let that sink in. If it resonates with you, take a minute to stop and just acknowledge this. You’re not alone.
Podcasts, movement, texting friends and a healthy slice of humble pie have all helped me to cope. I’m sharing the self-talk that I’ve used as a result of listening to an endless loop of The Tim Ferriss Show, The Tony Robbins Podcast and reading books from Leo Buscaglia, Patience Gray, Marina Abramović and soaking in the work of Torbjørn Rødland. These are the characters, along with my dear friends and family, who have helped me to assign meaning to the past few months.
Here are my learnings:
Live in the moment. Realize that everything is in a temporary state. Allow yourself to deeply experience your existence in the world. State your feelings and needs and expectations as they arise.
And be present enough to know if your daily actions, the people around you and how you interpret your world are helping or hurting you. Think about the existence that you have created and the existence that you want to have -
Then be brave enough to enact change to reconcile your vision and the present.
Rather than try to overhaul your life, work from your strengths.
Ask for help.
Always express gratitude.
Take care of yourself physically and emotionally because you want to give your best to those around you and it’s impossible to do that if you are tapped out.
So - turn off the noise. Ask yourself “is this real” when you feel yourself reacting to stimulus and if it’s not real, change how you interact with the stimulus or remove the stimulus.
You do you. Value your unique existence and give it form (with food or fabric or words or movement or something). Think about the ways you try to mask yourself and if they are serving you and your world. Stay curious and let your personal interests guide you.
Live for something larger than yourself.
Just keep loving. Choose love.
And lest this list seem too passive, here’s a classic Tony Robbins quote about performance:
We often overestimate what we can do in a year but underestimate what we can do in a lifetime.