Aug 14 in Mind
All Aboard!
Think of your life as a series of modes of transportation. Sometimes you’re walking, sometimes running, biking, or swimming. This can be both literal and figurative.
Where is your plane headed? Who’s driving your boat? How many different trains are you riding on right now?
Every person you meet can push you a little further down your path. Each day is an opportunity to move the needle a bit more than yesterday.
Where did you start? At zero. That’s where we all begin, in every area of life. We start different categories at different times, competing in multiple races simultaneously. But how many races do you want to compete in? Can you compete in many and win? Yes, but not without sacrifice. If you only focus on one, it will likely progress further, but will you enjoy limiting yourself to just one?
Imagine each area of your life as a car on a road. You can’t easily drive more than one car at a time, right? You drive one car for a while, then switch to another, and so on. This is what our lives look like, moving multiple vehicles down the timeline of life.
Consider your favorite athlete—let’s take Cameron Hanes, for example. How many hours does he spend training for hunts or practicing with his bow? Many more than most of us ever will. He pushes himself a little further every day with consistent and intentional practice. But he doesn’t do much outside of that. In his book Endure, he discusses the significant sacrifices he’s made to pursue his dreams. Imagine how long it would take you to catch up with his experience!
Let me share a few of the races I’m competing in, and how I rate myself on a scale from 1-10. A 1 means I’ve just started, and a 10 means I’ve perfected it. I’m training for an IRONMAN (3), starting my own business (5), buying land and building a house (6), getting ready to have my first child (2), lifting weights every day (9), and reading and praying daily (8). Every aspect of my life is something I can improve. But which ones am I prioritizing? Are they the ones I want to be prioritizing? I’d love to add playing guitar to the mix, but the other items take precedence right now.
I could break these categories down further. Let’s look at my business. I’m striving to be a solopreneur, and there are multiple facets involved. I’m writing and creating content (7), advertising (4), managing social media and marketing (6), and working on tech and integration (8). You get the point. If I want my business to get closer to a 10, I need to work on each of these categories and seek out people slightly ahead of me to help me improve.
I want to work on many things simultaneously, and I’m okay with that. I also understand that I likely won’t be the best in the world at any of these things because I’m spreading myself thin; I’m riding too many trains at once!
While you’re busy transporting yourself through life, you can help bring others up to your level too. After all, how did yo get where you are? Did someone teach you? Provide the content online you learned from?
Don’t assume you have nothing to offer and don’t take without giving in return! You can encourage and educate someone to your level of knowledge, or you can choose to discourage them, keeping them plateaued. Which approach do you think will benefit you in the long run?
If you’re intentional about improving one or two categories consistently over time, you’ll get where you’re headed. Be patient, focus on your goal, and keep moving forward!
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All Aboard!
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