Being self aware and having introspect, can ignite the passion to bring you closer that all you want and want to achieve. Take a moment in your day, and look at your life. Look at your recent behaviors, actions, decisions, relationships, career…whatever the items are that are most important to you. In each one of those instances, look at where you are and where you want to be. Focus and ignore any ugly, souring thought that breaks in…any thought that is of justification, blame, or is an excuse.
If you look at yourself as a witness, like you are watching yourself in a movie, you will see small things that you can be better at and want to be better at…maybe it’s that you need to spend less time on the phone and more time with your kids or Love…maybe it‘s that if you are sad and stressed, you can see it and tell yourself to get off your own a$$ and create the life you want. You can be your own critique in a productive way, if you choose to do better vs wallow in it. YOU know that you are better than what you are in so many areas, so compete with that PAST and lesser version of you… YOU can and get to WIN against that unacceptable past version of yourself. YOU can take responsibility for your life and BEAT that past lesser version of yourself…YOU CAN get out there and WIN.
This passion and self awareness can inspire you and light the fire needed create positive change. This can inspire you be in the know of what’s messed up in your life…to know your ‘enemy’. Then you can strategize how to defeat this past lesser version of you. You can create a plan and attack it so you can WIN. BEAT DOWN those silly things you used to do THAT HOLD YOU BACK, and be the best version of yourself AND create the you and the life that YOU WANT.
Here is an example I have from my life…for a year I didn’t work out…I lost my drive…my fire…as silly as it is. I felt squishy. I didn’t look the same in my clothes. My daughter saw me being lazier and have less energy. Well, as dorky as it is, I happened to watch a Rocky movie…with commercial breaks…ugh…but during a commercial, I self analyzed myself and where I was and why, vs where I want to be and who I want to be.… I realized that I want to be in shape. I want to teach my daughter by example what self respect and discipline is. I want to age in a way that allows me to engage life fully, for as long as possible…I WANT TO KICK MY OWN LESSER VERSION OF ME’S A$$…I NEED TO BE MY OWN DRILL SERGEANT…I NEED TO WIN AGAINST MYSELF, just like Rocky (hehe), who may fall down, but stands up to WIN.
ROUND 1
Woohoo!!!! YO ADRIENNE!!! Let’s do this… I get to the gym…it sucks…man this sucks…I know thay it’s hard to break my first sweat and until then it’s harder to workout…so as I mumble and whine to myself, and hear my ‘lesser version of me’ thoughts say, “just leave…this blows…go get ice cream and treat yourself…and hey, you have so much (nonsense) to do, and you can always come back another day”. That’s when competition with myself kicks in…I realize I am justifying and blaming, and tell myself that nothing good in life comes without work…I remind myself what I decided watching Rocky’a eye swell up like a gross water balloon. I tell myself that I AM BETTER THAN THESE BS THOUGHTS that hold me back…BOOM! I get on the treadmill.
ROUND 2
I start running and again think to myself, “this sucks a$$”… I need to compete harder to win!! I run harder to beat my own thought down and WIN… another win…WOOHOO!!
ROUND 3
It‘a now time to hit weights knowing I JUST WON and began my first sweat…I grab the dumbbells and again think to my pathetic version of myself, “this sucks, I’m so much weaker than I was…look at my weird a$$ body in this tank top…”…blah blah blah…
STFU I tell my weak side of me. I yell at myself, “you pay $20/mo (hehe) for this gym membership, so USE IT!!” and I grab the weights and push through…while I push out a wobbly rep number 9, I think, “this sucks, I am so much weaker than I was…I likely smell…I deserve an ice cream treat…I’m lifting less than that guy…”…AGAIN I tell myself that I’m no whoosy…and STFU!!! I push out one or two more reps…TODAY I WON. Today I beat down my lesser side of myself. I get in my car, and pump up the music and sing my way home as though I conquered the world…I may be a dork, but I WON!! Woohoo! ROUND 4 & BEYOND
I let that DAY’s WIN be my footing, and each day I don’t want to go to the gym, I get DRAG that weak side of myself into the car anyway…I kidnap that weak a$$ version of me and I get to the gym…Every negative thought of this past version of me is my competition…I will WIN again. Every time that weak version of me speaks up, is my trigger to win and push harder… Day 1, I won…I can and will do it again…then Day 2, Day 3…Month 1…Month 2… I compete with ugly version of myself to drive myself into success…
This is one example of so many scenarios that this could work in…career, relationships, learning something new, fixing something…FIND YOUR FIRE AND BEAT YOUR OWN A$$…You care about things, so show it!!
’There is nothing you cannot do when you put your mind to it’ is a simple cliche…yet the depth behind it is profound. You put your mind into a passion that drives you and a plan that delivers, and compete with the lesser version of you in any one thing and execute and WIN!! Every small battle won is one step closer to glory…
- Sean Michtavy
