Addition and subtraction.
As we progress through life, things are added and subtracted constantly from our daily habits, patterns and movements. Many cycles and phases come and go. Some things stick with us over time, others don’t. After awhile, it’s important to take a look and understand if what we’re pouring our time and energy into is pushing us forward or holding us back. Half the battle is cutting out the noise and figuring out where we want to excel. The rest comes down to action and refinement over time.
Over the last few years, I’ve witnessed several changes not only on a global scale but in my daily life as well. These shifts in perception helped me realize where my time and energy are best served to get where I want to go. I’ve been working at my family’s garden center for over a decade now. Over the last few years, it dawned on me that even though I really enjoy the business and have been well off overall, way too much of my time was being wasted after work and during the off season stagnating with bad habits and dead end relationships. I had a bunch of ideas about how I could do more with what I had but nothing seemed to ever take shape. Just constant day dreaming and brainstorming with no attempt at action. As more time went on, I started to see the signs that I had to steer the ship in another direction. Instead of going home to watch TV, scroll on my phone, eat garbage, drink and hang around people who couldn’t see the bigger picture, I started taking matters into my own hands.
Since the beginning of last year, I began looking out for opportunities while slowly cutting out the things that were holding me back. I joined a few networks that have guided and helped me tremendously with regards to writing, online sales and training among other things. I’ve met some great people with incredible results in their fields that inspire me to do better and get to the next level. I got my first cold calling gig through one of these networks. A year later and I’ve spoken to many people in the sales space, called for two offers so far, starting a new one in a few weeks and gained wisdom and experience that has served me in many other areas of life. I started my newsletter with the help of one of these networks. I wanted to write and finally figured it was time to just start posting. So far I’ve gotten a few hundred followers on my social media accounts and crossed 100 subscribers to my newsletter a few weeks ago. These numbers are pretty laughable to some people but the progress has helped me understand that it’s possible to go further and has made my vision much clearer. I realized I was out of shape and could be much sharper health wise. I started to clean up my diet, quit drinking almost a year ago, joined a kickboxing gym and got many health tips and great guidance from people I met at the gym and online.
I wanted to share these examples from my own life on how you can use addition and subtraction to start seeing progress in the right areas. Your situation may be completely different but you can use some of the same principles and focus on getting into the right environments and meeting the right people to get better at the subjects you personally want to pursue. The key is to have a blueprint without being too rigid in the moment. Many days won’t go according to plan but when you look back since the start of the journey, those forgotten minutes and hours of effort can reap many rewards down the line.
Leverage competence and drive.
I’m in a position now where I’ve built some basic foundations in all of these areas that were just thoughts in the back of my mind until last year. The mission is clear to me moving forward and it’s time to perfect my craft at the garden center, write and post more content, dive deeper into sales, increase training frequency and continue bettering my relationships. These things relate to my specific situation but can be extrapolated and reworked with any sort of lifestyle. Find a few things you can get good at and build a life you love living. Learn to enjoy progress. I get that our dopamine receptors are fried and I’ve definitely had negative effects with this throughout the years but focus on the things that matter and act with a purpose in mind. The road won’t always be smooth but don’t let the bumps derail the whole process. It’s important to keep moving forward at all times.
Now that I’ve found some basic competence and rhythm in the subjects that I enjoy, it’s easier to get the work done while putting my own spin on things. Even if some parts of the day become boring and monotonous, there’s more of a reason to get them done. The game plan moving forward is actually much simpler as well because it’s easier to tune out the noise when there’s a mission in progress. The dots started connecting when I just put my head down and tried to figure things out along the way with the tools I had in the moment. A-Z thinking is fine for the bigger picture but it doesn’t make much sense in the moment. There are steps between where we are and where we want to be whether we like it or not. Many trials and tribulations to go through and obstacles that will throw us off course. Reaching the heights of the game depends on how well we leverage and position ourselves along the way. It’s never over until we draw that last breath.
Use time and energy wisely.
A factor that has really influenced my decisions for the better in the last few years has been increasing my faith and hope for the world after times where it seemed like all was lost. After finally reading the bible from cover to cover for the first time last year, I felt an increased sense of hope. In a world where things seem to be going down hill with outside forces pushing fear and worry, having faith that it all works out in the end adds another dimension of gratitude to each day. It’s become the glue that holds it all together even on those days where it seems like everything is going wrong.
This increased sense of awe and wonder has been a blessing. It helps put focus on the things that matter. Life is much simpler than we make it out to be. Contentment and fulfillment don’t come from outside sources of validation. They appear through walking down the path and completing mission after mission with a purpose. For every mountain we climb, there is a taller peak up ahead and a new level to reach. Once we get a sense of who we are, its time to tread in the right direction and take advantage of the opportunities that are out there. Avoid hoarding information. Knowledge needs to be applied and refined. Put the reps in and build the right systems that can get you where you want to go.
We’re only gifted so much time and energy in this world. Understand what it is you need to do with what’s been given to you. Control what you can. Make things happen. Inspire others and take care of your loved ones. Leave the rest up to God.