Life can get big and busy and distracting really, really fast!
I think it is important that we practice the basics every, single day. It is important that we practice the key fundamentals every, single day. By doing so, we build a strong foundation and we create within ourselves, and in our immediate, physical world, a consistent, growth-inducing, safe, healthy, environment in which to live. We can get ahead in our lives much more quickly by mastering the basics, rather than being continuously distracted by all of the flashy accomplishments and accolades.
Sometimes, at work, when new employees arrive after training, they hurry through their work as quickly as they can to produce as much as the seasoned employees. They want to prove they are more valuable than all of the OTHER new employees. They become progressively stressed, frustrated, and angry, as they strive to prove themselves better producers by getting better numbers. Inevitably, they create more problems, make more mistakes, and cost the company more and more money, when the goal is to LOOK good, rather than taking their time to build a strong foundation of knowledge and skills, and actually BEING good. Life is the same way.
In a numbers-based society, where we are trained that it is acceptable for others to tell us our worth and value based upon numbers and metrics, it is easy to get caught up in how we look, rather than who and what we actually are. How does anyone measure things like honesty, work ethic, a growth mindset, a high level of consistent integrity, empathy, kindness, compassion, having a positive impact upon the attitudes of others, consistency in influencing others to be their best self and always do their best in all they do, and practical leadership skills? Does it come because of a title, or a piece of paper proving an education has been acquired? How does anyone truly measure the consistent progress someone is making on the inside, while they are doing the truly hard work in the areas of self-development and self-improvement, while juggling a life of raising children as a single parent, navigating the dating world, taking classes at night, and trying to evolve and promote themselves in the work place?
What works for one person may not work for everyone. That is normal. That is okay! We are all different and unique. We can all find the things that work best for us in our own lives. Through experimentation with different experiences, mindsets, and beliefs, we will quickly discover and learn what is best for us, as individuals. Each of us are on a journey in this life and we must all find our own way.
The best way I have found is to learn through the help of mentors and teachers. Anyone can be a mentor and a teacher. Some of my favorite mentors are dead, but they had the foresight and wisdom to record their helpful words and wise ideas for others before they passed on. We can seek out our own mentors.
Reminder to self:
Seek out mentors. Research them. Decide what your strengths are and what you want to become, and then find the people who have done it already. Shadow them. Follow them. Mirror them. Learn from them. Take from them the good and desirable, that you appreciate and are grateful for, and apply it all into your own life and let it work for you. ANYTHING someone else has done can be repeated and done by us.
Decide what YOUR basics are that you will live your life by. Define what YOUR fundamentals are. Practice them every day.
Some of my basics I have decided to practice daily and adopt into my daily routine are:
- Kindness. Adherence to the Golden Rule. Empathy, seeking to understand, and compassion.
- Always upgrading in EVERY area of life.
- Remembering WHAT I TRULY AM, as I continue to work towards upgrading the WHO I identify as while in this body.
- Self-appreciation, self-acceptance, and self-love.
- Practicing Gratitude.
- Reading, listening to, and watching inspirational material. Spending as much time as I can with people who push me out of my comfort zone and make me want to become a better version of myself than I was yesterday. I once heard we are the sum total of these things.
- Meditation and visualization.
- Proper eating habits and good nutrition.
- Exercise of some kind. Anything is better than nothing, even a walk around the block.
- Reviewing my personal goals.
- Positive Affirmations.
- Breathing techniques, like box breathing, or the Wim Hof meathod.
- Adding value to others. Anything is better than nothing. Even a simple smile or a quick hello, can make a huge difference in someone’s day.
Today I will think about and consider what the basics are for me. If I haven’t already, I will write them down, look at them often, and keep things simple and easy in my life by practicing them daily. By doing so I will habitually and consistently create an environment of success for myself. I will start small, keep things easy, find what works for me, and keep working at it.
Tai Lopez has a great interview about mentors and the importance of them.
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Remember: Mindset matters. Character counts. That which we choose to consistently focus on is what EXPANDS in our lives. WE CREATE our realities.