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Self-Improvement
Trust The Process – Brick By Boring Brick
Consistency, Determination, & Resilience Always Win
Question 1: What is your goal?
Question 2: Are you consistently working on your goal?
Question 3: Are you allowing obstacles to prevent progress on your goals?
You must build up your life action by action, and be content if each one achieves its goal as far as possible – and no one can keep you from this. But there will be some external obstacle! Perhaps, but no obstacle to acting with justice, self-control, and wisdom. But what if some other area of my action is thwarted? Well, gladly accept the obstacle for what it is and shift your attention to what is given, and another action will immediately take its place, one that better fits the life you are building.” – Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 8.32
Accomplishing your goals is closer than you think. When you have a goal that seems unattainable, unrealistic, or impossible keep going. Don’t give in to negative thoughts, feelings, emotions, or self-doubt.
You’re always closer to reaching your goals than you think if you are executing the following EACH DAY:
Thinking positively about your goals
Speaking positive affirmations about your goals
Working on your goals
Reviewing your goals
Re-writing your goals
Taking your goals one step at a time
Force yourself to keep going – one step at a time, and trust the process.
Remember why you started in the first place. You won’t always feel motivated to accomplish your goal, but keep going anyways. You’ll be thankful you did when you reach the finish line of your ultimate goal.
When it seems like there is no way for you to win, trust the process, ignore what reality says to you, and listen to the desires within your heart and soul.
Whatever the mind can conceive, it can achieve. – Napoleon Hill
Beauty In The “Seeds” Metaphor
The road may seem dry
The seeds may seem like they only die
But a tree grows beneath the earth
Seeds gather beneath the earth
Something beautiful grows beneath the earth
Out of sight
Out of mind
Something grows that is so divine
Unscathed by the turmoil above the soil
The dreams, the seeds, the tree, grow steadily
Soon you’ll see, from underneath, the beauty
Because there is beauty in the seeds
The seeds are the daily actions we invest in our goals each day. Planting the seeds are equivalent to “The Process.” You have to consistently plant and care for the seeds you plant day in and day out so you can reap a tremendous crop (reach your target).
Storms (obstacles) will come. At times, insects (distractions, people, and barriers) will seem to destroy your crop (progress and effort). Rain (resources and motivation) may not be available to water your crops. But you can’t give up on the harvest (your ultimate goal); you must continue to believe that you will reap bountifully, but you must trust the process.
The Process – Nick Saban
Elite athletes in collegiate and professional sports increasingly follow a philosophy known as “The Process.” It’s a philosophy created by University of Alabama coach Nick Saban, who taught his players to ignore the big picture – important games, winning championships, the opponent’s enormous lead – and focus instead on doing minor things well – practicing with full effort and finishing a specific play, converting on a single possession.
A season lasts months, a game lasts hours, catching up might be four touchdowns away, but a single play is only a few seconds. And games and seasons are constituted by seconds.
If teams follow The Process, they tend to win. They overcome obstacles and eventually make their way to the top without ever directly focusing on the obstacles.
If you follow The Process in your life – assembling the right actions in the right order, one right after another – you too will do well. Not only that, you will be better equipped to make quick work of the obstacles along that path. You’ll be too busy putting one foot in front of the next to even notice the obstacles were there.
– The Daily Stoic, p174
Follow the process.
This content is for informational purposes only — not professional advice. Consult a qualified professional before making any major decisions.