When you look at people you know, you sometimes wonder how much more they can really do. I’m not necessarily talking about putting in longer hours at work, or being more active in this or that group. I’m talking about how much they put into their own lives, by whatever method. Most people I’ve seen run about 60%. They get consumed by the minutia of life and soon they are devoting too much energy to the wrong things. Before long they are feeling drained, so they put forth even less and less.
What are you waiting for?
So, you’re hoarding your energy. What are you saving all that oomph for? Will saving 40% of your energy for almost all of your life really benefit you more than putting it to use now? If I were a betting man, I’d bet the other way. I’ll show you an example of why below. The problem with this is that people who follow this line of thought are not being true to themselves. Scary and difficult it may be, but you can’t let yourself be pushed away from what really matters. What is that, you ask? You tell me!
But even sorting out your priorities takes a back seat to this simple principle: Don’t hold back. I know it’s tempting, but the simple truth is that if you hold back, you are only holding yourself back. When you or your loved ones look back on this time, will they know that you gave it your all? Will they know that you were living your life to the fullest? Or will they simply know that you were around during all that time?
Face the fear.
I have personally focused on accelerating my life in the last couple years. I’d worked on being more this, or less that, for most of my life, but in the last couple of years, I decided that I wanted to accelerate my growth. I deliberately pushed myself harder than I had before. I found that I could do much more than I thought I could, but that was nothing in comparison to the way my life rapidly improved.
A small example: Recently I had a relative become deathly ill. We wanted to be there, so we left as if at the drop of a hat. This was unpaid leave for me, as I had used up my paid leave previously. My wife had some vacation time, but the trip still was very costly, and wearing on us. This was shortly after I gave up soda. The increased energy levels that I had and greater emotional stability really helped me out and that in turn allowed me to be more beneficial to those around me in that situation. Additionally, since we have both been very efficiently paying down our debts we were able to absorb what would have been a major financial hardship in the past, without breaking financial stride. All it meant in this case was that we couldn’t pay down our debts as rapidly as we’re use to.
Find what drives you.
I don’t care what it is that moves you forward, just that you find it. When you find it and you start moving forward with your life, the benefits and blessings you will see will only strengthen you. If you don’t know what that is yet, then throw yourself into what is producing results in your life now. Budget your energy for the things that improve your life – for the things that make your life extraordinary. Remember: Life is a game. Play hard.
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(Thanks to delgaudm for the image.)
