Read This If You Want To Make Your Life Easier
Okay, sure. This is sort of a click-baity headline, but I couldn't resist.
Yesterday was a challenging day for me.
I started out exhausted. I slept in until almost 8 AM, which is not something I do.
I then volunteered my time for nearly the whole day. And I was pretty uncomfortable doing it.
I was talking to people who did not want to talk to me back. Everyone I talked to the entire day was someone who I'd never met before. I also was doing work I'd never done before, which meant that I had to learn new tricks and be proficient quickly.
Being good at stuff comes with time. A new challenge helps you develop.
But then what?
Once you're good at that new thing, you've finished developing. You're no longer challenged. Being challenged further seems really hard--and it is.
But that's the point.
Growing and developing means you're constantly in a state of being uncomfortable.
So, forget the idea of being comfortable.
If you're in shape, you're constantly in a state of some kind of soreness.
It's not that you're not recovering, you're just rotating through which muscle group or body parts are recovering and which ones are active.
So, here's the punchline:
If you want to make your life easy, don't.
If you have an easy life, it might be a sign that you aren't developing!
2 Minute Action:
Let's take 2 minutes to challenge ourselves today.
Make a phone call to a family member or colleague that you've been avoiding.
Ask your supervisor for a new kind of work, today.
Sign up for that "how to be a DJ" course you've been putting off.
The more you get out of your comfort zone, the more confident you'll be.
The pain won't go away, that's the point, but you'll be building a habit of going into the unknown and feeling confident going there.
How To Create The Urgency To Live Your Dreams
No one has ever said, "man, I'm really glad I played it safe."
No one has ever said, "dang, I'm so happy with my decision to avoid risks."
No one has ever said, "I don't regret working my whole life on someone else’s project.”
So, assuming all goes well and you live a full-length life, what will you say at the end?
Some of you already know about my Death Bed Timer.
If you’re not familiar with how this works, you can check out the page on my website:
chrisdanilo.com/timer
Here’s the quick version:
I have done a quick and dirty estimate of how much time I think I’ve got left to live.
The idea wasn’t to calculate some super accurate timeline, the idea was to have a number that looked possible and watch it tick away every day.
By bringing this Death Bed Timer into my life, I’ve forced myself to look at the reality of my temporary existence.
It’s created urgency, which is something that motivates people to take action.
I urge you to make your own estimate and look your Death Bed Timer right in the face.
It will help you reprioritize things in your life.
Yes, admittedly, it’s a little stressful—but looking at this clock on a regular basis will push you from your comfort zone until you’re comfortable with being uncomfortable.
2 Minute Action
Do a quick estimate. How long do people like you usually live?
How long have you already lived?
Subtract.
Divide by months, weeks, or days to get the readout you want.
This 2 minutes could absolutely change your life.
How I Conquered Multiple 100 Hour Weeks In A Row
It was another 100-hour work week.In fact, it was the 5th one like it in a row.
I didn't think it was possible before I did it. How could it be?
At a 60-80 hour work week, you sacrifice the extras. You sacrifice things like social engagements, lunch hour, TV, and weekends.At an 80-90 hour work week, you sacrifice the basics. You sacrifice things like exercise, time with your family/partner, and the last of any personal time left.At the 90-100 hour week mark, you sacrifice the essentials, like sleep.Seems ridiculous to only have 5 hours of sleep per night for 5 weeks in a row, right?It is.
But there's so much more work to be done!
Does anyone else have a voice in their head that says this??Sometimes you can't work smarter. Sometimes the only person who can get it done is you!Guess what?
There is always an infinite amount of work.
If you are obsessed with social impact and making continuous improvements, you'll never get to a place where you've done enough work to stop working.Even if you somehow are the 1% of people that figure it out, if you're like me, you'll get bored really fast.
So, give up that idea.
Even retirement can stir up the urge to volunteer or be helpful in other ways.
The mantra of living a productive life focused on social impact is about being happy with the pace and intensity.
It's up to you to constantly push the comfort zone of your own intensity and pace. This means that if you're constantly pushing your comfort zone, you're never really in it.I think you get the point.
Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
You will not grow strong enough to achieve your dreams without internalizing this belief.Understand your needs for rest, relaxation, re-focusing and whatever else you need. It's your responsibility to understand yourself and take care of your needs.It's your responsibility to understand how much sleep you need to avoid making excessive, stupid mistakes.It's your responsibility to understand how much you can take on to maintain long-lasting productivity.It's your responsibility to understand your weaknesses and discomforts so you can conquer them and grow stronger.
2 Minute Action
What's a part of your job that makes you feel really uncomfortable?What's something you really are not looking forward to doing today?What's something that you've been avoiding for some time?You guessed it. Make it happen.You've got 2 minutes to set up the conversation, push the button, or ask that embarrassing question.Everyone has 2 minutes to take action.