master the art of the inner-b*tch slap
A drunken & brilliant poet once said-
“Find what you love & let it kill you.”
I say- ‘figure out what's important & master the art of the inner bitch slap.’
disciplined architects don't ride backwards horses with dull saws
- an aphorism for figuring out what's important & creating your perfect morning routine.
There is a tale of an old wise man who came across a young feller sawing feverishly at a large oak tree in the woods-
The old man asked “what are you doing, son?”
The young fella barks impatiently at the old wise man-
“I must saw down this tree, stack the wood & make it home all before dark”
“That's quite a load of work you've got there.” The wise man replied.
“I have been at it for over 5 hours & still have so much yet to do.”
After having a look at the man's sweat soaked shirt and the dull blade of the saw wedged into the tree- the wise man suggested-
“Maybe you ought to have a break, sharpen that saw, regain your strength & stamina. I'm sure it would go alot faster if you did.”
“I don't have time to sharpen the saw! I'm too busy sawing!” says the fool emphatically.
[a parable for the way many of us attack life]
We are too busy, we don't have the time to do things like exercise and prepare meals. That's just a distorted paradigm. We're just like the fool with the dull saw.
We are consistently inconsistent with these high leverage activities only because they are simply not urgent to us. Until they are.
If we fail to make time for our health and wellness when it's not urgent, we shall be forced to make time for our illness as the natural result of our neglect.
[Order of importance is important]
DON'T PUT THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE
The cart is all of life's responsibilities.
The horse represents your physical body- your health & wellbeing.
Just as the cart is dependent on the horse to pull it from the front.
All of your responsibilities are dependent on your health and wellbeing.
Not the other way around.
Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.
-GOETHE
Listen to your INNER AUTHORITY
We are the instruments of our own performance. [the horse to our own cart]
Morning routines are about creating autonomy & environmental design- figuring out what's important- because when shit is important to us, we find a way to make it happen.
Making sure our horse is in front of the cart & our saw is sharp …getting our head out of our ass;
We must get out of our own way, so we can become the architect of our own world, not just an incessant consumer existing in a world that others have created for us.
You are not here to merely gratify impulses and consume, but to contribute & serve a higher purpose. So set yourself up right- mentally & physically.
- Judge things and people for yourself.
- Question what you think and why you feel a certain way.
- Become active & follow your own path.
- Embrace your uniqueness.
An established morning routine is your chance to integrate high leverage activities that will bring you to the ‘sharpest’ version of yourself every day, so you can serve that higher purpose.
The body & mind are so intertwined that it is impossible to separate their effects on us.
How you fuel yourself greatly impacts how you carry yourself [pull your cart] through life. -Development of the body enhances & influences both work capacity & quality in very direct ways.
[Become a disciplined architect to design a better environment]
It is said that our environment is the invisible hand that shapes human behavior- id reckon because the primary job of the brain is to adjust our behaviors accordingly with our environments.
That same hand is quite useful for smacking your inner bitch when you find yourself making excuses…this is discipline snapping us out of the “wishful thinking” phase & into the “take action” phase. There are natural laws that govern health & longevity- mother nature is a ruthless disciplinarian who doesn't give a shit about your excuses.
-Discipline your environment
-Discipline yourself
-& the world won't have to
Because unless we manipulate our surroundings, we have as much control over what we think and do as we have over the muscles of our heart.
[Momentum is your knockout punch]
Gurus call it habit stacking
I call it common sense principles-
Objects in motion tend to stay in motion;
We tend to decide what to do & how to do it based on what we just finished doing.
Diet & Exercise are your 1-2 combo to enhance your work capacity & quality simultaneously.
The advantage that natural momentum creates from one behavior into the next is your knockout punch.
- Figure out the most important things-
- put them first
- create momentum with them
…because when things are important, you will find a way to make it happen.
When it's not- you will find an excuse.
-Don't ride a horse backwards with a dull saw.
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