BE AWARE
Some say getting started is the hardest part of anything. I disagree.
Finishing is the hardest part. Finishing is the acceptance that this, whatever it may be, is going to be put out into the world and be judged. And it will not be judged lightly. But what if that’s just your perception?
What if the thing you created was just an experiment you had low expectations for, and all of the criticism was merely feedback? Part of a feedback loop, that quite frankly in the past, was primarily positive.
What if the only person holding you back from putting great material and ideas out into the world was you?
This year, Kobe Bryant was on the Lewis Howes Podcast (Link), it was again another highly perspective shifting episode. Kobe created a podcast/story series called ‘The Punies’ designed for kids, with some of the best stories to teach kids various lessons. It’s amazing. My kids, wife and I love the episodes, and whatever he did, it makes kids stop in their tracks and listen.
One of the episodes is called ‘Be Aware’ and it’s all about awareness. Listen to it yourself even if you don’t have kids and I guarantee you will be entertained.
Over the last couple months I’ve been working my way through the book ‘Changeology’ by John C. Norcross. Working my way through it, fighting against the habit of cranking through books to get to the next one on the list. That needs to change, hence Changeology.
Side note, this was figured out while starting the book… once I became aware of it.
Awareness also happens to be one of the parts of the ‘Psych Phase’ of the Changeology 5 step process.
The most efficient way for humans to do anything it to do it unconsciously, or subconsciously, as it uses less calories and energy. Brain power takes a lot of calories or fuel, which back when we lived on the savanna, before mass farming, were very precious. So we’re wired to do normal tasks for a certain period of time, then they become essentially hard wired, so that we do them subconsciously, using less energy.
Like when you see a notification pop up on your phone, your Pavlovian response is to immediately look. Then, depending on what you’ve trained yourself to do, you either pick up your phone and address said notification, or ignore it and get back to it later. Or maybe you never get back to it.
Whatever your response is though, you created it.
You trained yourself to have that response. There were not iPhones when you were born. America Online and 28.8 MB dial up was not even created when most of you reading this were born.
Being conscious of your actions is a hard reality to face. Try it. For the rest of the day, or the week, try to be aware of your unconscious actions.
Many of us had New Years Resolutions. What were yours? Were they the same as the last 5 years?
What are you hard wired to do that is moving you further from those objectives?
Try this- take 2 or 3 things you’re working to change, and do not try to change them.
Instead, study yourself, your thoughts and your actions around those three goals. Try to determine your unconscious actions. Do you randomly grab something to eat, now that you think about it, without even thinking about it? When you have to do something that causes you stress, do you shut down, or do you gravitate towards an action or another task?
It’s been quite some time since I’ve posted anything on here, but it’s not because I haven’t been writing or putting together ideas.. It’s because something has been holding me back from putting them out there. And it’s not just me.
So that goal or thing you’re trying to do… It’s not just you.
Take stock, be aware, make a plan and start a different path towards making changes.
It may take you a few months, or a year, or even 10 years. But if you’ve noticed lately, 10 years really flies by. So never write that goal off.