If It's Not Worth Going All-In, It's Not Worth Your Time
...the greatest assets in your life demand your undivided attention
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And this will be true for your life’s work, your life’s relationships including your partner or spouse, your life’s learning of knowledge and wisdom.
I was recently reading The Almanack of Naval Ravikant when I came across the following:
When you find the right thing to do, when you find the right people to work with, invest deeply.
The larger part of the points he was making was learning the ability to decide if the work you are doing, the knowledge you are learning, the people you are around, the tasks you are focused on and the environments you are currently in are those that will serve you 10 years from now, 20 years from now or for the rest of your life…
if not…
keep moving and looking for the ones that do serve you.
Why?
We have to learn what and whom make up the 1% in our lives because they will contribute to 100% of our living… not to mention they deserve 100% of our attention.
The 1% is where we go all in on.
The 1% is where we make, create and build a life upon.
The 1% is what’s worth our time, energy, attention and resources.
And in doing so, we will lead clearer, more purposeful and directional lives… and with less confusion.
So, what are some questions you should ask yourself?
Is what you’re learning in school or on the job going to serve you long-term?
Are the conversations you’re having daily raising or depleting your energy and focus?
What about the environments you spend time in?
How about the relationships you have… business or personal?
Now, I’m sure there are plenty more questions you can ask yourself, but the goal is to keep it simple…
in any given situation, experience, conversation or time spent learning, is this contributing to the long game of your life?
And remember, when you find the people you can have long standing relationships with…
colleagues
business partners
real friendships
a life partnership
mentors…
or you find environments, work, creativity and experiences you thrive in and add to the 1% of your life…
Invest deeply.
Sticking with it for decades is really how you make the big returns in your relationships and in your money. So, compound interest is very important. (- Naval)
So, in our efforts to go all in…
Consider these 3 concepts:
When we’re “busy” we make everything important, but when we’re “clear” we make the right things important.
Simple is hard and hard is easy.
A calm mind, a connected heart and a clear vision minimize the distractions and maximize the direction.
Let’s expand here👇🏼
When We’re Busy We Make Everything Important But When We’re Clear We Make the Right Things Important
When we’re busy, we multi-task, miss some of the details, look for shortcuts, tend to everyone’s needs, neglect some of our own, become disconnected, and often try forcing a lot more outcomes.
When we’re clear, we singularly focus on one task at a time, make sure the details are met, take time to complete the projects, tend to our needs first, stay connected to what and why we’re doing what we’re doing and receive more predictable outcomes form our intentional work.
EXERCISE:
Write down everything that doesn’t feel to be important for your future.
Write down everything that is important to your future.
Now write down ways in which you can simplify the “unimportant” things over the coming days, weeks or months.
👇🏼
Simple is Hard & Hard is Easy
To simplify most areas of our life takes a good deal of time, effort and practice.
That is often why most people don’t take the time to simplify their lives.
In short, simplification can be hard.
When our nervous system has been operating out of “busy-ness” for so long and making most things important, we find ourselves stretched too thin, burned out and overwhelmed, yet somehow functional.
Why is it hard to simplify?
Well, people tend to be…
overthinking
habitual
overcommitted
overstimulated
attached
avoiding
procrastinating
fearful of missing out
Hence, people stay in these modes of operation because those modes have been instilled in them for quite some time and are the norm for behavior.
Weirdly enough, it’s easy to stay in complexity.
And to simplify your life takes… attention, intention, time, practice and patience. Simple, not easy.
Simple is hard and hard is easy.
Some time ago, I recreated a post online titled, “Learning to Choose is Hard.”
Learning to choose is where all your freedom comes from.
Don’t be afraid of the amount of time it takes to simplify your life down to the most important things that matter.
What starts out hard becomes a life of ease.
EXERCISE: Let’s start with 3 choices
Choose 1 thing you’d like to create and carve out at least an hour of time for it each week for the next month.
Choose 1 thing that you’d like to move off your plate because it’s currently not serving your future.
Choose 1 person you know you want to have in your life for as long as possible and thank them for being in it.
👇🏼
A Calm Mind, a Connected Heart & a Clear Vision Minimize Distractions & Maximize Direction
If you’re familiar with my writing, then you know this is nothing new but very much needed.
I’ve podcasted on this topic - Click Here if you want to listen to it.
I’ve created a free clarity workshop around time, energy, your vision and direction - Click Here if you want access to it (at no cost).
The two above resources are a great start in removing the 99% of unimportant things so you can go all in on the 1%.
What I want you to know is that…
A calm mind is one that can think clearly, precisely and make decisions both accurately and effectively.
A connected heart can navigate every situation because it’s guided by a keen sense of intuition and trusting of its inner GPS (your soul).
A clear vision has direction because it’s the result of your calm mind interacting with your connected heart. It always knows where it’s heading instinctually and is making effective decisions to do so while being present.
When you’re calm, you’re effective. When you’re connected, you’re knowing. When you’re clear, you’re directional. This is how you show up for yourself and others.
EXERCISE: Calm, Connected & Clear
Choose an activity that naturally calms your mind and input it into your weekly calendar… art, music, hiking, working out, etc.
Take 5 min in the morning to connect with your soul. Journal to yourself what you’re feeling or what’s coming through for you whether it’s something difficult or pleasant.
Work on your average perfect day to gain clarity on how you’d like to live. You can get this template in the first section of this free workshop here.
Simplify, Multiply, Diversify below…👇🏼
SIMPLIFY…
The simpler you make things in your life, the easier it is to discern what is worth going all in on.
MULTIPLY…
You’re not pursuing less because you want less. You pursuing less because you want better. Less isn’t just more, it’s better in every area that deserves your most attention.
DIVERSIFY…
When we go all in on the 1%, every area of our life increases 100%
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Great advise! Thx
All of this! So good! Thank you!