Don’t Stay The Same Person Forever

The person you are today isn’t supposed to be the finished product.

You’re supposed to grow.

You’re supposed to learn.

You’re supposed to get your ass kicked by life, learn from it, and use those lessons to become better.

…but too many people spend their entire lives defending a version of themselves they created years ago.

They decide what they’re good at.

What they’re bad at.

What they’re capable of.

…and they refuse to do anything that challenges those beliefs.

“That’s just who I am.”

How many times have you used that bullshit to excuse something you know you need to change?

Your lack of discipline.

Your temper.

Your inability to follow through.

Your unwillingness to learn something new because you don’t want to look stupid.

You keep telling yourself that’s who you are…

…and then you keep making decisions that prove it.

Fuck that.

Who you’ve been doesn’t have to be who you continue to be.

But you have to be willing to do the work to change.

That means admitting when you’re wrong…

Listening when somebody knows more than you…

Taking responsibility for your weaknesses instead of making excuses for them…

…and putting yourself in situations that require you to develop skills you don’t currently have.

You don’t get better by only doing shit you’re already good at.

You get better by being willing to suck at something long enough to learn how to do it well.

That’s uncomfortable.

Good.

You need to learn how to handle being uncomfortable if you expect to build anything worthwhile.

Some of the most important things you’ll ever learn about yourself will come from doing things you once believed you couldn’t do.

You’ll find strengths you didn’t know you had.

You’ll expose weaknesses you’ve been avoiding.

You’ll learn how you respond to pressure.

…and you’ll find out whether you’re willing to keep your commitments when the excitement wears off and the work gets hard.

Pay attention to those lessons.

Then apply them.

Getting older doesn’t automatically make you wiser.

Going through hard shit doesn’t automatically make you stronger.

You have to look honestly at what happened, take responsibility for your part, and adjust your actions.

Otherwise, you’ll keep repeating the same mistakes and calling it experience.

Stop worrying about having yourself completely figured out before you take action.

You can learn as you go.

But you have to fucking go.

Take on the responsibility.

Learn the skill.

Have the difficult conversation.

Do the work you’ve been avoiding.

…and when you find something you need to improve, get to work improving it.

Every time you follow through on something you used to quit…

Every time you handle a situation you used to avoid…

Every time you apply a lesson instead of repeating a mistake…

You build evidence that you’re capable of more.

That’s how you change what you believe about yourself.

You earn it through your actions.

So stop treating your current limitations like they’re permanent.

Keep learning.

Keep challenging yourself.

Keep raising your standards.

…and keep doing the work to meet them.

You don’t know how much you’re capable of yet.

Go do the fucking work and find out.