Somewhere I once read the line, "Good is the enemy of
great." Next time I do something important to me, I am going to ask a
simple question. "Is this the best I can do?" It could be
satisfactory work, but I am not going through life being satisfied. I am going
through life to be great. To live an exciting life. To be the best father
possible. Being satisfied is no longer accepted by me. I cannot reach my
potential be being satisfied. 'Good enough' is no longer 'good enough'. If
being satisfied and good enough works for you, that's fine, you're life. It
doesn't work for me. Not anymore. I have begun to live my life striving for
greatness every day. Once I reach a pinnacle, I will look to the next mountain
top. And when my bones turn to dust and my eyes close for the very last time, I
will have no regrets. Just greatness.
Achieving greatness is not easy. It doesn't happen overnight.
Greatness is a lifestyle. A choice of how you live. How hard you work. I used
to go through life not doing anything to be great. Depression restricted my
life. It really did and it still does at times. I don't compare myself to
others. People tend to do that. I am sure I probably did it once or twice
before. It humours me now. People, looking for others' approval or trying to be
better than someone else. Here's an idea; try to be better than yourself. Each
day, try to be better than the previous day. The previous hour, the previous
minute. Time doesn't stop. Your greatness doesn't have to either. You have to
be your own benchmark. Keep getting better. Break your own records.
How to be great? I am a strong believer that everyone is
unique and they can be great by focusing on the 'controllable factors' in their
life. An illness somewhat controlled me for some years. I am working on fixing
that. Once I get some kind of stranglehold on my Depression, I will be able to
live my life and be great. What am I going to do? I have some ideas.
1) Smile more. Hopefully the medication does its job so I
can get my smile back. No point going through life sour. Smile, people are more
opened to someone smiling. Don't go through life with a frown on. Hard to have
fun that way. Outside of having a medical condition, you can control your
smile.
2) Read and write. Majority of people read. But how many
write? I have found that writing has changed my life. I journal every day. I am
reading more than ever, as well. That's how I learn. That's how I strive to my
greatness. I reflect on my writings to see how far I have come and to monitor
my daily improvements, or regressions, in life. I am not longer arrogant or
stubborn. I embrace learning. Reading and writing make me great.
3) You must play your own drum and go to the beat of it. I
am not suggesting becoming an ego-maniac. Not one bit. But you have to live
your life, your way. Don't worry about what people think. Do not look for their
approval. The hell with them. I like to use shopping with the opposite sex as
an example. Whether it is a flaw or weak point of mine, I don't care. I hate
shopping with women. If I go to a store, I have a reason, purpose, and goal.
Rarely do I leave with more. And when I shop, I wouldn't ask the people I am
with if they like the shirt I like or thinking of buying. They're not wearing
it, so why should I care? Well, women used to get mad at me when I went to
stores with them. "What do you think of this T.J.?" Or, "Do you
like this colour?" My honest response was blunt, and often perceived as
rude. I would reply, "I don't care. You have to wear it." How the
hell am I suppose to know if that shirt makes you happy or not or if it is
nice. I didn't study fashion. I am a functional-clothes-wearing-athlete. Buy
what makes you happy, not what pleases someone else.
4) Set daily attainable goals. When you reach a 'set goal',
you feel better. Here's my example. Since my diagnosed, I have set small daily
task. Like, shave my beard or check the mail or workout. The point is, whether
it is big or small goal, you feel great about it when you reached it. All the
small daily goals added up become a pretty accomplished week. My goal today?
Shave and define my goatee. Simple.
5) Do 150 push-ups per day. If you do that in sets of 25,
six times a day, seven days a week, you will end up doing 1,050 push-ups per
week. I am doing some as I write this entry. I feel myself getting stronger. I
see more definition in my chest. I have more confidence. It just makes me
better. I do the push-ups regardless of my daily workout. It takes maybe 5
minutes a day. I find it effective.
6) Talk to at least one friend daily. May sound simple, but
when I was in the midst of my Depression, I didn't speak to my dearest friends.
I felt the disconnect. It was my fault. I knew it, but felt so shitty. I didn't
want to bother them with my issues.
7) Gratitude. Be thankful. We tend to forget to be gracious.
I even caught myself saying thank you as the dealer was dealing cards last
night while playing cribbage. Two simple words that have so much weight and meaning.
8) Accept challenges. I used to turn away from things.
Simple things such as a phone call. I avoided everything in my life that was
potential to cause me more stress. Don't be afraid of challenges. Before your
time is up, you will encounter a lot. Be ready to tackle them.
9) Get up early. This will be a tough one for me. A
challenge (Point #8). I don't mean get up at 8:00 am (Which is early for me).
I mean 5:00 or 6:00 am. Get up and it will give you an extra hour or two each
day. More time to live life. "Not enough time in the day", is what
they say. Well, my answer is, create the time. I am going to try to get up
every morning at 6:00 am and hopefully be at the gym by 7 am. It won't be easy
for me, but it is something I can control. Something I am aiming for.
10) Do not live life in fear. I used to fear everything
imaginable. Stupid little things. I used to fear people. I often write and
think about fear. There's only one fear I have now, and that's the demons
inside of me. External things do not scare me anymore. Reason why? Well,
honestly, I do not fear death anymore. It doesn't scare me anymore. Pain, I
love it. Living a fearless life gives me confidence and potential for
greatness. People do not scare me anymore. If you been to where I have been,
you would understand why. There is nothing for me to fear anymore. Fear should
fear me.
These are just 10 ideas I am going to live by. I developed
these ideas from reading, research, and reflection. I borrowed some of the
ideas and put my own twist on some of the others. Bottom line is, greatness
doesn't come to you. It doesn't find you. You have to seek out your greatness. Your
greatness will be different than mine. Rich or poor, strong or weak, old or
young, sick or not, anyone can become great. Greatness requires hard work,
discipline, and commitment. All three elements are free and controllable. How
great can I be? I have no limitations, therefore, in my opinion, my greatness
can be infinite and powerful. I am going to be great. I am going to change my
life.
"Greatness comes from fear.
Fear can either shut us down and we go home, or we fight through it."
-
Lionel Ritchie
Yours
Truly,
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