Progress Is A Way of Life
This progress thing is hard.
It is really the most boring thing in life but I know if I can keep adding brick upon brick it will add up. I am putting no pressure on it which is something I have learned from my previous failures at personal improvement.
What I need to do is just create and build the routines I want.
Even though the process isn’t as straightforward as that, the payoff is. To quote Tynan, slowly I will become Superhuman by Habit.
“Slow, steady progress is better than daily excuses.”
As the title suggests, I believe progress is never-ending and the foundation for that continual evolution is our routines.
In essence — and as Tynan and other experts point out — our routines are our untapped superpowers which explains why there are so many articles about the morning rituals of the world’s most successful millionaires.
I wouldn’t say follow those articles as gospel and I wouldn’t say copy and paste for your situation — we are all different and in various stages of personal progress.
We each also have our own unique vibes and we should put ourselves first and try to work what feels best for us instead of blindly and obsessively trying to copy online remedies.
However, what these advice articles do give us is a sneak peek into the routines of the superheroes we admire, and the source of their superpowers.
One of the keys to their impressive success is definitely their daily routines. These routines help remove some of the ambiguity of life and they help reduce some of the time we waste trying to figure out what comes next.
“Strive for progress, not perfection.”
Scott Adams, the creator of the Dilbert comic strip, said he knows where he will be and what he will be doing at 6:20AM on a Saturday morning, seven years from now.
That is powerful.
Imagine that: already knowing what to do and what the plan is every day you wake up.
Imagine the freedom it gives you in the future as well, and that is one fewer task for your mind to waste cells on.
“Small progress is still progress.”
That is the battle and this is my battle.
It is boring but good routines are the basis for me to improve and progress as a person.
And, as I said before with exercise: through learning, experimenting and failing, I have stumbled upon this idea of just doing things small.
No pressure.
No mega expectations.
You want to wake up at 6AM? Do it. You don’t have to do much afterwards. Heck, you can even wake up and just watch TV.
You want to exercise at 6AM? Do it. If you have done five sit-ups you have exercised, no one can tell you otherwise.
You want to go out for a run at 6AM? Go out. Start with a walk to the gate first.
All you want to do is build the routine and, as it locks in, natural ambition will kick in. As people we always want to do more. We will improve, we’ll add more and we will keep going.
In that way we will progress; we will begin to do things that may have previously seemed impossible to us and will appear impressive to others even though they are now just things we do automatically.
The coolest key of all is these routines become a consistent part of your life which helps as you progress further.
“Always be a work in progress.”
And, that is progress; it is a way of life.
That is my big thought for this week.
Progress really can’t be compartmentalised. It doesn’t end.
Progress, like success, is not a secret. It is a direction, a process, and a way of life.
It is only up to us to choose to take those small steps on a consistent basis.
