My monthly theme for August is Lose Yourself:
You better lose yourself in the music, the moment
You own it, you better never let it go
You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime
I need to commit completely to the things that matter, a level far beyond anything else I’ve done this year. I’m going to break through barriers. It’s going to require sacrifices: getting out of bed earlier, eating better, reducing my time on the mundane, and questioning everything.
Looking back from September 1, I’ll say the month was successful because I completed the final 220 miles across Tennessee, published a blog post each day, and designed my days around activities supporting my core values: human connection, sharing knowledge, challenging the status quo, being the example, and remaining humble.
By using time intentionally and being constrained in the time available per task, I’m producing better work as I’m unable to pursue the impossible, perfection. I put my work into the world and trust the world to provide the necessary feedback to enable me to continue growing. That feedback helps develop relationships built around vulnerability, authenticity, and learning how to best serve others.
If something isn’t working, I’m allowed to throw it away, as long as I consult with future me. I can’t throw things away solely because they’re uncomfortable in the moment such as a hot, tired, or rainy run. If it’s something I’ve anticipated for a long time and will anchor myself down with guilt in the future, it still needs to be done.
While busy, I need to remain open to opportunities with others as they are more difficult to replace and replicate. Everything starts with why… I don’t want to be average, I want to level up to the next level. I want to break and remake my systems. Part of those systems is about maintaining accountability on a daily and monthly basis using my scorecard.
It’s time to lose my inner critic and produce. I’ll wrap with advice from Anne-Laure Le Cunff on killing the inner critic:
Many people struggle to create content on a consistent basis because they have an idealised view of what the output should look like. While it’s of course important to put good content out and into the world, you will only improve by creating.
