I\u2019m writing this post in a lawn chair, sitting in the full sun and listening to the birds. I couldn\u2019t be happier right now. I\u2019m doing work that I love, and I get to be my own boss. I finished a leisurely 10 km run yesterday, a distance that would have had my legs aching two years ago.<\/p>\n
In other words, things are going pretty good right now.<\/p>\n
But despite being happy with the way things are right now, I want to do more. I used to believe that the purpose of self-improvement was to escape discontentment. If you weren\u2019t happy you read self-help books, build discipline, overcame your fears and worked hard until you reached a point where you were happy.<\/p>\n
I was wrong.<\/p>\n
As I see it now, ambition isn\u2019t the opposite of living an contented life, it\u2019s part of a contented life. In the moments I’ve stopped being driven by an interesting goal, I\u2019m not happy, I\u2019m bored.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been in constructive free-time for the last three weeks. But I\u2019ve still been waking up around 5:30-6:00 am to go jogging each morning. Waking up early is a good way to get more stuff done. But it\u2019s also a good way to get more living done.<\/p>\n
I enjoy sleeping in, but I can\u2019t stand it as a regular habit. To me, it\u2019s like eating too much candy. The first few pieces taste great, but the rest just give you a stomach ache.<\/p>\n
Some people would like you to believe the way to improve is through pain. Struggle, hardship and agonizing discipline. Ambition takes it\u2019s price out of you. If you aren\u2019t willing to pay that price, you need to settle for a less ambitious lifestyle.<\/p>\n
But the surprising thing I\u2019ve noticed is that this has never been the case for me. I\u2019ve always achieved the most when I\u2019m happy. Being happy with things cuts out the painful distractions and let\u2019s you focus on your ambitions. When you feel depressed, you don\u2019t have enough energy to go beyond the routine.<\/p>\n
Ben Franklin once said, \u201cThere are two ways to become rich: increase your means or lower your wants. The best way is to do both at the same time.\u201d Being happy with what you have and working hard to get what you want don\u2019t have to be opposites.<\/p>\n
This is a pretty self-indulgent post, so I\u2019ll try to post something more useful tomorrow. Until then, I\u2019m going to enjoy the sunny day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I\u2019m writing this post in a lawn chair, sitting in the full sun and listening to the birds. I couldn\u2019t be happier right now. I\u2019m doing work that I love, and I get to be my own boss. I finished a leisurely 10 km run yesterday, a distance that would have had my legs aching […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[12,4,681],"tags":[26,24],"class_list":{"0":"post-735","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-discipline","7":"category-goal-setting","8":"category-nc-mindset","9":"tag-goals","10":"tag-process","11":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n