Wake Early and Journal
Rising early for me once was a painful exercise in self-imposed torture. Now I appreciate it; I get a jump on my day. I love the serenity of the early morning. I move through the house as quietly as possible, not to wake anyone. I take five minutes to stretch and work my way through a Chinese centring exercise. Then I sit in the Kitchen or sitting room and begin journaling. I write what I'm grateful for, I write down my ideas and thoughts, I write my
to-do list. Do I perform this ritual every day? Hell no, and I will fight to create the proper habits so that I can. It's that important but to be honest with you, I'm anxious. Because I'm aware that I'm creating my world with every word I write. Because I know my words will translate into my actions. And my actions will create my future. I'm scared that I may mess up but I'm determined to try.
Be
Yourself
If you love people and the world you live in, then never apologise for who you are. Just know you'll be stamped on, abused, loved
and revered, but however you are being perceived in the world make sure you're being you. I still have that residual anxiety around the idea of what people think about me. As time went on, I got better at not giving a fuck. It's liberating and frightening at the same time, especially as a writer. To sell books, you need readers who enjoy your work, but you must write for yourself. It's the writer's conundrum. Be yourself or follow the herd. Be uniquely you or fit in.
I'll go with being me every time.
Make No Excuses
We all are given 24 hours a day.
And the challenges some of us face range from chronic illness or homelessness on the one hand to planning our itinerary for a world cruise or deciding on our next real estate deal on the other. But all I know is that 24 hours is what we have to work with, and as unfair as life may be, it's down to us to do what we can with what we have.
No excuses.
You may not have the
advantages or privileges of so many others in the world, but you must develop the thick skin and mental toughness to keep risking and pushing forward.
No excuses.
Take Ownership
If there is one aspect
of becoming a better version of yourself that scares the shit out of most people, it's being 100% responsible for who you are and who you become. I know what you're going to say, and I fully appreciate there are some things in life you have no control over, good and bad. What we do have control over, though, is our attitude to these events. You may not have had a hand in creating them, but you sure as hell are responsible for your interpretation.
Responsibility and fault are not the same things.
If your boss fired you. You may not have been responsible, and it may not have been justifiable, but you are responsible for what you do next. Bitch for a week to get it out of your system, then grit your teeth and look for a new job. It's not about apportioning blame but taking control.
These five actions are indeed scary but necessary. If you are new to this, it may take time to acquire them but acquire them you must. Work on them because they are the gateway to a better version of you. Don't take too long to decide, though, or you may end up as a skeleton in
your own closet.
Happy Halloween.
Be your own hero.