Don't Live the Same Year 75 Times

There’s a prize for those who have a singular interest in life. It’s easier to put them in a bucket. The doctor bucket. The teacher bucket. The 9-5 bucket.

And when you graduate from the student bucket, make sure to find your next thing—fast! We don’t like to keep updating our mental versions of the people around us.

Sounds crazy, right?

So why are those in their twenties stressing over their next move?

Or those in their thirties sitting in a career that's far removed from their interests?

No one talks about the magic of reinventing yourself. The freedom to be and do whatever the hell you want at any age.

“Don’t live the same year 75 times and call it a life” - Robin Sharma

I’m not much of a quote junkie, but this one has stayed with me for years. It’s redefined what success means to me: the continuous growth of who I am. Never perfect, but better than yesterday.

The only pressure I put on myself is to be an improved version of myself the following year. Pick a fear and smash it. Learn a new skill. Join a new community. Create greater impact in some area.

Reinvent yourself constantly. Realize that everything is reversible.

We have this internal pressure to stick with things even when they’re not serving us. Bad jobs, bad careers, bad relationships, bad habits. They make us miserable, yet we stay glued to them because change is not our norm.

Waiting to hit rock bottom before making a change is a terrible way to live. Why rely on a midlife crisis to start building our dream life and career?

Reinvention can also be adding more of what we do want. Picking up a new hobby even if it doesn’t “lead to anything”. The joy we get from following our curiosity is far more important than the validation of being paid for it. Try something new just because you like it, not because you’re being paid for it. You don’t need a book deal to start writing. Or a client contract to start making videos. If we can take away the pressure of monetizing our passions, it becomes easier to start.

And even when life is already good, don’t settle. Living on autopilot is great in the short term, it’s how you create habits for new goals, but in the long term it will keep you complacent. Before long, our muscle for change becomes so weak that taking on a new challenge feels impossible.

A focus on continuous reinvention puts us in a way of life where many of our anxieties naturally disappear...

We stop rushing life. When the only person you’re competing with is yourself, you stop caring about what others are doing. The Joneses can keep on Jonesing.

We stop doubting ourselves. There’s no better confidence boost than living a life that’s extraordinary and doing work you’re exceptionally great at. Don’t deprive yourself of this feeling.

We stop carrying the weight of the world. I love how noble our generation is, but it means that every goal that falls short of “radically transforming the world” is looked down upon. If everyone focused on improving themselves, there would be seven billion people on this planet living with superpowers.

These three points deserve a moment to themselves, so stay tuned over the new few weeks :)

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3