How To Stop Living Life on Autopilot
Don’t Get Stuck in the Daily Grind
Every day of my life was a monotonous grind until I made these changes to my daily life. I used to wake up at 8:10 in the morning, take a quick shower and then grab a protein shake or cereal bar on my way out the door to my corporate job. I’d make it there by 9:00 and this felt like overachieving to me. Initially I was happy to have the job, but the novelty of a steady paycheck soon turned to a mundane grind.
Today, I have the freedom to work on my own schedule that allows me to work when, where and how I want. My only caveat is that I must hit certain predetermined deadlines but it is still work by my own terms. Yet, paradoxically, I wake up at 5:00 on most days. I don’t even use an alarm. Its funny how working towards a mission you believe in motivates you to get out of bed faster.
I think back to those days in my early 20s when I worked that corporate job. I was salaried, so I had no real motivation to work harder. There was the allure of getting a promotion or a raise, but that’s so vague that it only motivates you on some days. Most employers are told to get the most value out of their employees for the least amount of cost, which leads to so many disillusioned souls in the workplace.
Now I wake up excited to put in the work. I like to see how I can affect my paycheck. How I can build on current revenue streams. And how I can help bring value to those who follow me. It’s a whole new world. (Don’t you dare close your eyes.) A new fantastic point of view that’s given me a new lease on life. I wake up with excitement and passion.
The soul sucking corporate world momentarily robbed me of this passion. After working 21 straight days at my corporate job, I felt proud of myself. Normally only working 5 days a week, I expected some form of a bonus or at least recognition by the end of the year. I believed that I had demonstrated my work ethic, my loyalty and my value to my company. A few months later, I got a small cost of living raise that didn’t even upgrade my lifestyle. In fact, when considering inflation, it seemed I was making less money. I learned a valuable lesson that day. Your employer doesn’t care about your loyalty and the safest jobs tend to pay the worst. Low risk. Low reward. A valuable red pill I learned at a young age.
There are days now where I make more in a single day than I used to make in a month. But the risk is a lot higher now. And I have to work harder. Today I wake up and hit the gym, often while listening to a podcast or studying writing techniques. Immediately after my workout, I’ll sit down and hammer out some writing for hours. Deep, intense, focused work with the occasional break.
After realizing that my employer didn’t really value me that much, I treated the job like an afterthought. Most days, I did maybe an hour of real, actual work… tops. I spent most of my time perusing the internet, shopping online and checking out various internet forums. It’s such a shame I didn’t discover Twitter yet, but it was a different beast back then. Only 140 characters instead of 280. And it was largely just used for celebrities to update their fans.
Stop Living on Autopilot and Take Control
I didn’t get mad at my employer. I didn’t argue. I didn’t even bring it up. I’m not built that way. The way I see it, if you’re not going to treat me right, I’m not going to convince you to change. It’s a waste of time trying to get others to change your own situation. You have to change yourself. So, I began job searching, took an exam that qualified me for a better job in sales, and in less than 6 months I was gone.
Too many times I see miserable people that hate their life.
They’re unhappy with their girl.
They’re unhappy with their job.
They’re unhappy with their health.
That’s all understandable but what I rarely see, is any action being taken to better their situation. If you’re stuck in a dead-end job, what can you do TODAY to affect your job prospects? Start at the basics. Do you even have your resume up to date? Does your suit fit you? What new skillsets can you learn to make yourself more attractive to employers?
What about your girl? I know most guys are so desperate for any girl to like them that they’ll stay in a toxic relationship because they can’t fathom how any girl would ever want to be with them. This mindset is palpable to other women. They sense your lack of confidence and it pushes them away. If you’re unhappy, you should be willing to walk away. You should be getting yourself in better shape. You should be finding more interesting hobbies so you have fascinating topics to talk about as well as opportunities to meet new people.
Read this if you want to discover the best ways to approach women.
Change can be scary because its unknown. But you know what else is scary? Spending the rest of your life stuck in a dead-end job with a girl who tolerates you. This is what causes inspired young men to slowly transition into amorphous blobs with sunken shoulders talking about their glory days. This is what leads to men living lives of quiet desperation.
The fear of change leads to the certainty of a looming midlife crisis. I’m not saying it’s too late, but time is not on your side. No matter how old you are. All the weekends spent in a blurry haze. The late nights devoted to gaming and porn. The lazy afternoons where you pretend to work, pretend to workout and pretend to care. They all add up. And one day, the grim reaper will come due and you’ll look back on a life spent waiting for something that never came.
It never came because you never went out to get it for yourself. You kept waiting for life to just happen to you. This is why people spend hard earned money on scratch off tickets. They’re waiting for the easy button to give them their dream life. Even if you won, you’d soon find that money was the least of your concern and 70 percent of lottery winners end up broke in just a few years anyway.
Stop Letting Fear Rule Your Life
For too long I let fear rule my life. I feared what people would think. What people would say if I tried something risky and failed. The real secret is no one cares. The average person is so wrapped up in their own life that they’re too busy to bother worrying about you. So why do you let someone’s lack of attention dictate the actions you take?
You should be willing to put yourself out there. You should be willing to take risks. Especially if you’re young. Again, time is not on your side. You’re going to look back at all the wasted time and you’re going to wonder how the hell you accomplished so little with so much opportunity. But it doesn’t have to be like this. You can change. Start today. Start right now. In fact, to show yourself that you’re committed to changing, drop down and do 10 pushups right now. I’ll wait.
You feel better don’t you? That’s because doing something feels much better than thinking about doing something. Resolutions and goals are empty promises. The world needs more action. Every day when you wake up do 10 pushups. It doesn’t sound like much, but it adds up over time. Would you be stronger, better looking and a little bit happier after 30 days of daily pushups? Absolutely. And this isn’t about pushups. It’s about daily incremental changes to your life and how over time these small daily habits lead to massive life changes.
I know what you’re thinking. This isn’t groundbreaking advice. It’s easier said than done. And you’re right. But what if you had a way to stay accountable. Someone who would check in on you. A tribe that would support you, encourage you and grow with you. Then you might see motivation and purpose replace laziness and apathy. If that is what you’ve been looking for, then click here for more info on The Spartan Tribe!
Let’s Reclaim Masculinity!
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The handbook for young men everywhere who are lost and need direction and guidance in life.
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When I think of the most interesting people I know, it’s not the hyper-specialized experts in one field. It’s the people who find a unique juxtaposition of different walks of life. I’m drawn to those who can be both physically fit and intelligent enough to write. Two skills that are not that common alone but uniquely rare when found in the same person.