For the
past five years, I've been interested in this concept of improving
personally in a well-rounded way. In fact, last year, I created an
entire blog founded on this theme. I was inspired by many real and
fictional characters who excelled physically, intellectually, and in
other areas as well. My life goal is to strive for excellence, and be
well-rounded.
I was
inspired by a line from the movie "Limitless", talking
about being "the perfect version of yourself". Can you
imagine what that would be like? Well, maybe not perfect, but if you
could live your dream life. What would that look like? Now some of
the things that we dream about, may be things that we can't change.
But what can you change? What are some things in your life that you
wish were better in your life?
I am of
the firm belief that the key to this excellence is well-roundedness.
If you focus too much on one area (say intellect) you can burn
yourself out. You burn yourself out by neglecting your health and
social life. Conversely, improving your health can improve your
brain. Working out and staying healthy is one way to raise your IQ.
I clearly
have not arrived at my life goal (for those who know me personally),
but let me pass along two tips that have helped me, from heroes of mine who have made it.
One
bite at a time
When
looking at your dreams and what it takes to be well-rounded, it can
be overwhelming. How can you take on these gargantuan tasks? I would
propose that you do so, in the same way that one would eat an elephant:
one bite at a time. Start with a smaller goal and work your way up to
where you want to be.
In my
personal experience, the health arena has always been the worst for
me, but I'm making real strides. All through college I ate terrible
foods and did the minimum amount of exercise. However, in the past
year, I've seen my eating habits improve immensely, through small,
seemingly insignificant changes in my diet. First, slowly switching
out all the soda that I drank with water (to the point where I now
drink water almost exclusively). Overall meals have improved
(although not by my doing), and I've made conscious efforts to cut
down on snack foods. All this stuff happened a little at a time.
Normal
or Successful
"Listen
kid, you can either be normal or be successful." You simply
can't be both. If you want to get ahead and feel the satisfaction of
achievement, you will need to do things that others aren't doing. We
are wired with a natural inclination to be normal, to fit in.
Children have the inherent ability and desire to imitate those
around them. They learn through imitation. Then we grow up, and we
have this strong desire to be cool or relatively normal. Even in this
"hipster", "self-aware" generation, they may
stray from normal a bit, but never too far.
However,
it is this straying from the beaten path that often breeds success.
Not always. Sometimes you stray off the path and get stuck in the
mud. Stray from the path with wisdom.
If
you want to be successful academically (intellectually), you need to
study. It's probably a no-brainer for most of my readers. However, in
my college experience, I have many classmates ask me how I get good
grades. I watched these guys, and they are the same people that I see
messing around instead of studying. Same thing with fitness: you need
to put in the time and effort if you want to be fit.
One final
example is with money and time. You need to budget and make a
schedule. It's weird. It makes you feel like a nerd. Writing stuff
out. Planning. God forbid that your friends hear that you do this
kind of stuff. That mentality used to keep me from planning out my
time. I had to get over it. I don't keep a rigid schedule, it's more
of a loose to-do list and a list of goals, but planning that out has
been the key to living the life that I want to live.
As far as
budgeting, my parents used to have me do that from a young age.
They'd give me an allowance for chores I did around the house, then
they'd have me save some, give some away, and keep some to spend.
When I grew up, it was just a matter of making my budget slightly
more complicated.
So
what do you think?
So what
do you think? Tweet at me @frank_perseo or comment on the Frank Talks Facebook page. Is this all elementary for you? Are these all things
that you do? Any suggestions hit you particularly? Does the idea of
living a balanced life interest you? Please tweet at me, or comment
on the Facebook post. I want to hear from you.
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