Becoming You

Do you ever stop and think about all the simple, mundane tasks you get to do every day? From getting up. To your morning routine. To brushing your teeth, and watching YouTube.

To your work, and school. To the people you see every day. To the evenings when you start to slow down, wrap up the day, and get ready for the next one. And the next. And the next.

Before you know it, you’re like me. You’ve lived 17,000 days and you can only remember a handful of them.

You do however remember all the big events. The big moments of success and joy, of heartache and pain. But have you ever stopped to think about what got you there, into those moments? What preparation did you have to go through to play in that big game? And when you were faced with that huge challenge, that moment to perform, how did you do?

And when you think about it, was it that big moment that defined you? Or was it all the effort leading up to that day?

What I’m asking you to realize that it’s not the big game days that make you who you are. The exams you write and ace or fail. The moments you practice for. It’s the practice that matters. It’s the practice that defines who you are, and what your success will be.

All those days you don’t remember. What are you doing during those days? Are you binging Netflix? That’s OK. Everyone needs to rest occasionally, and there’s some great entertainment around these days.

Ask yourself: Was that planned rest? Or is binging shows, scrolling through your feed, and wasting your time actually what you DO?

Is the job you’ve got, or the class you’re in just filling the gaps until you can get back online again? That’s an interesting question isn’t it?

If you spend 6 hours in class, but 8 hours gaming, doesn’t that indicate something about what you actually do?

If it is, that’s OK. Just be aware of it. If that’s what you want to do, that’s on you.

It’s easy to get caught up in a world of imagination. But what you have to realize is you’re living in an environment that is designed to serve you ads. Designed for you to want things you don’t need. Designed for you to feel bad about yourself, just so you put your money in other people’s pockets to feel good.

If this is a bit of a wakeup call, and you’re just noticing you’ve made mistakes in the past, that’s OK. You can change. You have another 24 hours coming. And another. And another.

You are where you are today because of the choices you’ve made in the past.

Accept that.

Realize that. Revel in the thought of yesterday you, and let it go.

That was someone else who made those decisions. You are now aware that you’ve been influenced by others, and it’s not your fault. People spend billions of dollars to figure out how to get you addicted to your phone.

Take this moment, now that you are aware, to look at your routine.

Is it going to get you to where you want to go? Every day the clock is reset. Those repetitive moments of eat, sleep, work, repeat.

This gives you a baseline. You are where you are today. OK. Good. Reality is the first step.

Now let’s tackle tomorrow.

Think about the person you want to become, and ask yourself what do they do? What habits, moments, do they have in their day that make them who they are? Then ask yourself what choices do you have to make today to become the person you want to become? To have what you want to have? To live the life of your dreams?

Understand the choices you’re making, and what they imply.

Learn from those choices you’ve made in the past, and will make again in the future, and be deliberate about them. Be disciplined about them.

Know the choices you make today, will result in you becoming the you you’ve always dreamed of.

Be grateful for all three of you. The person you’ve been. The person you are. And the person you are becoming.