Don’t Get to High or Too Low, Instead Do This So You Can Repeat Success

Summary

The author advocates for a balanced mindset and continuous self-improvement as the key to achieving success and happiness.

Abstract

The author emphasizes the importance of not getting too high or too low in response to life's successes and setbacks. Instead, one should focus on consistent personal growth and the pursuit of usable insights. The process involves putting "skin in the game," maintaining discipline, and not being deterred by rejections or missteps. The author suggests that success is not about immediate gratification but about the journey of continuous improvement, learning from experiences, and responding to challenges with resilience. By embracing this approach, the author argues that one's biggest dreams can become a reality through persistence and a commitment to daily progress.

Opinions

Success should not lead to entitlement or complacency, nor should failures lead to despair; instead, they should be seen as opportunities for character improvement and learning.
Inspiration without action is insufficient; one must actively engage in the pursuit of their goals to achieve meaningful results.

Don’t Get to High or Too Low, Instead Do This So You Can Repeat Success

The process I follow for my happiness is simple

When success comes will we be ready?

I’ve learned so much from my setbacks that I realize I would have been a madman to think I was prepared for the things I said I wanted.

I had no idea I was entitled. I didn’t know I was in my way.

When you haven’t put in the work to be where you want to be, you’re unaware of what it takes to get there.

Without that insight, there’s no discipline because there’s no real focus on what you should be doing and why.

Therefore, there’s no motivation. Waiting for inspiration to strike to get me going was a loser’s game, and nothing worth talking about would happen for me if all I did was wish upon a star.

Instead of wanting success now, I did something else. If only I’d done it sooner.

“Those who talk should do and only those who do should talk.” — Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Skin in the Game: The Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life

I concluded I would have to put some skin in the game to gain.

I need not take any rejections and missteps as personal representations of my identity. I would need to hold my head high and focus on the vision, keeping my eyes on the prize.

The real lesson was to not get too high or too low in life. I would appreciate each moment instead, and in difficult times, I would count my blessings and ask in what way God wants me to improve my character during a humbling period.

I grew. I no longer refused to be battle-tested because I knew it would bring peace. Rather than avoid conflict, I saw that it sought harmony, and I was the missing link.

The process I follow for my happiness is simple. I’m on a path of continuous improvement. I dig, and I search for usable insights. I connect dots. I bridge ideas and form new worlds.

I stick my neck out there.

“If you sense your life’s a mess right now, this is simply because your fears are just a little stronger than your faith.” — Robin Sharma, The 5AM Club: Own Your Morning. Elevate Your Life.

As I’ve gotten my hands dirty in pursuing my goals, I find that taking things day by day is better than looking at the mountain we haven’t scaled yet.

I’m not into getting overwhelmed by unnecessary fears. I know that when I fell for them in the past, I was protecting myself from trying.

Those negative thoughts about how things could go wrong were manifestations of trauma I hadn’t dealt with. Healing from this pain has been the greatest accomplishment of my life.

For that, I thank therapy. I was clueless about why I was the way I was. I was removed from the things that still troubled me. Who knew a bad experience could be a determining factor for future ones?

Understand that you have greatness in you. Rejoice knowing that you must encounter setbacks to get where you’re going. And believe it’s more than possible to make your biggest dreams a reality.

Anything is possible if you can be consistent and level up the quality of what you do each day. Never too high. Never too low. You can’t be when you know how quickly things can turn for the better or worse and how even that’s an opportunity.

My focus is never on what’s happening. Instead, it’s on how I respond. If I did the former, I’d be reactive. But that wouldn’t help me because life is constant change and nothing else.

Confidence from experience shows me a better way.

“All shadows of insecurity dissolve in the warm glow of persistence.” — Robin Sharma, The 5AM Club: Own Your Morning. Elevate Your Life.

Expect the unexpected, but lose the worry.

Keep your head in the game by being aware that there are opportunities to learn lessons now that will take you to the level you want to be. And if that’s the case, you’re in a great spot.

This insight gives you the confidence to keep going. Your success becomes a question of when and not if.

It becomes easy to push it, to go for more by being where you are. It’s a counterintuitive approach.

That’s right, this moment offers you precisely what you’ve been looking for. And what could that be?

It’s likely a chance to start making your dreams come alive. One foot in front of the other. You’ll be gliding like a professional rollerblader in no time.

Be well.