Not Happy? It’s Time You Levelled Up

Unless you're ok with mediocrity

It came to a point where I was just stagnant in life. Frustrated and not making any progress. I constantly kept asking myself “I'm doing everything I can, why the hell am I still stuck in the same place”.

Have you felt that way before?

When reflecting on myself and life, I had a realization that:

You're only as good as how much you know,

You're only as good as your skills.

You’ll only go so far with the beliefs you have right now.

Getting to the next level of our lives requires us to level up every aspect of ourselves. In some cases, maybe just one aspect.

I realized that I had to stop and change something. Not just change in a superficial way, but a real, lasting and substantial change. A change that shifts my reality to what I envision it to be.

Why Tricks and Hacks Never Worked, Levelling Up Takes Real Work

You see, I realized that I was trying to make things happen without actually taking the time to improve myself.

Why do we often chase tricks and hacks?

I'm not sure about you and your life. However, I'm quite confident that for a majority of people, implementing tricks, hacks, and quick fixes give us the feeling that we’ll get to where we want to be a lot quicker, with less effort.

As I was reading a LinkedIn article by Alex Kaye, I found that:

“Hacking only serves to give a quick hit of satisfaction, followed by an immediate desperate need for another”. Says Kaye.

However, very little happens if we don't improve our skills and change the way we think. To get to where we want to be in life, it requires our thought process to change altogether.

As soon as I changed my thought process, my outer reality simply change as a knock on effect. My anxiety reduced or vanished, as soon as I changed the glasses by which I'm using to see life with.

It's like saying that, you'd like to start cooking. You start learning recipes and putting dishes together. However, if you'd like to go the next level, you need to take the time to study each ingredient, how they interact with each other, the principles of cooking, experiment with flavours and how you can enhance them.

What I'm trying to say is that, to go to the next level, you need to adopt a whole new approach to what you're doing.

Note the keyword “approach”.

The idea of levelling up, might sound good to the ears. But what’s blocking you from doing so?

Find Out What’s Blocking You From Levelling Up

There are so many reasons as to why we might be blocking ourselves from levelling up.

For example, in my case. I was simply too set in my own ways.

I had to develop the humbleness and humility to look within, figure out what I'm doing wrong.

To give you some context, I used a freelance as a designer. I was extremely hung up on getting as many clients as I could, without much success.

It was only when I got completely frustrated and had to thoroughly analyse the situation. I found out that I simply wasn't in demand, i never actually listened to the market, I didn't take the time to diversify my skill sets and i was fearful of partnerships.

I had to level up myself by, changing my thought process and seek out mentors who were successful and had what I wanted.

I was surprised that they had an entirely different approach and mindset, highly in contrast to mine.

The importance of levelling up myself became crucial, others played an important part in that process.

Now, let's put this in action. What can you do today to level up?

Practical Ways That You Can Begin To Level Up Today Itself

After understanding the importance of levelling up, we need to put all that into action.

It all starts with

> Have a strong reason on why you actually want to level up

I only levelled up until I was completely frustrated with life. You need to have really a strong reason to level up. Otherwise, you might level up, but it will only be on a superficial level. It might not last.

If you have goals and dreams, but you're stuck. The motivation to attain that goal must be profound, only then will you make the effort to really level up yourself.

Another thing I like to ask myself when I'm thinking about levelling up is,

Where will i be in 5 years if i make an effort to level up today?

Having a future perspective and thinking about the person you would become is crucial. It gives you a sense of purpose and direction.

> Understand how others levelled up and reverse engineer from there

Don't just take my word for it. Just walk into a book store, and you'll find tons of biographies. Why do we see so many biographies?

Becuase, success leaves clues. The path has already been paved, you just need some patience and humbleness to sit-down, learn and absorb.

Those we look up to had their own struggles. It was only because they made the choice of levelling themselves up, they find themselves where they are.

Because they realize that, not levelling up also has a cost. The currency of that cost is REGRET.

> Fill in the missing pieces

You can't simply just level up without knowing exactly where you're falling short.

When I was overtaken with frustration by being stuck in the same place, I had to have a hard look at myself and ask.

Where am i falling short here?

You don’t necessarily need to revolutionize yourself, just understand what you need to spend time learning and mastering. I can guarantee that there’s a gap somewhere, which is blocking you from your greatness.

You might just be:

• One skill,
• One mindset shift,
• One strategy

away from levelling up.

All you need to do is find the missing piece and fill it. It might be one thing, or it might be two. Now, for that to happen, we need to be open and honest when assessing ourselves.

> Humility and Honesty

Because I had refused to level up in the past, I was forced to close my freelance business as a consequence. I simply didn't have the required humility to look at myself and tell my self that I'm not good enough, and I need to level up.

I was far too hung up on the fact that I already knew enough and ill be just fine. Whereas, in all honesty, I really wasn't.

Levelling up requires us to constantly assess ourselves whilst getting our ego out of the way.

Closing Notes

So that's that about levelling up, I hope I've managed to at least inspire you on the importance of levelling up.

Notice that you’ve already come really far. However, to progress in life, you simply can't afford to stay the way you are. I'm sure living the life of your dreams is enough motivation for you to level up.

In this story, we've covered,

• The importance of levelling.
• What might be blocking you from levelling up.
• Along with some practical tips to help you ignite that “level up flame” in you today.

To end this, I would like to give thanks and gratitude to those who've contributed in helping me become a better writer. Thank you, Ilana Lydia, Susie Pinon as well as Lanu Pitan.

I'm not perfect in any way and have a long way to go, but it's an amazing process. It’s been a pleasure to have known you.

Would love to give back in any way I can.

Take good care.