Imagine yourself walking down a street in a city you’ve never been to before. You notice a particularly nice tree, and the sunlight is gliding through it in just such a way as to make you stop and pause. As your staring up and around like a tourist, someone walking by and says, “Oh! I love your hair! It’s beautiful.” What’s your immediate response?

Something like: “Oh thank you!”

Or more like “It’s a little frizzy today.”

Do you take a compliment or dismiss it?

This is such a small moment, hardly worth remembering, but underneath this complement is….. a conspiracy! No no, just joshing. (Just making sure you’re still paying attention. 🙂

This small interaction highlights a lot about you and what your mind focuses on.

Consider the opposite:

You are walking in a city, and think “the streets are so dirty here!” You notice that you feel particularly sticky and sweaty today. You pull out your phone—missing the nice tree—and check the weather. 49% chance of rain—you’re doomed.

As you are looking down at your phone, someone briskly walks by and gives you a look that says “watch where you are going, you tourist. Keep walking around with the face up your phone’s butt and you’ll get hit by a Hyundai one day.”

Again such a small moment, that completely sours your entire day. Did they insult you or did you just make it up in your head? And if they did insult you, why must something as small as a few negative words make you dwell on it all day?

There are so many small moments like this in life.

Compliments, criticisms, sunburns, and cracked sidewalks. Life is made up of small moments. Small moments in between a lifetime of small moments.

And throughout it all, in the gooey center is us staring out into the world, giving out our opinions. You might not realize it, or you might not believe it, but how we direct our attention and attitude changes everything.

“Like fingers pointing to the moon, other diverse disciplines from anthropology to education, behavioral economics to family counseling, similarly suggest that the skillful management of attention is the sine qua non of the good like and the key to improving virtually every aspect of your experience.” — Winifred Gallagher, Rapt

Oh course, this can be easier said than done sometimes.

Problems pile up (and high) some days.

And I wake up on the wrong side of the bed more often than I would like.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t change our minds or attitude.

Often the solutions are simpler than we think: Have I eaten recently? (Was it something healthy?) Have I taken a break recently? (Need a power nap?) Have I moved my body recently? How much water have I had today (versus how much coffee)? Have I talked to a friend today?

Sometimes simply taking a shower can give our day a reset.

All we need to do is find a way to reset ourselves — today, and focus on shifting our attitude and attention — today. By focusing on each today, we are priming ourselves to think and act more with an abundance / opportunistic/capable mindset, instead of a negative/hopeless/fruitless one.

Attention is an essential skill to be practiced every day. What we focus our lens on, ultimately becomes who we are. If we dwell on the negative side of life, then life becomes all negative. The more we can narrow our focus on what matters most to us, the more our time and creative output increases.

STAY BOLD, Keep Pursuing— Josh Waggoner | Daily Blog #1790

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I think it’s healthy to consider why you are trying to get something done as quickly as possible in the first place. If you have to rush through it, is it really that important to you?

Rushing usually doesn’t create the desired effect.

Not to say we should throw away all deadlines and constraints. Constraints are guardrails that keep us on track and set us up to finish what we start.

However, repeatedly setting unrealistic deadlines and constantly rushing through things not only stresses everyone involved out, it completely diminishes our ability to do great work.

Rushing usually comes into play when our desire to do more outpaces our time or resources available.

A classic example is traveling to Europe for a week’s vacation and trying to fit 30 countries in. Instead of enjoying one city, such as London, and all the wonders and excitements that the city holds, you spend 90% of your time hopping from one place to the next, taking a flyby trip to London, Paris, Rome, Hamburg…. on and on. You leave with a few great memories and one universal sentiment: “It was fun, but I wish I hadn’t planned so many destinations to visit”.

Rushing happens in all types of day-to-day life as well. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve caught myself quickly reading a book just to get it over with so I can go to the next one.

What’s the point of reading a book if you aren’t learning anything or enjoying it?

Or something urgent is needed at work. Which happens. But if everything coming across your desk is marked “ASAP” there’s a lack of planning ahead and priority.

More often than not, what gets rushed gets redone.

STAY BOLD, Keep Pursuing— Josh Waggoner | Daily Blog #1789

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How much time do you spend each week doing things you don’t like or wasting it on things that aren’t meaningful?

It’s not that time must have a bottom line. Time enjoyed is time well spent. If going for a hike or having dinner with friends or seeing a movie gets you jazzed, then by all means — go enjoy it!

But if you don’t enjoy it, why are you doing it? If it sucks the life out of you why are you letting it stress you out? Your time is precious and should be treated as such.

Every second we get to live should be spent with intent.

Intentional living is about loving life. My time is too important to let fear or stress or anger or jealousy or anxiety control me for longer than it needs to be.

STAY BOLD, Keep Pursuing— Josh Waggoner | Daily Blog #1788

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Objectivity is the best part about asking for advice from a trusted connection.

When we are facing down the barrel of a problem (or problemS with a capital Ssssss) we’re usually too close to what’s going on to see the issue for what it is and find opportunities to solve it—without losing our shirt about it.

Asking for help can be scary, mostly because it shows we are vulnerable like everyone else.

You spend all this time fortifying yourself for battle, handling problems by yourself, and steeling your nerves. All the while, you’re on edge and crying on the inside, as your foundation crumbles from all the battles. You wish you had help, but to get it you have to lower your defenses to let help through, leaving you open.

Objective advice allows you to see things for what they are, rather than what you think they are.

It’s an emotionless spark of insight into what’s going on. However emotionless doesn’t mean soulless. Trusted advice has care behind it. It doesn’t come with expectations of what you should do or pity for what you can’t do, rather, it says ‘here’s something you might haven’t seen or thought about the problem.

Advice gives you the chance to find different angles and perspectives on the problem and redefine what you’re dealing with.

A problem isn’t just a problem, it’s amplified by what we think and believe about it.

A negative hopeless problem is a lion roaring on your chest while you lay on the ground yelling, ‘why me?!’

An objective problem is recognizing that the lion is actually the size of an iPhone, and you can pick up the lion by its tiny tail and you can get up off the ground and show that baby phone-sized lion your teeth.

When in doubt, ask a trusted confidant.

How do you know if you can trust someone? Ask yourself, does this persons advice help me, or does it help them / does it make them feel better about themselves?

And when you don’t feel like you have someone to trust, find an expert such as a therapist, or even better, someone who has been through what you’re going through.

STAY BOLD, Keep Pursuing— Josh Waggoner | Daily Blog #1787

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When pursuing multi-disciplines there may come a point when you find yourself saying yes to too many things at once.

When I’m in there, my instinctual thought is ‘I’ve got to do more to be able to do less’.

I’ve got to work harder and longer to be able to get to a place where I can work less.

I’ve got to do more to be more.

I’ve got to do more things because the old ways of doing things aren’t working.

That’s the instinctual way I think most of us go about making choices.

I’ve got to dig this hole deeper to get out of this hole.

However, the opposite that’s true.

We’ve got to do less to make room for more. (Even when our culture and everyone around you tells you to do the opposite)

There are only so many yes’s and no’s you have to give in your life.

I’m still working through this myself, but I think if we let go of the doing — saying yes to everything, or to the things we only like, the more fulfilling and meaningful our lives will be.

Mastery is found in the spaces we deliberately create for ourselves because it’s within those moments, we find who we are and can grow into who we want to be.

STAY BOLD, Keep Pursuing— Josh Waggoner | Daily Blog #1786

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Gratitude is something that can be easily overlooked but can have a significant impact on your life.

At the very least, it’s injecting our being with positivity, kindness, and love, versus our normal day-to-day, go-go-go worry-stress-comparison mind.

Little things become moments of centering. Ah, I’m so grateful for the clouds today.

Gratitude puts us in the present. I’m grateful for my partner, friends, and family.

And it also has a way of ironing out all the bothersome wrinkles in our lives. At least I have a roof over my head, and food to eat.

Instead of dwelling on the negative, we can see what abundance is around us, and what opportunities we have in the future.

Sure, we might not have everything we want or everything we need. But that doesn’t mean we can’t be happy.

Success doesn’t automatically lead to happiness.

Success and happiness are two different goals. They are things we need to pursue simultaneously.

Happiness can happen anytime.

Having a daily gratitude practice helps nudge us into happiness.

STAY BOLD, Keep Pursuing— Josh Waggoner | Daily Blog #1785

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The power of small task is that they pack a big punch. Stay consistent and deliberate with anything long enough—no matter how small—you’re going to make things happen.

Focusing on our next the action also gives us breathing room. A narrowed focus allows our mind to not dwell on the problems, and instead only on the task ahead.

Whenever I’m feeling overwhelmed, I’m focusing too much on all the things I need/want to do, versus prioritizing what’s important and dividing in to the next immediate small task.

STAY BOLD, Keep Pursuing— Josh Waggoner | Daily Blog #1784

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Consistency is key to success.

I’ve learned this through daily habits.

There’s a natural ebb and flow when it comes to the quality of our daily habits. But the key is to keep going and strive for high quality.

Maybe today that means only twenty minutes of work. Well, that’s still twenty minutes more than nothing (if you decided to skip today).

Twenty minutes might not seem like a lot (and perhaps it’s not from a granular perspective). But it adds up when looked over a long period. 3 sessions * 20min = 1 hour. 72 sessions * 20 mins = 1 day. You get the idea.

But I’ve also learned the importance of consistency through failure.

I’ve been inconsistent with my podcast and newsletters, mostly because I’m not treating them like a job when I should be. Importantly, the fun is already there. Now I just need to prioritize the work.

Consistency shows others how serious you are.

STAY BOLD, Keep Pursuing— Josh Waggoner | Daily Blog #1783

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Plants need just the right amount of sunlight, just enough water, and the right kind of soil to grow. Not to mention pruning.

Too much sunlight and they die. No water and they die. But give them what they need and there’s no limit to how much they grow.

I’m not a parent (we have a puppy!!), but I️ bet it’s the same with a baby— .. water, dirt, and sunlight 😉

You don’t feed a baby filet mignon, you give I­t­ what i­t­ needs.

But what about ourselves?

We eat potato chips and fast food and wash I­t­ down with sugar water. We stay up late drinking. We mindlessly consume media, argue about political issues we’re 8 degrees away from, and repeat ad nauseam negative things or things we can’t control.

And we do everything possible except what we want:

Following our dreams, building a legacy, being our weird, undiluted selves, and creating connections with people we care for and love.

Living your life on fire 🔥 requires waking up with just the right amount of input (learning, connections, possibility), the right amount of fuel (whole foods, water, enough sleep, play), and the right amount of meaningful action.

That’s how we grow into our own.

The nice thing is we don’t have to do everything at once. We can start with creating one positive change—like drinking a big glass of water upon waking up—and focus all our energy on that until we master I­t­.

One change leads to another, and another, until eventually, you wake up to the life of your dreams.

“The inspiration you seek is already within you. Be silent and listen.” — Rumi

We seek answers and advice from outside ourselves. Friends, family, and those more experienced in what we are going through. And it’s great to seek out wise counsel, but more often than not—

You already know what you need to do.

Making hard calls is one of the toughest things we have to face.

Do you go with what’s safe, or what’s true for you?

Do you take a leap of faith and put yourself out there, or do you suppress yourself and suffer in silence?

Not making the hard calls is the easiest way to delay them in the short term, but nondecisions ruminate.

They fester and consume your every thought. Consider indecision. By paralyzing yourself from making a decision, or by postponing it again and again, not only do you create unnecessary stress in your life, you end up making the worst decision you can make: doing nothing.

When has sitting on your hands done anything for you? When has not speaking up turned out in your favor?

Every time you make a nondecision, you suffer.

Holding in your emotions.

Doing nothing,

Not speaking up for yourself or others, even though your gut and every fiber of your being is telling you to.

Reluctantly choosing the ‘have to’ path of life, instead of the ‘dream’ path of life.

Intuition is mightier.

Give yourself a moment and listen to what you’re body and soul already know.

You already have the decisions you want and need to make. Not it’s time to do the work and take it to heart with sound footing and action.

STAY BOLD, Keep Pursuing— Josh Waggoner | Daily Blog #1781

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