“The most dangerous word in regard to your focus is ‘Yes.”
– Tommy Baker
A Lesson in Spiritual and Occupational Wellness…
As an Amazon Affiliate it is policy to inform you that this is an advertisement. However, this is still a reflection of a great book that I’ve read many times over. I believe it would benefit any who may read it. You can find the link for it in my references located at the bottom of this page.
The Map and Dora from “Dora the Explorer”
Create your map.
To navigate the treacherous seas of fate, one must have a sense of tragedy. But one must also have a sense of direction. Keeping your eyes open isn’t enough. You need a map. But of course, your fate doesn’t come with any sort of predetermined map. You are going to have to somehow build it on your own. You have to start physically taking note of your experiences. Fortunately, the solution for this challenge is simple to explain.
But unfortunately, it isn’t easy to do…
Like all maps, yours can only be crafted through careful exploration, keen observation, and a foolproof retreat strategy. In the beginning, it isn’t about how far you can go. It’s about how much you can record before you must return to the starting point.
Your journey is supposed to start with just one meaningful question. It can’t be vague. In the hours before bed, spend as much time as you need to think of the smallest detail that you could improve. You can do this by breaking down the long-term goals you may already have. Your dreams are a great place to start, but it is recommended to start with your problems. Once you have that one thing in mind, write it down.
The question you wrote down the night before should be the first thing you look at in the morning. Questions always facilitate thinking. If you have a meaningful question at the beginning of the day, you will proceed to have meaningful thoughts. You will opt in to meaningful activities that serve your research. Most importantly, you will slowly begin to create the mental space needed for progress.
It is nature to outgrow your environment. We’ve all had a hard time letting go of things and people who retain their sentimental value. But all good things have to come to an end at some point, whether you discard them yourself or lose them. Each time you venture out, you will have a better idea of what will serve you once you’ve fully committed to moving on with your life. Discarding what is useless is the way of the world. It would happen to you if you proved useless.
So, think very hard about what is worth your time right now…
One question a day.
Writing down your questions will give you something tangible to return your focus to when you are caught up in life’s challenges. Your questions should inspire research, and that research should become the highlight of your day. Because you are one step further than you were yesterday.
When recording your research, remain as objective as possible in your wording. We’ve been over this. What you say is important. What you tell yourself is even more so. As long as you attempted to answer that one meaningful question from the night before, you did something worth your time. This is your map you are trying to craft. You want to get even the little things perfectly detailed.
You must make sure to ask yourself a new question every night. When forming your question for the evening, make sure it is something specific and within your skillset. It is normal to draw a blank when you believe you have tried everything. Your questions don’t have to follow a single track. As long as you are looking into something that benefits you, that’s all that matters.
Reading powerful literature can give you plenty of inspiration if you are having trouble forming a good question. Books function as collective memories and help to speed up the research process. The insight you have been searching for may have been written long ago. Even if you don’t find it, you may find something else interesting enough to test out for yourself.
The questions you write down should become something like a collective memory for you. You should be able to flip through your pages and see the effort you put in day after day. It should motivate and inspire you through the dark and dull times. This will be your story once you’ve finally become the champion.
Who knows? I might even be the guy writing your biography one day, so I’ll need all the info I can get!
Dandelion and Geralt from “The Witcher“
Sharper each day.
Your memory isn’t as clear as you would like to think. And it gets worse with age. Your brain is constantly taking in new information. Eventually, it will clear out information on its own. You don’t want to end up forgetting something significant, do you? You might have already forgotten the most important detail of your life. You should not risk wasting any more precious knowledge.
The more you record your thoughts, the more control over your schedule you’ll have. Because you’ll value your time first before anything else. Only you can waste your time when it’s all said and done. When you return home, what can you say you did today that pushed you forward? What could you say you’ve added to this map you are crafting? Where are you going next?
More than just your time and energy will be required. You are going to have to spend quite a bit of money as well. You will have to change your environment gradually. You are going to have to travel a bit. You’ll need to expand your own memory to recall names and places easier. Your upward progress will begin to stack, and you will build this inner momentum that will eventually change everything around you.
There’s a lot you must keep up with. If you try to take in everything at once, you are going to freeze up like a cheap computer. This is why we are only sticking to one meaningful question every night, instead of building an itinerary. Life’s daily challenges already spread us thin enough. Though we are forced into multitasking, there should always be time reserved for answering the question from last night, even if you must wake up early to do so.
Your questions are supposed to ground you to reality. They are supposed to give you the satisfaction of progress. They give you more of a sense of identity. It’s supposed to be what you fall back on after a rough day. It’s supposed to be something you do even when you don’t feel like it. It’s a lot like exercising but for your brain.
You will eventually begin appreciating the works of other masters you wish to rival without getting stuck on your own lack of skill or opportunity. Your old habits will slowly be replaced with better habits. Your emotions will come more under your control each passing day. You will begin to forget those who no longer serve. You will also forget how to surrender. Because your definition of success will become less subjective. You will record the failures in your research with the same objectivity as you record your successes. The quickest way to learn 1 million lessons is to fail 1000 times. You have to trust yourself if you are going to start calling your own shots. You gain that self-trust through making your own playbook. There is only one way to create it.
The wellness wheel.
Write it down.
Again, all of this sounds quite easy in concept. It is not. You are going to be your biggest enemy throughout the process. The best and worst thing about it is the tedium it requires. You can start today and end whenever you wish. But like exercise, you will only start noticing the results weeks down the line. Growing is supposed to be long and painful. When the day comes, and your map becomes complete, you will have long since built up the endurance and resources you will need for the long journey.
The 1% rule is a powerful book that makes the difficult challenges in life plain enough to comprehend. I recommend it to anyone who is seeking a self-improvement guide. Make sure to click the link below and order it yourself to get your own sense of it. Thanks for reading!
References and Photos
The 1% rule – Tommy Baker,
Dora the explorer – Nickelodeon Studios,
Lofi anime girl art – Artist unknown,
The Witcher- Andrzej Sapkowski