#2- First, conquer your island, then fill it.
It is said that throughout history, there have lived in the world one hundred and six billion human beings.
And currently, we are almost eight billion souls. Therefore, making a simple rule of three
0ne hundred and six billion — — — 100%
Eight billion — — — — — — — — — — X
Eight billion x 100 / One hundred and six billion=5%
In other words, we are currently 5% of all the people on earth who have existed throughout history. And let me tell you something: that’s a lot.
You are expendable.
If tomorrow you die, your boss puts someone else to do your job, and that’s it.
It is hard to think about it but necessary. Because once you realize it, you conclude that you have to take full responsibility for your well-being and the well-being of your loved ones.
I know you’re probably wondering, “Where do I start?
And my answer is joy.
Without joy, your life becomes hell; with joy, hell can become a paradise.
And for that, I propose three habits that, although boring, will fill your life with joy and happiness.
1. Track your day (every day)
Steve Jobs used to say, “For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself, ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am going to do today?’ I know I must change something when the answer has been no for many days.”
Steve knew that to be genuinely happy, you had to live in the present consciously and not on autopilot.
If you want to have happy days, start keeping a journal and write down every day the activities you do. Rate your degree of satisfaction from one to ten.
Review it when you have more than a month on record, and you will see how the days with the highest scores have a lot in common, and the days with low scores follow specific patterns.
Each person is different, but for example, in my case, by doing this, I discovered that if I sleep less than seven hours, don’t go for walks, drink alcohol, and consume Netflix series compulsively, my anxiety goes through the roof.
However, if I sleep more than seven hours, walk, and read, my day score rises from seven and up, even if I have setbacks.
Keeping track of what you do is boring, but it works: if you want more happy days, you have to figure out what you did on one of those days and make more of them.
2. First, conquer your island, then fill it.
To do this, before getting down to work, you have to explore the island. And I’ll give you the best advice: “When you stumble over a stone in your path, don’t put it in your backpack.”
We tend to take the blame for our stumbles as if somehow, by carrying that emotional stone, we are clearing the way for those who come after us, and we are not.
To have a happy life, you have to travel light.
Once you’ve explored your island (what you want to do with your life), it’s time to get to work.
People do it the other way around: they look for a partner, some friends, etc., and then try to make their life, which is impossible because they have to make everything fit with those friends, with that partner, etc.
The logical thing is to create your ideal life and then fill it with people, not the other way around—this way, the newcomer has to adapt.
Don’t worry if you think you don’t have time. An island full of cool stuff will sooner or later be full of people 🙂
Also don’t worry if you are already surrounded by people, try to make your island and the one who doesn’t want to stay there can take a boat in the harbor and go somewhere else 🙂
3. Apply minimalism to your emotional and social life.
Simplify your life. Clean it, order it, and everything will flow.
To do this, apply these eight simple principles of traditional minimalism.
- Focus on the basics and those things essential to you.
- Remember that less is more. Fewer friends, but quality friends. Fewer commitments, fewer responsibilities, etc.
- Never relegate yourself to second place: you are your priority.
- Live in contact with nature. Don’t live locked up in your room.
- Reduce noise: try to follow a diet of dopamine reduction by not exposing yourself all day long to all kinds of stimuli to recover your natural joy.
- Practice conscious gratitude. In life, there is always something to be thankful for. Knowing what you are grateful for is a lifesaver in the sea of disenchantment.
- Spend time in silence, meditate or take a walk. The point is to start listening to what your inner voice has to tell you or recommend.
- Get organized. Don’t leave everything to the last minute. Leading an orderly life reduces anxiety.
Introduce the three tedious habits in your life, and you will smile again. And never forget Kurt Vonnegut once said, “In the face of fear and misfortune, one can laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh because then you don’t have to mop.”
A virtual hug
AG
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