Week #18 (Apr.29 - May 5, 2019)

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Week #18 (Apr.29 - May 5, 2019) - Make Your Life Harder!

We all have a tendency to seek the path of least resistance. After all,  why wouldn’t we? Life can get so hard as it is, why would anyone voluntarily take on additional challenges? During our moments of respite from the rigours of life, why would we do anything other than plop ourselves in front of Netflix and binge watch the latest show (or insert your preferred method of relaxation)? Of course, rest is important, but I believe we would all be better served if we diverted some of our rest time to doing something difficult. I advocate voluntarily taking on a skill-building challenge. So to answer my question as to why make your life even more difficult? The simple answer is growth.Growth isn’t really possible without resistance. This reality bears fruit in all aspects of life with the most obvious application in fitness. Muscles are only built when resistance is put in place. While we all immediately know this to be true with regard to physical fitness, the reality of resistance creating growth is a little harder to see in other aspects of life. However the same truth holds for other areas. Take the formation of character qualities for example. Character qualities are only built under duress. There’s a strength that is built from learning to do hard things for a long period of time.When I set out to start writing a weekly newsletter I wasn’t sure I would be able to do it consistently. To be honest, there have been weeks where I sat in front of my laptop without a clue of what to write about. But I had made a commitment, so I was going to do my absolute best to keep it. And would you look at it, I haven’t missed a week since ***fingers crossed 😂***. In those moments when my mind felt blank, writing felt like drudgery, but at the end, I was always surprised at what I had written.  In fact, those have been some of my most read newsletters. Nobody forced me to start writing, and I certainly didn’t need to do it as an artist. But I decided to, first as a way of exploring another aspect of my creativity, second as another means of serving you, my supporters, and finally as a challenge to myself. Can I commit to something that I know will be a challenge at times?Taking on a skill-building challenge, even for a short period of time I believe provides great benefits. For one, aside from the specific task you’re looking to accomplish, the entire exercise will help build skills like discipline, diligence and integrity. Discipline in that you work even when you don’t feel like it. Diligence in that in order to meet that challenge you will need to organize your life and time accordingly. Finally, integrity in that you are a person of your word. You say you’re going to do something, so you do it. What’s more, committing to a skill-building challenge provides collateral benefits because these character traits (discipline, diligence, integrity) are broadly adaptable to different aspects of your life outside of that specific skill-building challenge. For example, I’m sure building the skill of discipline with regard to my writing is connected to my ability to stick to my workout/fitness regime. So that’s basically it for now. Challenge yourself to do something that will require some effort from you. Reapportion some of your leisure time to doing something with some resistance.For you maybe it’s exercise. Or learn a language, or read/write a book, or try out a recipe, etc. Whatever it is, if you stick to it, at the end not only will you have a new tangible skill and/or product (ie. a finished book, a cake, a healthier body, etc), you will have also acquired a new set of character qualities that will continue to serve you well into the future.Furthermore, unlike the other external life pressures you face, voluntarily taking on a skill-building challenge gives you agency over at least one difficulty in your life. This is one adversary you know you CAN overcome! That is an empowering feeling that you can now carry into tackling the other life pressures over which you have no choice.Until next week, #KnowItsRealP.S. Do you have something challenging that you've taken on? If not, do you plan to? What is it?P.P.S. NEW MUSIC NEXT WEEK! Pre-Save / Pre-Add & I just released a NEW VLOG on my Youtube Channel! See both below and don't forget to Subscribe to my Youtube page (and turn on notifications).

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