Why you must give your best

It's 5:26am. On a Monday. And even though I have work in a few hours, I'm here, putting the finishing touches on this article (I refuse to call it a blog. Deal with it). It's crazy that no more than five months ago, this was lightyears away from my mind. Let alone my day-to-day. I would've called anyone a fool if they told me I would have my thoughts out (t)here for the world to interact with. I now know I was being asinine as it's become evident that writing is part of a serendipitous path that is leading me beyond anything my human brain can comprehend. This whole year has felt like a movie: started off great. Then peripeties occurred. After facing several challenges I gained a new place to call home, a new perspective, and so much more. What you are reading is the last of three introspective pieces, tackling themes I believe anyone on the planet must ponder on. Let's dive in:

Complacency ≠ Peace

Complacency can be boiled down to comfort without initiative. It's that thing that leaves you frozen in inaction. Even when you know better. Like when you want to eat but don't want to prepare anything. How useful is that?! Complacency can spread throughout life if you're not careful; in small things, like leaving the tub of Ben&Jerry's you just ate on your room floor. And bigger things, like choosing to change career path. We often act like our inaction comes from lack of information. Let's be honest for a moment; you’re not truly clueless, are you? In fact, I could bet that you know exactly what to do. You’re just too anxious to act. And that's complacency for you: a breeding ground to anxiety. Or whatever excuse your brain (designed to shield you from discomfort, FYI) is coming up with as you're reading this.

Complacency and anxiety are a deadly combo if left unchecked. They will have you lose a friend, a partner, or much more. They will have you dislike your childhood home, filled with memories, because you're idolizing the (often unpractical) flat your favorite influencer lives in. Do you know what kills anxiety though? Gratitude. Gratitude and anxiety cannot coexist in the human brain. Don’t take my word for it. In fact, don't just look it up either. List a couple of things you’re grateful for and see if you remain anxious in the moment. Because we live in a generation that wants all the good things while wanting to do as little as possible, we forget that all good things in life require initiative. Whether it's a walk in a park, or a salary increase.

If I were to reframe our starting formula, it would something like this: Gratitude + Initiative=Peace. So, practice gratitude regularly. And push yourself to act regularly. See where that takes you.

((Current) Habit) x (New Habit) = Momentum

While I was looking for a new job earlier in the year, I decided that I would wake up at 5:45am in the morning AND exercice for at least 30 mins (be it a 5k run or a gym workout). Waking up early would provide me with clarity of thought (less noise and distraction) and exercise would strengthen my will to act. The goal was to make informed decisions through decisive actions. James Clear calls this "habit stacking" in his book Atomic Habits: when you combine two habits to supplement a goal/need. What I didn't foresee is how stacking those habits only a couple of times a week would create a driving force that felt like a controlled downhill bike run: that's momentum.

Because of the similarity of their outputs, momentum and consistency can be mistaken for one another. Modern consistency can often be perceived as pressing buttons on a controller, as quickly as you can. It's restless. And even frustrating. Momentum is more like a Jazz drums solo: Every hit, although incoherent on the surface, has a place. They might get faster but quieter or louder at seemingly random moments. Once you get the hang of it though, you might start having more fun than Ryan Reynolds is.

Momentum gives context to your downtime. It helps you find your groove in a world where everyone "successful" seems to be going at 175mph without stop. Talking about success; I believe it can be summarised as doing what you say you would do. Combining two habits in one go is certainly a way to gain momentum and find your way to success.

Momentum + Church = Miracles

Not trying to make you feel old or anything, but do you remember what you were doing in 2016? Yeah, me neither. If you’re a basketball fan, you remember what Stephen Curry accomplished that year. For those who don't, he won the only unanimous Most Valuable Player trophy in the history of the NBA. Not MJ. Not Kobe. Or even LeBron. And he did so without playing the last quarter of almost every game! How is that possible? His individual momentum aside, his team that year was a collection of individuals, recognising their strengths and weaknesses, sharpening their talent(s), abiding to a complex textbook in togetherness, in pursuit of a collective goal (sounds familiar?): to become NBA champions. Or World Champions, depending on who you ask (definitely not Noah Lyles).

What does a miracle look like for us mere mortals? Well, I mentioned in my first story (shameless plug, go check it out :)) that I ran a 10k without extensive training or athletic background, in less than an hour. The morning runs and workouts I did weren't solo missions. Several of my friends pulled through with valuable/practical advice. Outside of that, others helped in ways words can't describe.

While I'm not encouraging you to run a race without proper, I can testify that the miracle I experienced by completing my first race has carried me all the way to whatever device you're using to read this. And that is only one of the side quests I'm currently on. So I urge you to start your journey. Your church will find you. And see where that takes you.

Internal fuel > (fears +external chatter)

Imagine being so great at your hobby that you get to compete AND win at Olympic level. Nada Hafez, who has a degree in medicine (clinical pathology to be more precise) won a fencing match at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Here's the punchline: She was Seven Months Pregnant. The balls on that woman! A loud part of the online chatter stated that Nada was insane (more on that word later) for practicing such a high concentration and contact sport this late into her pregnancy. Sounds sensible, doesn’t it? Well, her doctor assured her that the strain would be good for her and her baby (I'm shrugging at you right now, because I don't know what to think).

When they asked Nada about the experience, she said that although she had many doubts and fears, competing was well beyond worth it. Her internal fuel was strong enough to burn through anything leading her away from protecting her goal/dream of competing at a high level. I don't know about you guys but she inspires the heck out of me. She had every excuse to be complacent. She also will only get another shot four years from now. And that's where the correlation between her and us ends. I'll never be pregnant but I have a shot at my goal a lot more frequently than every four years. And so do you.

If we get complacent in the pursuit of a goal, is it really the doubters' fault if we don't achieve it? Well, it doesn’t matter how many naysayers there are if we're able build and maintain the courage to protect our dream while pursuing it like Nada did.

Here's a gentle reminder: not doing your best is disrespectful to yourself and those who believe in you. It is even more disrespectful to the One who gave you the gifts/dreams you have. Complacency is robbing you of the life you really want. Cowardice is killing your dream before it even starts. And the mask(s) you wear for conformity while running away from your goal will ruin any chances of you being at peace. So I implore you: DO. SOMETHING. TODAY. Stop waiting for the perfect circumstances. My deadline to post this was yesterday. I feel very little frustration about it because you're still reading me, aren't you? It is insanity to believe that not doing anything would grant you something you've never had. Tomorrow is not promised. To any of us. There are also no guarantees. I can testify that even in the worst case scenario, you will learn a thing or two about yourself. My second piece tells you all about that (another shameless plug. IDC). This is yet another call to action. And I pray it will be the last one you ignore. Peace and love y'all!