Reinventing Yourself

In the first article of the "Lazy Hustler" Series, we learned about the necessary skills to reinvent yourself.

Now, let's take a look at some core principles:

1. Showing up

The most important principle is to show up.

Best case: Do so with no expectations.

It's very easy to stand in your own way: Be it by procrastination, perfectionism, making excuses, blaming, doubting…

It's just as easy to do the opposite: Believe in yourself, push through, go after your goals…

The problem is that we often use our own intelligence against ourselves. The problem is that we built a world, a society, and a culture that is overwhelming and actively confusing people.

Ever seen a tiger who procrastinates on going on a hunt? An eagle doubting that he can snatch up a mammal?

Probably not. Because if they did, they would die.

Humans have been the same way when we were living in caves. You didn't have the luxury of being depressed. You either went on a hunt or died.

It's not that the tiger thought about this and concluded that procrastinating results in death. 

It's that the tiger runs on pure, animalistic instinct.

Humans had that instinct too. 

But in the modern world, where the focus is on living comfortably, not rocking the boat, expecting to have a great life, constant distractions all the other traps the world sets out to get us, most people lost connection to that instinct.

Thus, we get into our heads, analyze, think through, weigh the options… This is good if you use it productively and only at the right time.

It can also be your downfall if you engage in it without self-control. 

Before you thought your master plan through, you have found thousands of excuses, the chance passed you by and the task will never be done.

Promising to show up is essential.

It's also crucial to not tie your outcomes to expectations, as these will always lead to not staying on track. Either by instilling self-doubt because you think you didn't do it good enough, or by feeling down because you didn't succeed despite putting in a lot of work, by cultivating a sense of entitlement that diminishes your drive and work ethic, and so on…

Expectations can be allies, but only if you know how and when to use them. Most people use expectations in a „wrong" way and against themselves.

When in doubt, always check your intention:

Is it damaging and holding you back or pushing you towards a positive outcome?

It's all about showing up, no matter how you do it. Learn from your mistakes as you go.

It's wiser to start running and trip a thousand times than to plan and think about your running, only to never start running.

2. Commitment

To show up, you only need one thing: Commitment.

Everything else, like discipline and focus, is a consequence of commitment.

Although it often happens subconsciously, we commit all the time. 

Everything you do is a consequence of commitment. It's the foundation of every action.

This means that no one needs to learn how to commit. You do it all the time, every day. It's simply about directing this commitment to the actions that bring you closer to your goals and the self you want to be.

But there are levels to it. The highest form of commitment automatically puts everything in place: 

Your mind is hyperfocused, your emotional spirit is driven and ambitious, and your actions are guided toward the goal despite any odds against you.

We all experienced such bursts:

Think of times when your whole being was on one page and went relentlessly towards what you wanted. For example, as an addict, you probably know it from the substance/action of your choice, especially after experiencing long withdrawal periods. 

When you were in love for the first time, all you wanted to do was spend as much time with that person as you can, even if it meant sidelining some important aspects of your life.

The point is: We know it and can do it.

3. Be your friend

You will never beat someone into doing better, especially not yourself.

You can beat them with Bruce Lee moves or a spiked bat. You can run them over with a steamroller… It simply won't happen.

Imagine having a coach at your side every day:

When you feel down, he has the perfect words to put you in a good mood again. When you procrastinate, he is not condescending, but understanding and finding the right ways to motivate you.

No matter what you do, he never scolds you, but always finds a way to nudge you in the right direction, no matter what.

You can be that coach for yourself.

The sad thing is that most of us made the choice to not be that coach and instead we chose to be our enemy, sometimes in such a bad way that it renders us totally helpless and immobilized. It may have happened subconsciously, but we still made the choice.

That means we can now choose to do the opposite and become our benevolent coach, our best friend.

4. Not giving in

To our demons, obstacles in our way, people trying to hold us down…

Never surrender, no matter what life throws at you.

Simply vowing to never give up will create the right spirit. The skills and principles will be applied and followed.

Never surrendering is a stance you can always take. 

Even if you believe you have no reason to continue. The power this mental stance brings can't be exaggerated.

Here's the truth: 99% of the time, you fail at something because you gave up before you broke through. It's rarely the reason we think it is and often that we gave in instead of pushing through.

You can only be controlled if you let yourself be controlled. You can only be stopped if you let it stop you.

If you don't, then a lot of odds have to conspire against you to really stop you.

It's a very rare happening that there really was no way.

It's a very common happening that there was a way and you didn't go down that route because you thought you couldn't, which often has no bearing in reality.

5. Trust your gut

All of us have stories where our gut made the best choices. 

We often realize this by NOT trusting our gut and paying the price, wishing we would have listened to it.

I believe that what we call the gut is our subconscious. It's been proven that our subconscious makes calculations we couldn't ever do consciously because it is too much. It would drive us insane and we wouldn't even have the time for it.

What transpires in our consciousness is the filtered version of these calculations.

That means that we are more intelligent than we think. We have way more potential than we think.

To tap into that power, we need to learn to trust our gut. To trust the subconscious and its calculations. Most of the time, we instinctively know what is best for us, but we don't listen. 

We actively get in our own way by relying solely on our conscious thoughts and dismissing what the subconscious tells us.

It always shows up, often in the form of that nagging voice:

„I hate this job. I'd rather be a musician"

„She says she loves me, but something feels off"

„I would like to lose 30 pounds, but (insert random excuse)".

If you do it long enough, it can become a war in your head that is hard to bear and seems impossible to win.

It is possible, even easy: Start listening to and acting on it. 

If you disregard the essence of yourself, the deepest core of your being, you will always pay a high price.

This is very easy to write and read, but not so easy to do. 

If you come from a place like I did, chances are you finish reading this article and then go back to doing the same, living the same life, and being unhappy with yourself.

I lost a lot of time and chances by being my own enemy.

It took me a long time to really get it.

Over time, I found a solution that works for me and finally got me up to do what brings me closer to the vision of myself and the life I always wanted.

I believe everyone can do that.

That's why I will provide deep dives into these principles and skills and even more to come. 

The first articles describe the foundation, the basic picture of what's necessary.

How to do it is a story for another time.

For now, all you need to know is that you can do it. Never believe your own bullshit. Your excuses, your „reasons"… It's all a lie designed to keep you down.

Truth is, you can program your mind to do the opposite and lift you up, anywhere and anytime.

Until then, thank you for reading. Have a nice day!