Self-mastery Nº69
The next step
Read
God. What a year it’s been.
I’ve been writing Self-mastery for over a year, and so much has changed. In the steaming shower I just had before sitting down to write, I did a lot of reflecting. Never in a thousand years would I have expected my life to be what it is today. I guess you do a bit, as having self-belief is important. But, I still spend more than a reasonable amount of time bouncing between the walls in my mind trying to actualise it all.
Part of the reason I moved this newsletter to once a fortnight was for two reasons: first, my yearlong journey so far into writing has landed me in my first full-time and “dream” job. And well, I call it a dream because it has what many would want: great pay, a pleasant team, and good flexibility to keep doing what I enjoy. But it’s kind of not a dream. Because what indeed constitutes a dream to me is being here, just me, writing to and helping you and others for a living.
Secondly, the free space has given me time to understand what this newsletter means to me — and, perhaps, to you. I’m continually pondering the present with the goal of making it better. Whether that’s writing more beautifully, gathering more precise ideas, figuring out how to write to more people or getting that actual “dream” job.
However, in lieu of this change, I do have more time to define what I want. That is why I’m focusing on the next step today.
We all know forward steps are imperative for growth — whether that’s a step in the right or even wrong direction — although having the courage to identify the right step and know our direction is an even bigger challenge. Each edition of Self-mastery is a step. Each day I spend in my new job, learning how to help myself and others, is a step. What I mean by all this is, and could say, is that we should know our steps, but not worry about counting them.
One tenet I hold close in life is to count my direction, not my speed. To know my step, but avoid becoming too meticulous about each one. The next step you take in life can look steep. Sharp. Or highly consequential. But at the top, you’ll realise you were, perhaps naturally, doing the right thing all along.
What I’ve Learned
Time saved over money saved
Time is the greatest asset. It can be so easy to put money over time and get into a habit of being so money-conscious that you forfeit time for the little savings here and there. But, over time, I realised that focusing it all on saving is a waste. Of course, I advocate not being careless, mostly avoiding debt, delaying gratification, living below our respective means. But it’s easy for us to get worked up, stressed, or depressed trying to save in the small things. Instead, we should spend more energy on growth for ourselves and our income. To me, we shouldn’t sacrifice health and time to save a bit of money — that’s why outsourcing and spending more to get things done quickly is so popular. Whether that’s spending more on a shorter commute or paying more now to avoid paying again later. Making more is better than saving more. And this mentality shift removed a vast portion of stress from my life.
Explore
One Timeless Quote
“If you’re going to do only work and no play, work better be play.”
—
Brain Food
“And there’s a corollary to that proposition which is very important. It means that you’re hooked for lifetime learning, and without lifetime learning you people are not going to do very well. You are not going to get very far in life based on what you already know. You’re going to advance in life by what you’re going to learn after you leave here…if civilisation can progress only when it invents the method of invention, you can progress only when you learn the method of learning.”
→ How to Live a Life That Really Works
—
My Favourite Things This Week
- How bears hibernate without losing weight
- A thread I wrote on relieving knee pain
- Avoid being a mouth breather
Thank you for supporting me and this newsletter. I’m always open to an email if you have anything you’d like to ask or let me know. Have a wonderful week.
Jelani