Self-Mastery. Nº5
Reminder: Your Time, Attention and Energy Are Your Responsibility.
Hey,
Welcome to your weekly issue of the JXN Newsletter — a timeless signal to create yourself, starting from the inside out.
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Choosing your own path is the most conclusive form of confidence.
Every day is a new beginning. A fresh start. An opportunity to change your ideas, thoughts, and perception of the world around you. If this pandemic should have anything positive taken away, it’s that you can, and must, take full control of yourself and where you want to go.
That is confidence.
A few weeks ago, I enjoyed a video interview between Lewis Hamilton and a popular F1 presenter. From its 30-minute stint, here’s I want you to keep from it.
- Health and mind, above all else. Good health and a positive mind is the tip to your fountain. It trickles down into all else in your life. Build a strong foundation, then place your health and mind above everything.
- Love being on your own, but keep the right company when you’re not. Being alone and comfortable is so rare, it’s like having a gift. But this gift rewards you with more time, stronger attention and better energy than you’d ever think possible. And when you are with others, look at your closest five. They should be positive, growth-focused, supportive of you—as you are of them—and able to disagree with and correct you.
- Never compare yourself, judge others, or worry about what’s out of your control. What matters is who you are, who you want to be, and whether you are leading yourself to the life you want. Commit to self-reflection, then audit yourself and yourself only. Take your time, attention and energy away from comparing, judging and worrying. Health and mind first, mission and vision second.
- Flood yourself with self-belief and confidence. Nobody should believe in you more than you. Dedicate yourself to fulfilling that.
- Your response to hardship and failure is more important than anything else. It doesn’t matter what’s happened to you, and I’ve learned this the hard way. What nobody will really tell you to do is acknowledge where you are, express gratitude and positivity for the situation you’re in, then move forward.
“If we, if I, if you are not improving or growing during these days, then what are we doing? You’re obviously just wasting time sitting on your backside. Nothing’s going to get handed to any of us. We’ve got to go out there and get whatever it is that we want, and you’ve got to want it more than the person you’re fighting against. And you’ve just got to get off your ass and do it.”
Lewis Hamilton.
You can check out the video here.
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What I’ve learned this week
Hardship is what I’ve had the privilege of experiencing this week, with both personal and professional moments of failure, rejection and loss.
But this is why I now feel so strongly about refuting failure and bending it in your favour.
Challenges, and plenty of failures, are what you and I need. Without it, we’d never improve, we’d never learn, and we’d quite possibly never achieve anything great.
Every successful person has failed two, three, five, even ten times more than they’ve succeeded. But remember, you only need your goal to go right once. Overnight success happens after years of stress, doubt, confusion, frustration. And it’s essential to observe and be grateful for everything along the way.
Explore
One of the publications I write for, The Ascent, just surpassed 100,000 subscribers. I’d love for you to join in and read some of my latest work below.
Why the Slow and Steady Route Is Better Than Anything Else
The Biggest Delusion About Happiness Is Where It Comes From
Stay updated with me on Twitter, LinkedIn and Medium.
Have the best week ahead.
—Jelani.