“[Success] is not about beating the other guy. It’s not about having more than the others. It’s about being what you are, and being as good as possible at it, without succumbing to all the things that draw you away from it. It’s about going where you set out to go. About accomplishing the most that you’re capable of in what you choose. That’s it. No more and no less.”
Ryan Holiday, Ego is the Enemy
Beyond the Quote (19/365)
Be what you are—and be as good as possible at it. Identifying your unique strengths, aptitudes, and abilities as a person is the most important first step in discovering your success. Once those characteristics are discovered (or at least a relatively firm idea has been developed), then step two is tripling down on those strengths with as much of your energy and effort as you can afford so that you can accomplish all that you’re capable of accomplishing.
Why triple down on strengths? Because time spent working on strengths is disproportionally beneficial in comparison to the same amount of time spent working on weaknesses. Think about how rapidly you progress when you’re working to improve something that you’re already pretty good at versus how slowly you progress when you’re working to improve something you suck at—disproportionate, right? And, let’s not forget to mention, working on weaknesses only makes you more average anyway, and the average you isn’t the greatest you—period.
Just like each of the animals in the animal kingdom have different strengths and aptitudes that allow them to be successful in survival in their own ways, we too, have similar uniquenesses. A monkey’s strength is in climbing, not in swimming. If a monkey spent all of its time trying to learn how to swim, it would only ever be mediocre at best in comparison to a fish. A fish’s strength is in swimming, not flying. If a fish spent all of its time trying to learn how to fly, it would only ever live a life of dreams and would never realize its true potential in swimming. A bird’s strength is in flying—once they learn that, they spent little to no time in the water or climbing trees. Success lies in the realization and full cultivation of strengths.
Of course, identifying our uniquenesses is a little more complex than it might be for an animal. Because we have consciousness, we have deep mental layers and complex character intricacies that we need to explore, analyze, and align with before we can even know what we need to triple down on. And because it can be so deep and complex, this is the step that most people never get past—yes, step one! So many of us get caught up in covering the basics for living (food, shelter, clothing, caring for dependents), consuming passive entertainment, working on our weaknesses, and listening to the opinions of others that we never explore those deep mental layers and character intricacies in full. And if we can’t even identify who we are, how are we going to execute with clarity and confidence?
Before you’ll ever truly embody the feeling of success, this first step needs to be taken and you need to create the time and space for this kind of self-discovery. This might look like meditating, journaling, counseling, blogging, reading, or even just critical thinking, or it might look completely different. Self-discovery is just that—discovery that you have to figure out and do yourself. And don’t tell me you don’t have time (or space) for it (or those things) in your day—because you do.
We all spend time doing stupid stuff every day that we could easily substitute for something not-stupid, like the things mentioned above. The good news, is that once you discover your strengths (or at least develop that relatively firm idea) the rest is relatively simple—execute, execute, execute. The execution of your strengths IS your success. The pursuit IS your happiness. The realization of your true potential IS the ultimate accomplishment in life. So, go! Go where you set out to go—and accomplish all that you’re capable of along the way!
Read Next: 12 Humbling Quotes on Ego from Ego is the Enemy
Don't Let the Motivation Stop There...!
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