I truly admire people who put 100% effort into everything they do. One of the biggest revelations I’ve had in adulthood was realizing that the things I want to accomplish are completely up to me. Everything takes follow through and a mediocre approach will give you a mediocre outcome. When it comes to my work life and social life, I never want to portray a lackadaisical mindset. If I set out to do something, I’m going to do it and put all of my time and energy into it. With that being said, consistency is hard and I have definitely found myself struggling with momentum. There are a million things I want to accomplish in one day and I feel like I can’t fully give my undivided attention to each task. I find that I like to put a ton of pressure on myself to the point of feeling completely inadequate and overwhelmed. It’s been years of constant self criticism and I think it’s time we change the narrative. When it comes down to it, effort isn’t perfection and it never will be. I have decided to take a closer look at the people around me and what exactly I admire about their effort. Let’s dive in!
At first glance I automatically view those people as being invincible for some reason. That sounds kind of dumb, but what I mean by that is I view their approach to life as being untouchable; like nothing in the world can stop them from accomplishing their goals. I have honestly found myself being envious of the people around me because it seems as though they are following their dreams easy peasy lemon squeezy. How naive is that of me to think?!… Obviously I know that’s not really the case, but in all transparency I have caught myself thinking those thoughts while I’m in a moment of comparison. That’s the thing about comparing your situation to someone else’s, it will always leave you feeling insecure and ungrateful. Everyone is fighting their own battles and each person has obstacles that we know nothing about. Assumptions will feed the jealousy monster faster than you can blink and more times than not, the situation is not at all what it seems. At the end of the day, the people in my life who I look up to, work so hard for what they have and in no way had things handed to them. The effort they put in on a daily basis is what got them to where they are and it was definitely not easy. I think when we overanalyze our own lives to the point of falling into a rut of discontentment, it’s so easy to feel like everyone around us is secretly getting a fast pass to their dreams. A lot of times we don’t see the behind the scenes of the nitty gritty journey other people go through and I think that can play a huge part in feeling discouraged about the pace we are going ourselves. When we look at someone else’s success from the outside, it may be hard to acknowledge the time and energy they actually put in to achieve it. My dreams aren’t going to chase themselves and if I want to accomplish them, It’s going to take work. I want to always remember to view the successes of the ones around me as inspiration and not competition.
I really admire effort because it shows that someone cares. In my eyes, effort is compassion and love all wrapped up in purpose. Whether it’s work or personal life, the way we approach it matters. We can write out a list of reasons why we deserve to be put on a pedestal each day, but that mentality doesn’t exude kindness or humility. Effort shows that you care about the way your actions are received by another person and that is so priceless. It can be so easy to feel like we earned this badge of entitlement that abolishes the need to work hard and I find that very unfortunate. Life isn’t this constant uphill race with no end, but more like a steady walk with a backpack full of willingness to try. When we stop caring, we stop trying and when we stop trying, situations fail to thrive. Effort is choosing to embrace each day for what it is and doing what you can with what you have. If we sit back and decide that we’re just going to half ass everything, the outcome will most definitely show that clear as day. Life isn’t simple, we get thrown curveballs all the time and it can be scary sometimes. It’s crucial to not let these setbacks leave you jaded. There will always be moments when we feel defeated and that’s okay. When it seems like the world is against us it’s so important to not let those frustrations flourish into resentment. Be kind to yourself and know that you doing your best is enough. Try your hardest and put in work, but also recognize when you need rest and a moment to breathe. Self care takes self discipline and it’s so important to prioritize it.
This year has been very difficult for so many reasons, but something I have realized more now than ever these days is that our relationships with the ones surrounding us need effort, they thrive off of effort. I’m not going to lie, I have felt so disconnected from my friends recently and that has made me cherish the ones who have reached out, even just to say hi. The people in my life that I admire so deeply are the ones who hustle everyday, but never forget to stop and check in on the ones they care about. It’s the perfect example of balance between maintaining their responsibilities while simultaneously being the pep talker for a friend, and It’s a balance that I am actively working to obtain. Checking in on the ones we love is so simple, but so impactful. We have the opportunity to spend our time on this earth being intentional with our actions and that is a gift. Every moment is a gift and the effort we show on a daily basis is so worth it!
Those are just some of the many thoughts I have been having these days and I really felt my heart wanting to share them. Life is a journey and I am grateful to know that I am always learning and growing as an individual. I hope these words I wrote had some sort of positive impact as you read them. Thanks for stopping by!
life with Ash 