Please mind the gap between the train and the platform edge.
I find vision easy. I’m sure sometimes my friends must think I am deluded. I can imagine my life at the next level and can see the path to get there. The problem, I get frustrated when things are not great and they don’t live up to the vision I have in my head. When it is possible for a situation to be better but it’s not, I struggle. I call this ‘the gap between good and great’.
The situation I talk about might be anything, most common for me right now is time. I really struggle with how my time is used. Some others. Work if often stressful when I don’t think it needs to be. Most of my friends now live out of town and realistically my schedule doesn’t fit well bouncing between places. Money, when it comes to ‘disposable income’ I sacrifice experiences to save money, when I feel I shouldn’t need to. Okay so maybe you’ve realised what’s going on - this all sounds like a lot of complaining! You’re right. This mess above is ‘The Gap’.
The problem is I forget to focus on what I have. I do have free time. Work could be boring or menial but it’s not. My friendships are solid. I am able to save money each month. These are all good things. Honestly I have it good, so good in-fact that I am sure many would love to live the life I have.
Does that mean it is selfish to want more? Should I be content with exactly what I have or am I allowed to strive for greatness?
A very timely episode of the school of greatness landed in my ears yesterday morning (episode 229 if interested). The School of Greatness is a podcast from Lewis Howes a former pro-athlete, he interviews people to dig into how to get to the next level in Life. I’d recommend giving it a listen if you like this post.
While not really the same topic Lewis talked about making the jump from good to great. How does Lewis say you make the jump? Belief. Belief is what makes the difference. You need to believe in yourself achieve greatest. I wrote about belief in It’s all in the state of mind, probably the most important factor in success.
Lewis acknowledges the idea that we should keep a sense gratitude for our current situation but doesn’t seem to dwell on it as much as I do. I forget that there is the other gap - ‘the gap between bad and good’ maybe if I thought more about how bad things could be I would be more content? Is that negative? I’m not sure.
It seems like a complex balancing act. On one hand I want to strive for a life of greatness. On the other hand I need to remember I am already in the top 1%(probably a lot more).
I don’t really have an answer, all I can do is try to add a little gratitude to each day while heading forward into my vision.
