Want More Money? Readers? Followers? Stop. You're Exactly Where You Need to Be.

If you're like me you tend to beat yourself up for not being where you "want to be". You don't have what you want in the bank or you may be working for an employer when you want to work for yourself. We tend to draw a timeline for our accomplishments, once we reach one we strive for the other and there's never a moment to pause and appreciate where you are. We're never satisfied.

I tunnel-vision on future weight loss, never satisfied. BUT when I look at my progress I realize I've come VERY FAR with my fitness and healthy eating. From fast food/sedentary to raw vegan/active. A feat I thought was impossible three years ago.

Thanks to some inspiring reading and introspection I've realized how important it is to realize We Are Exactly Where We Need to Be. Constantly berating yourself for not being exactly where you "want" to be is negative thinking that will lead to malaise and lack of productivity. The knee-jerk reaction is often to punish ourselves into action, stop that! Let me tell you from experience, you will just needlessly torture yourself and get nowhere!

Look at the bright side: You're here reading this right now, which means you care about the future for your projects and you're actively studying to improve. Every item you list to sell, every plan you make, every blog post, are steps toward success. Keep working hard and you will get there. In the meantime, you're learning, growing, improving. A couple of action steps I recommend for being more productive:

Action 1) Sit down and write a list of everything you're grateful for and/or your accomplishments. Start with 100! Action 2) Reflect on your progress since you started your journey- look at your first listings, photos, or blog posts- damn, that's some improvement, right? Action 3) Do what it takes to truly enjoy the ride and where you're at now. It can simple things: Buy dollar store office supplies, re-decorate your work-space, re-arrange your schedule so you have more time to spend reading or enjoying your loved ones.

2009

VS.

2014

One of my earliest blog posts, a poorly done "plushie" tutorial from about five years ago. Photos at night! Tungsten lightning! I didn't even know how to shoot in manual. Progress shows!

You'll be more successful when you change your mindset to the positive and stop focusing on your ideal "perfect" future-self. You're already there; you are already literally where you wanted to be when  you first started on your journey. Besides, you'll need something to look back on later once you reach your next landmark! Sometimes we're so blindly focused on the future we're not reflecting on how we've progressed from the past or how good the present is.

Update, I Challenge You! Start with me now, list three accomplishments and/or three things you're grateful for in the comments (or on paper, but write it!) I dare you! You'll immediately feel lighter.

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