Stop trying so hard

I've been thinking a lot about what I'd say to me ten years ago.

Number one thing I'd say:

Stop trying so damn hard.

And it's not just the 35 years old me.

I meet so many people who are trying super hard.

Trying to become something.

To be someone.

To achieve.

To succeed.

Thinking that they'll "arrive" somehow.

One day they'll be successful.

They'll finally feel "good enough".

Well, I've got news for ya.

You've already arrived.

You arrived the day you came out of your mother's womb.

That's it! That's enough "arriving" for a lifetime.

You already are who you are seeking. You already are everything you've been longing for.

The thing is, when you try so hard, you create separation inside.

The separation between your ego-self and your essential self.

Your ego-self is trying to run away from who you really are.

And who you really are is where all the juice is.

So embrace yourself. Stop trying so hard.

Instead, just do the things that you want to do because you love yourself, not because you hope to become something else.

The most important work you can do is inner work.

Love yourself. Be honest with yourself. Be willing to be super uncomfortable. Be willing to be wrong.

Go to new places within yourself. Push aside your victim.

Keep doing that, and everything else gets way, way better.

With passion,
–Calvin