Jumpstart Your Dream Life

Should You Suffer Now to Enjoy Life Later?

By

We’re stuck in an age-old dichotomy.

Work hard now, reap the rewards later. Enjoy life now, suffer the consequences later. We’re told you can’t have both, especially not at the same time.

When you’re stuck doing something that makes you unhappy, the feeling worsens when you look around and notice other people enjoying themselves. To console yourself, you tell yourself that same line.

You’re suffering now so that you can have a better future down the road. Meanwhile, others who aren’t suffering are going to have to pay the price later. It all evens out in the end.

The question is: Does it?

Why is suffering seen as a prized state of being? Is there something to be gained from pain?

[Read more…]

The Matthew Effect: Why Small Initial Differences Lead to Large Gaps Later

By

How would you help someone who is struggling in school?

Imagine you meet a high school student. The person doesn’t seem particularly enthused about school or learning in general. They struggle with understanding concepts in their classes, and their friends also don’t care much for school.

The sad truth is that a student’s fate is set in stone as early as first grade.

[Read more…]

8 Reasons Why Smart, Hardworking People Don’t Reach Their Full Potential

By

What does it mean to reach your potential?

We all have different definitions. For some, reaching their potential involves getting recognition for their work. For others, it means creating a balanced life where both work and personal life are equally satisfying.

And then there are others who wish to create something so great, so useful, that it gets used widely. They feel satisfied knowing they’re making the world a better place.

The equation seems simple. Work smart, work hard, and you’ll get what you want. When we see someone fall short of expectations, we assume they either didn’t try hard enough or made poor decisions.

[Read more…]

How to Rewire Your Brain to Perform Difficult Tasks

By

Why do some people accomplish so much, while others do hardly anything at all?

How is one person able to exercise, hold meetings, and finish numerous tasks before lunch, while someone else hasn’t gotten out of bed yet? How does someone work on their craft, day after day for years, while someone else can only daydream about getting started?

We all know what we should be doing. We should be learning. We should be staying healthy. We should be working on things that will pay dividends in the future.

But we don’t. You see, those things aren’t easy. In fact, they can be incredibly hard.

[Read more…]

If You’re Not Successful By a Certain Age, Does That Mean You’ll Never Be Successful?

By

Do humans have a sell-by date? Is there an age at we should give up?

At a certain point, we begin to shed expectations. We receive a few harsh life lessons, see our peers settling in, and receive critical feedback from friends and family. After feeling the squeeze of everyday pressures, we wonder if it’s time to start being realistic.

No more fun and games. No more daydreaming. We need to accept things as they are, like it or not.

If you’re thinking this way, there is an incredible essay that Oscar-winning director Ang Lee wrote in 2006 on his “never-ending dream”. Here is a translation of that essay:

[Read more…]

A Beginning is a Chance to Start Fresh

By

I love beginnings.

Beginnings of what, you wonder? Of anything, really. The first day of school. The first day of a holiday. The first time trying something new.

When you first start out, there are all these different stimuli that hit you right away. You look around in wonder, soaking in everything. It’s as if the sun is just rising.

When you begin, all the doors are open. Infinite possibilities lie ahead. Your future is a blank slate, yet to be written.

Nervousness mixes in with excitement. You feel unfamiliarity, uncertainty, maybe even fear. These emotions combine to create a rush, a thrill from being someplace new.

We usually assume that experts are superior to novices, since they know better. And that’s usually true. But in some unexpected ways, a beginner can have hidden advantages over an expert.

[Read more…]

8 Ways You’re Making Life Harder Than It Has to Be

By

Do you crave the challenge?

When you see a problem waiting to be solved, you can feel your energy levels rise. Blood surges through your veins. Your mouth salivates. Like a hound tugging at a leash, you want nothing more than to lunge forward and tackle the issue into the ground.

Except the problem isn’t so easy to solve. After awhile, it stops being fun and starts turning into work. You wonder what you’ve gotten yourself into.

Sometimes, we don’t want to find the easy answer to a problem. We want to toil and struggle to feel like we’ve earned something. Otherwise, we don’t treasure the result.

While this helps us push through difficulties, the problem arises when you use this attitude towards everything. Some challenges are not worth the effort. Others can be achieved more quickly.

[Read more…]

How to Use the Eisenhower Matrix to Get Your Most Important Work Done

By

Do you ever feel like you’re scrambling around like a chicken without a head?

Tasks just keep piling up on your plate. You frantically try to get everything done, leaving you flustered. In fact, sometimes there’s so much happening that your brain just ends up shutting down instead.

No matter what you do, there’s that sinking feeling at the end of the day that you haven’t really achieved what you wanted to. Sure, you might have done a number of things, but you can’t shake the feeling that something is missing.

If this sums what you’ve been experiencing, there’s a method you should consider using to organize your day.

[Read more…]

8 Subtle Signs You’re Settling for Comfort Instead of Embracing the Unknown

By

Does it ever feel like you’re waiting?

Waiting for something to happen. Waiting for the fog to clear, so you can see what lies ahead. Waiting for the moment the pieces come together, culminating in the perfection you spent your entire life waiting for.

If you’re still waiting, here’s news: you’re wasting your time.

Waiting is dangerous. It gives the false illusion that if you’re patient enough, time will reward you with everything you hoped for. It causes you to sit there and let things fall into place rather than doing something yourself.

[Read more…]

Focuster: Get Work Done Using To-Do Lists, Automated Scheduling, and Reminders

By

At any given moment, you have over a thousand choices at your fingertips.

You’re sitting at your desk. You can fire up your computer and browse websites endlessly. You can go outside and grab coffee along the way. Or, you can finally buckle down and finish the work that’s been sitting on your desk for a week.

We assume that having more choices is better. Yes, more choices mean you can decide the best option for yourself. It means greater control over your circumstances. But there comes a point when we suffer from too many choices. When it comes to productivity, too many choices becomes debilitating to getting our work done.

That’s why accomplishing more is about paring down choices. It means minimizing distractions so you can deep dive into your most important goals. When you focus on one task at a time, you make greater progress.

[Read more…]