Every time someone asks me this, my soul nods its head. And I haven’t stopped to wonder why people are so excited about the weekends? Are weekends an escape for them from the harsh reality that has been built around them? I am usually more than eager to start my Mondays. Saturdays and Sundays involve cleaning, endurance building, studying, reading about new stuff, cooking, or walking around the streets of Hoboken once in a while, but the last part is infrequent. I’ve never been an aimless wanderer.
I’ve always had something to do; I’ve rarely been bored. I don’t even know what it means to be bored, to be honest. How does one get bored? There are a plethora of things to be done in this life.
Let me talk about the ultra-rich folks and finance for a change. Many people think the high life is all there is, having breakfast in Paris is cool, or traveling to London for dinner is “class.” What most of them forget is that money doesn’t buy class. It can buy you happiness to a certain extent but never class. If you give a poor person who has no financial maturity a billion dollars, they will pick up expensive, esoteric, and cool hobbies and try to show everything that they are living their best life. A few years later, they might end up poor again. Having weird hobbies or hanging out for the weekend constantly with your friends doesn’t mean others who don’t have any plans are uncool. Some either have better things to do, can’t afford them, or just aren’t that type of people.
Here’s my equation to everyone who thinks posting everything you do on social media is cool:
The most convincing sign that someone is truly living their best life, is their lack of desire to show the world that they’re living their best life. Your best life won’t seek validation.
Stop trying to be liked by everybody. You don’t even like everybody.
It’s weird because the happiest people I’ve ever met in my years of life, never had the best of everything, but they certainly made the best of everything they had. The only way to live your best life is by surrounding yourself with people who push you to do better. No drama, negativity, hate, or jealousy. Just higher goals and motivation being fueled to and fro with positive energy. That is how you bring out the best in each other.
A person called steve bartlett wrote this on Twitter a while back:
You don’t lose real friends, opportunities ore relationships when you start standing up for yourself and setting clear boundaries. You lose abusers, manipulators, narcissists, control freaks, attention seekers and mental health destroying people.
No matter how much flack this statement might get, I agree with it. You will never be able to keep everyone happy. Everything is a matter of priority to everyone. Everyone has their place and boundaries; you respect them and make sure they respect yours, and everyone stays happy. You have your own life to live; you have your right to rest. You do not have to try and make everyone happy. You are responsible for your happiness.
So when someone asks me if I have something “exciting” planned for the weekend, I’m not sure how to react because I rarely have any, as everything is exciting. Maybe because shouldn’t every day be more exciting than the previous day? Or perhaps I am just not able to see things that others do. Even when I was a broke college student, I had the same mentality; 5 years later, it’s still the same.
I want to share one more picture to explain the other side of the coin.
If you have a friend that is low, make sure you include them in everything you do. It’s easy to think that the person will be boring or not cool and take everyone down. But the goal is not to make the person feel the same energy but to tell them that even if they aren’t, they are still part of the pack—all for one and one for all.
Almost everyone constantly tells me that I never take a break. How do I explain to people that I love and crave for what I do more than anything? This is my vacation! I need a few hours of deep sleep to replenish, but after that, I’m back to hustle again.
Maybe the end goal of being an ASCAN fuels me so much most of the time that I don’t need any more motivation or someone to motivate me, and that’s what has kept me motivated for years and will continue for 9 – 12 more years.
If something is important enough, you will find a way, if not, you will find an excuse. No risk, no story.
For those who say, “I lose all energy after coming home from work.” – I say this, you are not tired; you’re uninspired. I say this because the worst part about the day is my workout; I have always been a nerd. Nerds aren’t that healthy or ripped, so I’m not too fond of the 1 / 1.5 hrs spent lifting weights, rowing, etc., but it needs to be done. I have to do it – to reach the end goal, but it rarely feels forced once you start, unless I am mentally, physically, and psychologically drained by the entire day, which is very rare. I carry myself on sheer will and determination than energy.