Hello friends! Sorry I have been MIA for about two weeks and it's because of my new addiction called traveling. Anyways, how are you guys doing? If your answer is "good" then continue with this article and if your answer is "bad" or anything related to that, please go take a nap and then come back here😌
I'm about to hold some of y'all accountable lol so keep reading.
Growing Up = Scam?
Let's be real guys, growing up is a scam. We're not born with any "owner's manual" so some of us spend all of our lives trying to figure out what's the right way to live our life. What sucks more is that some genius came up with this idea that a culture defines a set of rules to live your life by and if you don't follow them, you're the ugly duckling? But why are those rules considered ok or normal? Who gave them the certification? Can I speak to their supervisor? (Real Karen move)
Being the youngest in my family, I was always treated like a child. I used to ask my family when will they consider me "grown" and their answer was either of these two words: "never" or "after marriage". WHAT! Why am I considered an adult after marriage? Do I grow wings or something special? Well guys turns out you don't grow anything special. It's just a way for brown families to tell women that you need a bodyguard all your life. I never understood that fact. Because why the fuck do I need a man to be my bodyguard when he's protecting me against other men? Isn't the problem here men? Oh well, that's a discussion for another time. But long story short, I just didn't want to live a life like my parents or my siblings did so I decided to do something about it.
Z, What About the Self-Discipline Talk?
Sorry, got a bit side tracked. See when I decided to do something about my life, I had to make a lot of decisions. Part of the success plan is to stick with the decisions you make and be flexible along the way. Sticking to decisions require self-discipline. We all get to a point in life, where we have to choose between work or play. And I am not talking about your normal 9-5 job. That is considered your obligatory task to make your life moving. It's the after hours. I call those hours revolutionary hours.
Z's dictionary defines revolutionary hours as the following:
"The amount of hours that you spend towards working on your personal goals which provides you the feeling of gratification."
Self-discipline plays a very important role in my life but that doesn't mean I force myself to get things done all the time. It's just couple of techniques that make you focus and remind you of the reason why you are doing something. You see when we grow up, we don't have our parents to hold us accountable for things so that's where I think self-discipline plays a big role.
So here are some of my self-disciplining techniques:
Prioritize your events
Let's say your friend asks you to come to a club with her tonight but you also have your assignment due tonight. We all know the priority here goes to the assignment but if your answer was the opposite, you might need some help or prayers.
Listen to your body physical needs like hunger, sleep, exercise
A lot of times I come up with excuses like I am hungry or tired or I can't sit in a chair for too long. To get rid of this problem, I make sure I have had a meal or snacks with me, take a nap ahead of time, and sit in a comfortable place even if it's my bed.
Remind yourself of the reason why you need to get a certain task done
We all procrastinate so we need to have the reason handy at all times just to remind ourselves the importance of a specific task.
Set small goals to accomplish
Don't try to go overboard if you're just starting out with this exercise. Work in small phases. I started this new technique where I am listening to this focus playlist on youtube that has built-in breaks. It basically makes you work for twenty-five mins and then an alarm rings and you take a five minute break. It's like a perfect balance of everything.
Put your electronic devices on Do Not Disturb mode and hide your clocks
Make sure you are utilizing the dnd mode on your devices. Another trick that really helps me focus is hiding the time on my laptop. For some reason when I see a clock, I just keep counting the mins I have consistently been working. This makes me want to take a break.
Be nice to yourself
When you accomplish a task, reward yourself. This way you're forcing positive reinforcement on yourself. But watch out. Don't do this often because you don't want your brain to get used to it
In the end, just keep reminding yourself that you have your life in your hands. Just like when you are driving you have your life in your hands. Yes, luck plays some role in life just like on the road but you can't use that as an excuse. Instead, learn to overcome obstacles in life and be an example for the kids in your community. It's okay to take some days off to escape your day to day routine but remember to come back with more energy and spirit because your goals are waiting to be accomplished.
XOXO, peace!
Songs I am listening to this week: No Type by Rae Sremmurd, Hurricane by Kanye
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