Now and then, I’ll take a break from my usual long-format posts and instead share a quote or a quick thought. These shorter posts will be a good exercise for me in “leaving it alone,” or letting the idea speak for itself and steering clear of over-explaining. We’ll see how well I do.
“Life is a journey, not a destination.” We’ve probably heard this nugget of wisdom a million times (no offense, Emerson), and I’m sure it elicited a few eye rolls from my readers. Tell me something I don’t know.
But as cliché as this quote may be, I bet I’d be hard-pressed to find someone who disagrees with the message. We know life is a “journey” that it’s not static. We’re all constantly growing, changing, and evolving with each passing moment. The moment we cease to change is the moment we cease to live.
And so this brings me to the title of this post, a quote I attribute to Rich Roll (because that’s who I heard it from).
Who are you becoming?
It’s a simple question, but it carries a profound message. It’s a question I think most of us don’t ask ourselves often enough. I avoided asking it for years because asking meant being open to hearing the answer. Being honest with ourselves and listening to the response is not always pretty, and it’s never easy.
We live in a world of distraction, a world obsessed with busyness. And while perhaps it probably isn’t actively conspiring to distract us from this sort of self-inquiry, it isn’t making it easier.
So who are you becoming?
Who am I becoming?
Did you wake up this morning and think about how you can be better and do better than yesterday? How much of a time commitment would that take? Fifteen minutes? Five, even? Just look for one thing you can control today that will make you better. That’s powerful.
CHALLENGE:
Look for one thing today you can control that improves you, that makes you a better version of yourself.
Notice I used the word you four times. That’s because this is about you, and only you. Look in the mirror. See that person? That’s the one person you have total control over. That’s the person you can improve one day at a time.
Don’t let yourself be distracted by what others are doing, what they have that you wish you had, or how much further along they are on their “road to progress.”
This is about you. Stop comparing yourself to others. Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not who someone else is today. Think about who you can be right now, and set yourself up to be even better tomorrow.
I’m better than yesterday but not as good as I will be tomorrow.
The choice is ours. Each day brings a new opportunity to answer that call.
Yesterday is gone.
Tomorrow has yet to come.
We only have today.
Who are you becoming?