Every choice leads me somewhere
This year, I have not unfortunately been consistent with my habits. I don't consider myself a guy who is obsessed with productivity and stuff around it. I am most likely big on organization and planning though. Sometimes, I guess I plan for the sake of planning. That being said, I am currently working on organizing my life through more accurate tasks. I am not looking for unrealistic goals that would discourage me; I am okay with smaller realistic ones yet equally, if not even more, fulfilling.
There is a book on habits I picked up 2 months ago, which is Atomic Habits. Over this period, I have not made much progress with it. At first, I tried to stick to 10 pages per day. But I quickly realized that I did not enjoy reading the book at such a speed. Every time I managed to pass the mark of 10 pages, I was ready to consume more pages. However, doing so would mean I had to neglect other tasks I had for the day. So I forced myself to stop.
Now that I am caught up with my university, I am barely able to keep reading the book. However, my gut tells me I should finish it once I have more time this winter. It does not feel like one of those uninspiring self-improvement books where an author beats around the bush for 200-300 pages. In fact, a few thoughts already resonated with me quite a lot. For example, here is one of them — "You do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your habits...".
I find it very accurate. Our society is unhealthily focused on results, so we tend to think about ourselves in terms of how big goals we can set and achieve. Well, there is nothing wrong with wanting to be better. In fact, I would say if humans did not strive to accomplish certain things, we would never reach the level of progress we have nowadays. However, what I do notice is how the results become all one cares about. You have improved exponentially? Great. Have you achieved your goal? No? How come? Ohh, what a waste of time...
After experiencing a few similar situations myself, I feel like I am starting to adopt a new way of thinking for myself now. As long as I work towards something and put my soul into it, I am succeeding in my own eyes. Moreover, if I try to take it seriously and do it with good quality, good results are inevitable to come. It makes more sense for me to be driven by my interest instead of what I obtain from it. Getting other additional "rewards" should be just a bonus, after all.
Okay, it is nice that I have said all these things above. But let's face it, it is easier said than done. Do I believe it is possible to be more mindful of the effect of my small decisions? Yes, absolutely. Am I a good example of my words at the moment? Not really, but I have been moving in the right direction more. Honestly, I would love to back them up eventually!
There are so many different paths in life. Furthermore, it can often be quite unpredictable. But I believe in the power of daily actions. I believe that every "insignificant" choice I make every day affects the trajectory of my future. In fact, it is said things that we spend the most time with are going to define us in the long run. So if I would like to be defined the way I see myself, I would benefit from some improvements.