I'm a fan of James Clear. If you haven't read his book, Atomic Habits, it's worth a look. Simple, practical, thought-provoking.

Yesterday, I came across this short post from him and it spoke to me:

You ever hear, read, or watch something and think:

"Wow, that's exactly what I needed right now."

That was this.

It's so different from the way many of us think about the past, present and future.

Be forgiving with your past self. What's done is done. No sense in beating yourself up about it.

I've spent plenty of time being harsh and judgmental about things I have or haven't done.

Last time I checked, no amount of beating yourself up permits time travel.

I'm guessing you were doing your best with what you knew at the time. Have some grace for what came of it.

Be strict with your present self. Win the moment in front of you right now.

We're often lackadaisical about the present.

The next shot. The next point. The next meeting. The next conversation. The next small brick we'll stack.

The present is the only thing we can truly OWN.

Be flexible with your future self. There are many paths to success. You don't need life to be a certain way to live well.

When I got out of graduate school, I thought I was going to own health clubs. Then I was going to be an online marketing guru. Then I was going to be Tony Robbins.

Now maybe it's James Clear?

Kidding. 😊

Every meaningful thing in my life has turned out differently than I imagined.

Not worse. Just different.

Guardrails. Know the direction you're headed, but leave room for life to surprise you along the way.

Keep Outperforming,