I Want To Enjoy Life. Get Mad If You Want, But…

I used to get really annoyed at those quote images or people who said stuff like,

“While you were sleeping, I was hustling…”

Or

“While you’re watching TV, I’m out here on my grind…”

Or

“Sleep is for suckas…”

Or…you get what I’m saying.

I used to get annoyed because it felt like the implication was if I didn’t stay up all night or look really mean or have sweat pouring down my back, my life sucked and I was jealous.

I read this post by James Altucher, one of my favorite writers, and realized that I wasn’t alone. Honestly, I’m guilty of being annoyingly optimistic sometimes, and even get accused of minimizing the fact that problems exist in the world. I get that problems exist. I just choose not to dwell on them all the time and I encourage others to do the same. We all have perspectives, experiences and things that happen in our lives. My goal really is to help people see that there is more, there is better, they can choose how they respond and how they act in any circumstance. We have that power.

Yep, I’m also guilty of clicking the Like button on posts that PUSH people forward. I’m guilty of upvoting posts that tell people that many things are possible if you will simply get in action. I’ve even guilty of creating a video or two about goal-setting.

I actually believe what I post. That’s why I do it. But, what I DON’T believe is that your way of success automatically means that my life is automatically of less consequence. Because I choose to sleep 8 hours doesn’t mean that your hard work is more validated. Here’s a possibility. I chose to sleep 8 hours because I value my long term health. You? Well, you simply chose to work hard and sleep less now because you wanted a result now. That’s ok too.

I work really hard but sometimes, I want to watch TV. I’m partial to superhero shows. My wife thinks Supergirl is horrible but I’m excited about season 2. I hear there are going to be some new heroes in the show and at least one more interaction with The Flash. I probably won’t catch it live when it comes on. But, I’ll set aside some time to watch it on demand or on Netflix.

Here’s the reason for that…I enjoy life. I work hard. I try new things. I run a business. I look for ways to grow every day. But, I enjoy life and I won’t portray it as a grind or a hustle or a grunt. Is it all easy? No. But, it’s really about mindset. I’ve decided that I’m going on this journey and I’m going to ENJOY it! There WILL be difficult days. There WILL be some days that I will enjoy less than others. There WILL even be some days where I will consider for a moment quitting and finding a desk to sit behind. But, I will ENJOY it because I choose to and I won’t need to devalue anyone else’s journey.

Are there lazy people in the world? Sure! Are there people that don’t do the work but who whine and complain about how life is unfair? Yep, those folks exist too. But their lives are punishment enough on their own. I don’t need to say anything. Imagine Usain Bolt winning a race and then responding to the guy who stayed at the starting line complaining that his sneakers were sticking to the track. He has no need to respond. In fact, it’s a waste of his time because the complainer is more concerned with his “problem” than the fact possibility of actually winning. Usain can simply enjoy his win.

High achievers? We should simply enjoy our wins. I’m enjoying mine!