Self Determination - Choosing Difficulty

It's easy to do things that are bad for us and hard to do things that are good for us. Cookies and candy are easy to grab and a joy to consume but contribute to malaise and glycemic fatigue. Meat and vegetables are tougher to choose but give us strength energy and vitality. Watching Netflix for hours is easy, but it makes us tired and disengaged, while running 4 miles is hard but fills us with endorphins and makes us feel amazing.

This paradox is the most basic of human conditions. The art of self-determination is the power to choose the things that you know will improve your life. It takes practice, builds upon itself and will lead you down roads you never imagined you would travel.

Every man wants to have control over his decisions, impulses and actions, but only so many will practice the habits it takes to get the ball rolling:

1. Beat the sun up every morning, no matter what time of year. When you take control of your morning you take control of your life. Its easy to lay in bed, its hard to get up at 5am. Choose difficulty.

2. Start every day with rigorous physical activity. Its easy to start with a pastry and a macchiato, its difficult to start with running, weight lifting or manual labor. Choose difficulty.

3. Read and study wisdom from the past. A steady diet of scriptures and philosophy will improve the way you think. Scrolling the socials is easy, dissecting Proverbs and Plato is difficult. Choose difficulty.

4. Engage with people. Start conversations, tell people you appreciate them, encourage others, listen to their stories, ask if they need help. It's easy to put in your headphones and live life staring at the ground, it's difficult to talk to strangers. Choose difficulty.

When you get up early, challenge yourself physically, study timeless wisdom and engage with other people you begin to create your future. Your habit of self-determination will bleed into other areas of your life. As you actively and continually choose and surmount obstacles within your own body and mind, your confidence grows, your ability to control your actions increases and you begin to create a better future for yourself because you know you're worthy of it.

6am leg day: Self-determination at its finest

Under your own roof, your energy and self-control make you better father and husband, your wife's level of trust and faith in you increases, she respects you more and you become more attractive to her. Your children are drawn to your positive attitude and hard work and begin to emulate your habits. This leads them into decisions and activities that enrich your life and theirs. Your self-determination improves your lineage.

When you know you got up and worked harder than your fellow employees and your boss, your energy and confidence leads to better performance at work and an increased ability to handle challenges. People begin to see you as a leader, you become sought after for additional projects, you learn more and build your knowledge experience level in various areas. You become irreplaceabl. This gives you leverage and leads to promotions or opportunities outside of your current career.

Self-determination becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

You might be sitting there thinking a life of self-determination doesn't sound like fun. Don't you understand that discipline is freedom? When you take the power to control your mind and choose difficulty, you gain the power to relax at new levels, because you know deep in your spirit that you've earned that relaxation.

When you've gotten up at 5am, worked out, studied philosophy, engaged with others and earned your money, your free time becomes freer than ever. You carry less worry, anxiety and pressure because yo

u're self-determining the things you can control, setting the example for your family and creating the future you desire.

You can sit in a camping chair and enjoy your kids' game, have a nice dinner with friends, watch a movie with the family or just sit and talk with your wife because there is nothing else you need to do. You chose and surmounted the difficult things before most people even go their day started.

Free and clear.