Even if you’re not at the top of your game, try accomplishing something to the best of your ability. That doesn’t mean doing something difficult, it means doing something productive and doing it well.
Today, I had a sub-par (at least for my standards) day. I didn’t feel like I accomplished anything. But I had a bunch to get off my checklist. So I tackled a smaller project that I knew would make my future self happy. I cleaned my apartment. And I didn’t just scrub for a minute or two, I completely cleaned every corner for over two hours. Each time I finished a small chore, I asked myself “is this the best I can do?” And each time the answer was “No, I can do more.”
After two plus hours of scrubbing, spraying and wiping, my apartment looks great. My new roommate will be happy!
Stoic Trainings
Stoicism is a trained mindset allowing one to become at peace with anything that happens in life. If one puts their best foot forward, it doesn’t matter if one wins or one loses. There’s a great cartoon of Stoics competing in track and field. The Stoics high-five each other and jump for joy after every event, even when they didn’t win. The other team is baffled, they think the Stoics are insane. But the Stoics aren’t. They’re happy they did the best they could.
Unlocking this Stoic sense of pride is easier said than done. Training yourself to be happy with any outcome is difficult. Training yourself to be your best at whatever you put your mind to is even harder. The best way you can do that is by doing stuff well even on off days.
By doing accomplishing your goals to the best of your ability, your mind gets used to the tasks required to be great. Over time, this feeling becomes natural and every task you take on becomes something to take Stoic pride in.