Don’t Hack Your Life
Easy would be to shout out a few big ideas that floated across my radar screen in the past 12 months. To motivate. Or perhaps inspire. String together a cluster of words and ideas that sound good to all of us. The world has become a cacophony of overdone and under-thought-out *Life Hack* solutions.
But that wouldn’t reflect the true story of sharp turns that led down roads I never thought I’d travel in my entire life, let alone the past year.
Last November, I departed, on my own volition, a good executive level job. I oversaw the sport I’ve loved since I was 10 years old. Things at that time weren’t bad. My health was trending in a good direction and the seamless transition to a logical next step was underway. I was excited to explore different ways I could support top canoe/kayak athletes without being their CEO.
Before I even could catch my breath, I had descended back down the hill. Forks in the road, challenging choices, and unexpected turbulence appeared in front of me. Quickly and frequently.
And, I was faced with the tasks to regroup, rebuild the base, and launch a new climb.
All of which makes this journey, including this 52nd weekly edition of Sunday Morning Joe, nothing short of a good adventure. And with good adventure comes good lessons.
Last night I *idea-listed* the lessons I have learned in the past year. Then winnowed them down to the 10 most important lessons that have evolved into themes. I don’t consider them to be Life Hacks. They are Life Themes. These are not my “old reliables” that worked for me when my life was going well. These REPLACEMENT themes are now the NORM in my life.
I am sharing them with you today as a reminder — to myself as much as to you — how quickly things can turn around for the POSITIVE. Especially when you execute them slowly, deliberately, DAILY, and in Small Steps.
1. The gratitude muscle is real.
Prior one year ago, *gratitude* was the one element of health that rolled over my surface but never went deep. My integration of gratitude into a daily practice slowly reframed my setbacks, challenges, and negative self-talk.
2. The noise can be silenced.
Make less noise and quiet appears. Try to speak no more than 100 words in the first hour that you are awake. You’ll choose your words wisely and the daily practice will influence the rest of your day.
3. Relationships are the highest form of currency.
I’m social, approachable, and love my family and friends. This year, I doubled down on my intention and attention toward the relationships that matter most, and cut out the ones that don’t. Click.
4. Big leaps are a function of small steps.
Big gains, launches, adventures, risks, and successes all originate from the same small places. I honor and perform the minute details of incremental growth every day.
5. An inch wide and a mile deep beats a mile wide and an inch deep.
The quality of change is proportional to the depth of the impact.
6. Say Do More.
In the past year, two significant influencers appeared in my life. They brought with them distinct messages. I connected their messages together and came up with this life changing algorithm:
Do What You Say + Serve Others = Where Magic Happen
7. Compete.
The most effective method way of disarming uncertainty is to compete against it. Competing against others seems to be a norm. A much a more effective strategy is to compete against the beliefs that limit you. This means you must approach the start line more often.
8. Unplugging is a practice, not a vacation.
Like your life depends on it.
9. Systems are only as effective as the people who run them are healthy.
We’ve never had more access to systems and structures in our attempts to maximize growth, cut waste, etc. As long as people are a part of the process, better results are a product of better personal health.
10. Ask others how you help them. Not how can I help. But how have I helped.
I did this last week. I didn’t know what to expect. A few supportive replies would have been great. But the number of, and the depth of feeling, in your responses blew me away. I had NO IDEA to what degree that these posts are read and absorbed.
Together we are making progress. There is still lots of work to do, because we constantly will face the forces of stuck, comfort, comparison, limited belief, and feeling overwhelmed.
Because I asked the question, and you replied… you have MORE than fueled me for another 52 weeks.
Like I said, lots of work to do. In Small Steps. Every Day.
Registration for my next 5 With Joe program is now open — more details HERE.
As America’s first ever Olympic Gold Medalist in Whitewater Canoe Slalom, Joe promotes strategies and shares stories for living and performing at your best, doing the work that matters and engaging with purpose. His platforms include performance coaching and consulting, professional speaking, broadcasting and his weekly newsletter, “Sunday Morning Joe.”
