When you’re on the path to self-mastery & being a warrior, you need to abandon your old ways. This will come with some resistance. It is your old self-resisting the new self.
“You have many habits that weaken you. The secret of change is to focus all your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” – Socrates
On my journey, I noticed something weird:
Even though I was disciplined and happy with myself, I started craving leisure.
On many occasions, I would self-sabotage my efforts by acting completely reckless for a few days. Then I would end up regretting it.
So what I started doing was scheduling leisure into my life. This tactic works especially if you used to be very lazy.
The reason you crave leisure even though you are on your path and are happily staying disciplined is that you’re not used to it yet. You haven’t learned to enjoy the motion of your life. You still think that being disciplined is a chore and not something worth enjoying.
So you start to crave leisure because you’re not used to being disciplined. Your old-self is confused and is calling you to move back into reckless self-indulgence.
So you need to do a couple of things:
1) Start learning to enjoy the forward motion of your life. Start enjoying discipline. Start enjoying the gym. Start enjoying your diet. Start enjoying your financial path. This takes a sort of mental strength and recognition that this will end up in the ultimate satisfaction: Success & self-actualization.
2) Realize that you are a new person. You need to abandon your old ways. The new you doesn’t have time to recklessly self-indulge like some post-menopausal women binging on ice-cream after a bad breakup.
3) Schedule in relaxation and recklessness. When you start craving leisure because you’ve been being disciplined, schedule in some relaxation for yourself where you can completely zone out. You’ll have to do this less over time as you start to simply enjoy the forward movement of your life, but until then: Feeling groggy and annoyed with being disciplined? Schedule some relaxation time where you can be a little reckless to let off some pressure.
Ways Of Letting Go Of Steam/Scheduled-Recklessness
- Long Hot-Shower
- Walk
- Alcohol
- Cigars
- Yoga
- Stand-up Comedy
- Sleep
- Deep Breathing
Doing these activities has definitely helped me blow off some steam and be a little reckless. After doing them, I feel relaxed and ready to go back to the path of impeccability (moving forward on my path while maintaining perfect discipline). And best of all I don’t crave leisure anymore like I used to.
Scheduled relaxation and recklessness coupled with empowerment/mindset sessions have definitely helped me stay on my path.
Eventually, you want to get to the point where you can feel leisure at your will. Hillary Clinton talks about teaching herself to take a nap anywhere. In that same way, (btw I hate Hillary) learn to feel leisure and joy anywhere. Because once you do, you won’t be as reckless because you’ll deliberately relax and enjoy the moment during your daily life. This will cause you to be effortlessly disciplined and will minimize your craving for leisure…
A warrior acts and the fool reacts. If you feel like you’re on the verge of sliding backward, do NOT react. Instead, act. Act in a way that recharges you, and yeah you may waste some time but it’s OK. It’s OK because what would you rather do? Slide backward fully and completely self-sabotage your efforts? Or would you rather take a break and recharge your mental, emotional and physical state to be primed for another go at life? I have learned to always choose the latter. The latter will leave you feeling ready, motivated and accountable to yourself…
Keeping moving forward warriors,
Maximillian Giamarco
P.s. Would like to make progress on your journey to self-mastery? Check out the Spartan Ownership shop here for badass products and training courses that will accelerate your growth. Also, if you would like more personalized help, book a coaching session with me here.
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