A LIFE LESS ORDINARY

I haven’t sat down to put my thoughts on paper in a while……..I have been so preoccupied with things work, side hustles etcetera. Today being has been free Sunday, no things to chase after just some good old “me time” to afford myself a moment clarity that I haven’t had for the last couple of months. In general, it was an awesome weekend. I kicked it with peeps I haven’t seen in a while. I watched one of the most intense game my beloved team (Arsenal) have played in recent years. So as the day came to close I picked up my pen and my writing pad because this was as good an opportunity as any to let my thoughts solidify on paper. The thoughts that have been racing through my mind the last two months plus have been centered on the issue of purpose and direction……..and ultimately how one gets to a place where they are being able to live a more meaningful life and not just sail through it.

The sad reality of life in the long run we are all dead and what we leave behind is ultimately erased so what's the point of building anything, creating a legacy, being remembered? Life as we know it today is already so complex and demanding - just getting through it takes all our effort so why bother with doing more? Our plates are full and there is comfort in continuing to do what we have always done so why change course?

But surely we must aim higher. No? Surely we must envision a grander story for ourselves. Surely our life journey must have more meaning than our daily hum drums. I think we have to make our lives extraordinary - not by winning a Nobel Prize, not by trumping Einstein, not by being named Time Magazine Man of the Year but by doing the small stuff daily that really counts. I think we have an opportunity to be extraordinary, to do extraordinary things every day and as we collect these little nuggets along our life path, we will transform ourselves, stretch our boundaries………exceed our destiny.

So how do we make our lives extraordinary?

First off…….we need to skew our daily give/take ratio - it’s a paradox but the more you give (in the broadest sense of the word), the more you will receive. The act of giving is then the platform you give yourself to greatness - no matter if you don't get recognition or even a thanks in return. The generosity of your time, words, attitude and mindset has the magic to transform.

Secondly, I think we don’t get to surprise ourselves enough. We ought to surprise ourselves a little every day. As we grow older, we think we know ourselves completely and this is reassuring. However, I think we must challenge this knowledge and rediscover ourselves for in this rediscovery lies the key to unlocking our unrealized potential. Tapping into this demands that we think a little differently, be open to trying different stuff, unlearn our ways of the past. Evolution not revolution…....

I also think we need to be our own best friends and simultaneously our toughest critics - I am not suggesting developing a split personality. NO! Hehehe……….I speak more in terms of a balancing scale where one has the ability to tip the scale either way based on the situation. The more one masters this scale, the more they get to master themselves.

In my 30 years of taking in God’s gift of breath free of charge, I have encountered my fair share of failures. Some came about because I made some poor choices whereas others have been a result of circumstances I never could have anticipated. Either way, one thing that is obvious is that failures can define you more than your successes. I know it is a typical human disposition to be all hung up on success - I feel though that failures have the power to make us special. The bigger the failure the bigger this opportunity! Failure can transform and liberate. Of course failure stings like hell and in the moment we wish we could just fast-forward time or find some sort of elixir to numb the pain but such pain is in many ways like some types of medicine……..horrible taste but restores health. Hehehe……..! It would be all so easy if we could just escape moments of discomfort and exist in a perpetual false comfort. But to grow and become extraordinary we must use all our daily failures whether small or big as fuel for firing us up.

Finally, connections and connectedness are an important catalysts that can lead to growth. We don't live life in a vacuum………I think people who lead these extraordinary lives have an incredible sense of connectedness with those around them. These relationships built brick by brick are symbiotic in nature; giving meaning; giving substance and sustenance to their life journeys and sometimes it is the extraordinary quality of these connections which adds more shine to an otherwise ordinary life.

I would have loved to go on and philosophize away but the long and short of this is that we should fight not allow ourselves to get sucked into the here and now of our lives. I think we can do magic with our lives if we give ourselves a chance. I think people who live special lives are just ordinary people like us. I think we are all living miracles some more than others and it must be our life endeavor to bring that miracle to life. Peace!