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Hey Reader,

I recently decided to run my first full marathon. Honestly, for a while now, this is something that I have said that I want to do, but I have never fully committed to doing it.

Three years ago, I ran my first half-marathon. Since then, I have run several half-marathons, always thinking to myself that the next one I did would be a full marathon.

The truth is that because I knew how much time and energy I would need to dedicate to training for a full marathon as opposed to just doing a half, I continued putting it off for "later". I would often tell myself that I would do it later, when the timing was better, when I felt more prepared, when I had more time, or when something magically happened and it all aligned.

The timing never simply gets better, you never simply feel more prepared, and things never just completely align for it all to work out perfectly. That's just life.

And so, you have to really ask yourself if the things you say that you want to do are really things you're willing to work for to complete and do in your life?

Because it's always easy to say that you want to do something. It's much difficult actually committing to the process and doing it.

There's really no way around it. For all the new things you want to do in your life, you have to ask yourself these two questions:

1. Do I really want to do this at this moment in my life? In other words, is this a priority in my life right now?
2. And then, am I willing to work for it? Am I willing to put in the effort, the time, the energy, the hard work, and commit to the process, whatever it may bring?

When you answer these two questions honestly, you can choose what the next best course of action is for you.

Add flexibility in the process

Though training for a marathon is something I just started doing, something that has helped me so far is to be flexible with the process.

I know I need to run consistently. I know I need to plan how many miles I will complete on a weekly basis. I know I need to run at different paces and in different kinds of environments.

But being flexible in how I split those miles, on how I do the pacing of my runs, depending on how I'm feeling that day, as well as being flexible on the times of the day I go for a run, depending on the weather, my work, and when I have free time, has helped me keep consistent and create more momentum without feeling like I'm burning myself out.

Being able to add flexibility to your process while still remaining committed and consistent with it, I think, is what gives you more peace of mind and allows you to flow with the difficulties and uncertainties of life, without trying to resist them or resent them.

P.S.: In my last Podcast Episode, I shared 4 simple tips to cultivate more consistency in any area of your life. You can listen to it here: Listen on Spotify. Listen on Apple Podcasts. Or watch on YouTube.

The meaning you give things

Have you ever thought about the "meaning" behind the things you do daily? When you're stuck in traffic, or working on a spreadsheet, or paying your bills, or picking up after your kid, what are you often thinking you're doing?

Recently, I read the story about the three stonecutters in Sahill Bloom's Newsletter, "The Curiosity Chronicle " (if you don't know it, I totally recommend subscribing; it's one of my favorite online newsletters), and it was a great reminder of how the meaning we assign to things determines how we perceive our purpose in life.

The Three Stonecutters

They were all doing the same thing. But the story they were telling themselves about what they were doing was different.

Many of the tasks we do daily remain the same, but the meaning we give them can change at any moment we want.

The truth is that the majority of our lives is spent in the small, repetitive tasks we do daily. The time spent commuting, being stuck in traffic, planning out projects, checking and responding to emails, being in meetings, talking to clients, going to the supermarket, cooking food, working out, picking up the kids, walking the dog... that makes up most of your life.

And so, when you're in the middle of it, when you're doing the 'same old' every day, it might feel like your work doesn't matter, like your efforts are being wasted or meaningless. But that's where assigning meaning to the things that make up your daily life comes in handy.

That's where you can start connecting the small things you do day in and day out to the big things that you want to create in your life.

• Soon, working out isn't something you 'should' do to lose weight or to be healthier, but it actually becomes a fundamental tool to live longer, feel better, and have more energy, both now and in the future.
• Cooking homemade food soon becomes a way to nourish yourself and your family and to connect with your creative energy.
• Even going to a job you may not like becomes a way to take care of your family and help people along the way.

Giving the things you do a bigger meaning than just simply "because I have to" or "because it's my job" is what provides you with the enthusiasm and the energy to do things long-term, consistently.

How you choose to perceive the process of something determines the purpose you get from it.

There's a popular anecdote from the tour President John F. Kennedy took to the NASA headquarters during the space race.

In there, Kennedy asked a janitor sweeping the floor what he did. The janitor's famous reply, "I'm helping to put a man on the moon," has become a symbol of how having a shared vision and purpose is what creates great achievement in most domains of life.

When life is feeling monotonous, heavy, or simply meaningless, the question to ask ourselves is this:

In there lies the key to unlocking more enthusiasm and more excitement for our lives now (as opposed to when a perfect outcome occurs).

Because we always have the power to choose the story we tell ourselves about the effort we put in daily.

As Sahill said:

• You can see yourself cutting stone — or building a cathedral.
• You can see yourself cleaning the floor — or helping put a man on the moon.

Having that type of bigger vision for ourselves is what helps us create more energy in our lives. And as a result of choosing a bigger vision (for ourselves and for the people around us), we also start telling ourselves better stories about our daily work.

And the stories we choose to tell ourselves make up the kind of life we experience.

So, what are you creating right now?

About decision-making

Recently, I saw an image depicting a caterpillar and a butterfly, where the caterpillar was telling the butterfly, "You have changed. What did you take?" And the butterfly simply responded, "Decisions".

This made me think about how often we are so scared of making the wrong decision that we don't make any decision at all. And that's where we lose the chance to learn something new about ourselves and the process, and, therefore, get stuck.

Now, I believe that, more often than not, making any decision is better than not making a decision at all.

Because even the "wrong" decision will help you move, will help you keep going, and it will give you the feedback and the data to continue moving and trudging forward.

And the more you think about it, there are not really "wrong" decisions either. There are decisions we have to make, and what we choose to do with them.

Make the decisions you make, work for you instead.

A mantra to repeat daily

P.S.: Because the more you repeat anything, the more you start to believe it too!

Love creating your mind one day at a time? Forward this to a friend so they can get in on the action and sign up below. Subscribe to The Created Mind Thank you for reading and sharing, Jenny ​​​​

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