​​External Validation:

Are you striving to meet someone else's definition of... whatever? Is this a healthy way to look at your own accomplishments? I mean no one else has lived your life, who's standards should you REALLY live up to other than your own? Success is NOT measured by external standards, such as awards, recognition, or financial gain, rather than internal fulfillment. This requires some level of Self-Discipline and motivation, so where does your motivation come from, and how do you cultivate the habit to encourage it? There is no single right answer.

Seeking approval, recognition, or validation from others to feel successful or fulfilled leads to unsustainable standards for ones own achievements.  Relying heavily on others' opinions and standards can lead to a fluctuating sense of self-worth and motivation. If the objective of the game is to keep playing the game, stability is a key factor. Achievements based on external validation provide only temporary satisfaction. The joy from external rewards fades quickly, leading to a perpetual chase for the next validation. External validation is subject to the changing opinions and standards of others, making it an unstable source of fulfillment.

With this in mind, Its important here to consider your own values and passions first, set your own standards. There are ways to understand the markers along the way since we really only have a sense of direction and can not determine the exact outcome as life often produces outcomes that, while often satisfactory, are not exactly the ones that were intended. In these types of explorations, it's not necessarily about the specific destination anyway. Remember the part about specific achievements from a few months ago? It's not wrong to have a specific goal, and the better your sense of clarity (planning) the closer you will get to this, so ask yourself is moving towards this in alignment with my values? am i feeling good about doing this today? if not, why? Do I need to re-evaluate, do I need to change course?

Fixed Mindset

Imagine a River, a single point of consciousness as a droplet of water in an endless current, Now imagine a fixed mindset where you had to fight the flow and swim back upstream. how much energy would that take?  When success is seen as a fixed point rather than a continuous process, growth can become rigid and restricted. However, by expanding our ways of thinking to remain flexible, we can approach life as a game with a direction rather than a destination. Think of it as using a compass instead of coordinates on a GPS. This allows for creativity, flexibility, and enjoyment of the experience over the enjoyment from the achievement of the end result alone.

Imagine you're a trailblazer charting a course into uncharted territory. You know the general direction you want to move in and start heading that way. Along the journey, you might encounter an animal trail, a paved highway, or a dense jungle. Regardless of the path you find, you continue moving in your chosen direction, adapting as necessary. The journey's challenges and unpredictability make it unique and rewarding—if it were easy, everyone would do it.