Aspiration

I’ve been traveling in the last week, and on a recent late-night walk around the city, I found myself (yet again) making plans.

Always thinking, ideating and being ambitious.

This wasn’t new or alien to me. I’ve defaulted to this natural state and motion for as long as I can remember.

As I walked*, a simple thought popped into my mind:

My aspirations can never exceed what I have to give.

I find myself in a proverbial half-time of my life, and my recent past has pushed me to re-program some of the things that have felt so natural until now.

I’ve realised that this always-on, constantly pushing forward motion is not very natural. And especially not when I’m trying to alter reality.

Instead, what is more natural (and thus better and sustainable) is to push only within my capacity.

Success is not to be measured by (artificially) trying to give 110% of myself to anything. I now think this is a fallacy. I can never be more than 100%, so where does that mythical extra 10% come from?

Aspiring always to be my best, unique self is already 100%.

No need to risk burnout or other adverse second-order effects by convincing myself I need to or can push beyond that.

And if I just did that, I would still likely accomplish many of the aspirational, ambitious things that often occupy by mind.

*Probably bouncing with some air-drumming as I was also listening to some (angsty) punk rock.