The Incremental Life

build an extraordinary life one step at a time

Don’t Become Stagnant

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I was sitting in one of my college classes when my professor said something in passing that was so profound I’ve never forgotten it. He said, “I would rather my students drink from a running stream than a stagnant pool.” I later learned he was quoting Dr. Howard Hendricks, words that resonated strongly—so strongly that they influence me to this day.

Are you still learning and growing as a person? If you want to be constantly and consistently inspired, and have the ability to inspire others, you must be taking in far more than you give out. Not only that, you must be constantly refreshing what you know so that you don’t become stale and stagnant.

Here are some ways you can be sure you’re a running stream and not a stagnant pool:

  • Become a voracious reader. You don’t need to be reading books necessarily, but make sure you’re taking in as much new information as you can each day. High-quality blogs are a viable option.
  • Get to know people. Want fresh ideas? Well, ideas come from people, so it stands to reason that the more people you meet, the more ideas you’ll hear.
  • Challenge yourself. If your life is too easy, you run a great risk of growing stagnant. Push your old, worn  out ideas out by stepping beyond your boundaries.
  • Think like a teacher. One of the best ways to learn something new is to be required to teach it to someone else. This forces you to internalize and distil new information quickly.
  • Take a break. It’s always possible you’re pushing too hard. No matter who you are, you can only work so long and contain so much. Make sure you’re taking regular time off from work and responsibilities.

“Learning is the only thing the mind never exhausts, never fears, and never regrets.”

~Leonardo da Vinci

Teach Yourself a New Trick

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Far beyond gaining stuff to stock away in your brain, how about developing a new skill? If not something new, why not take an existing talent to the next level?

Demolish the obstacles standing in your way, the things that are holding you back. Most of these obstacles are self-made—excuses, over-burdened schedules, distractions, fears, doubts—so that means you’re in control.

“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.”

~Henry Ford

Don’t be concerned with becoming the best, concentrate on learning something useful or interesting. What’s a skill you wish you’d had the chance to hone? What’s a talent you’ve always regretted not building? It’s not too late.

Learn to build something with your hands. Take private lessons and learn a new instrument. Audit classes at a local college. Learn to code. Take up running or cycling, or even unicycling! Write a novel.

Look around and ask questions. Why do things work the way they do? What motivates people? How could something be done better? What would you do if you had to start a new career and could do anything you wanted?

Pursue those answers.

Upgrade-Your-Awesome
Maybe there’s nothing new you’ve really wanted to learn or anything that interests you enough to spend your time pursuing. Unless you’re an unimaginative slacker, that probably means you should get out there and start teaching. Check in with your local library, community center, or churches to see if you could offer a community class of some sort in one of your fields of expertise. If you are an expert in some sort of hands-on trade, consider volunteering at a local high school or community college, or start to teach people out of your home, garage, or workshop. If the idea of standing in front of a classroom or teaching a group intimidates you, think about taking on an apprentice or teaching one-on-one lessons.

Break Your Bad Habits

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Changing your habits is a hard task, and there’s an old adage that says it takes 21 days to form new ones. The problem is that too many times we try to build good habits without first trying to break our bad ones.

It doesn’t matter what your bad habit may be—smoking, biting your nails, overeating—you can start overcoming today and find freedom in the future. The key is to first admit you need to change. You must recognize the damage your bad habit is causing and you must want to change—you must desire it.

Be intentional about breaking your bad habit. Write it down and set a goal for yourself. Post that goal where you’ll see it often. Find an accountability partner and give them permission to nag you when you get off track.

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become your character.
And watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

~Lao Tzu

Start slow and change your life in small steps. Can you make a 5% change per week? Be patient and realize that slow change is better than no change.

Finally, face the fact that you may need to change your environment or your friends. Don’t place yourself in positions that tempt you to take part in your bad habit, or hang around people who drag you down.

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habitworksheet
Start getting your bad habits under control today by building new, better habits. Download your free copy of my Habit Tracking and Habit Stacking Worksheets that are designed to help you see how your bad habits are affecting you, and help you determine how to best replace them.

Choose to Be Brave

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Do you feel brave? We hold ourselves back through fear and worry. Risks aren’t taken because we’re afraid we’ll fall short and that we’ll be worse off in the aftermath. We’re afraid that we’ll make the wrong choice and something “bad” might happen as a result. My pastor calls this the Stranglehold of Fear.

The only way to overcome fear is by facing it head-on. Turn your abstract fears into concrete black and white statements by writing them down. Turning them concrete diminishes the “what if” factor and helps you rationally process what the consequences of facing your fears might be. Uncertainty gives way to intentionality, which blows fears away.

Facing your fears and choosing to be brave is a daily, continual process. It’s a process you have to repeat in order to gain the results you desire in life.

Choose to be brave today. Do what you’re afraid to do.

Fear is a Matter of Perspective

I was listening to the EntreLeadership podcast and heard guest host Rory Vaden say, “Peace is about having a longer-term perspective. Any problem in relation to today is a big problem. Any problem in relation to our life span, though, is a small problem. And any problem in relation to eternity is no problem.”

Having perspective helps alleviate our fears. A long-term perspective helps us slow down and take a step back so that we can rationally address our fears and craft solutions to overcome those fears.

Do you want to know the first step to facing your fears? Write them down.

“True bravery can happen only in the face of fear.
If you aren’t afraid, then how can your actions be brave?”

~Robin Sharma