What Gets You All Jacked Up About Life?

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It’s about time. I’ve been in beautiful Arizona for 455 days, or about 15 months. I’ve more or less found my groove with work, love being a student again, and found a bunch of odd things to do around the city (I mean suburbia) of Phoenix. These first few months can be compared to the first year of a relationship: you’re a bit uneasy, posing a little bit to morph to what the other likes, and put on a smile when things bother you after you subtly communicate the issue.

Let’s be real. When do I ever sit in the corner and let life pass before me? Never. Yet, I have morphed a bit to what the majority of people like to do around me. Going out every once in awhile is quite awesome, but when I’m surrounded by people that ONLY do that - I start to get bored. Like I said in my last blog, I’ve identified my missing links. It may sound cliché, but COME ON PEOPLE! We only live once.

What about you? Do you feel fulfilled with the life you’re living? What do you wish you could do, but just don’t? You could be working for a fantastic company you couldn’t even dream of, surrounded by some pretty entertaining people, living a comfortable life.

I’ve come to find that I’m pretty intense. I have a colorful personality with a wide range of interests (climbing mountains, theatre, traveling, fishing, fashion, running, music, etc.). Unlike most people, it’s an all or nothing thing for me. I love my intensity! You can’t stop me when I’m on a roll. I just like proving to myself I can do anything. In every situation outside of work, it’s always a positive thing. At work though, my tenacity in a competitive world has needed to be scaled back. It happens every time. I’ve found people love me or hate me, but those I know I rub the wrong way, I work backwards to gain their support. I hate when I disappoint people or know they don't really like me. I tend to have a pretty good intuition about people, but what I need to do is just be true to myself. I know I've talked about this before, so I'll just move on.

So, I’ve figured out the groove of my daily life. I’ve figured out what I need to stay excited, and I’ve moved away from toxic, mundane, irritating things and people. It’s taken long enough, right?

Here’s my challenge to you: there is no way that you are completely content with yourself. If you are, you aren’t challenging yourself. You aren’t going after the gold medal, you’re going after the mediocre - you don’t even get an invite to the trials. Obviously, I’m writing this as I watch the Olympics, but the metaphor still stands. I find myself to be a jack-of-all-trades, and a master at nothing. Yet, I know my run for gold is flexibility, building relationships, challenging myself, and versatility. It’s not tangible and trust me, it’s sometimes tough to grasp. But when I reload, shake off, and jump back into action, you better watch out.

What makes you want to get out of bed? What are the things that you’d fight to the death for? What small things make you smile? If you can figure those things out, write them down, pin them somewhere, or tell someone to give yourself accountability. Don’t sweat the small stuff, do something new every day, and don’t maintain a stagnant life.

Most of all, go out there and boldly challenge status quo - even if it’s your own status quo.