The one thing I’ve found common in almost every successful and truly happy person I’ve met, is that they have a high level of self-awareness. 

They’re aware of themselves, of how their minds thinks, of their environment and the people around them.  

This is what makes navigating a challenging life so much easier 

The main challenge is that … SO many things block self-awareness. 

From the minute we wake up, we have this online connection that we’re addicted to and it never stops. 

Its insane. So much input. 

We all wake up to multiple messages from different apps, multiple emails from different accounts, all of this news, all of these things to do

Maybe... a lack of sleep on top of this. 

Then we go out into this world with distractions everywhere. 

The most accessible food is the most harmful to us. 

We grow up with a sugar addiction, we consume processed foods. 

And we know this. 

We know this. 

Nothing I’m saying is groundbreaking stuff. 

We know this. 

And the fact we know this is the scariest part. 

Growing up, most of these we’re not conscious about. 

And even when we become conscious to them, its just too difficult to reverse it because it is years and years of buildup. 

We’ve come a long way as a race, but still today, after millions and thousands of years, life is still very difficult for pretty much everyone. 

Even though many of us have the resources to handle it. 

But its been improving for sure. 

We were really bad before. 

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from life so far, it’s that you can change anything, if you’re aware of it. That’s always the first step. 

• 5 years ago, I had no idea what I was doing

  • But I started writing, and reading, I took small steps to improve different areas of my life and take care of myself

  • I started practicing mindfulness and gratitude, 

  • I taught myself how to learn,  

  • I sped up the entire process through mentorship,

    And what I share now, is a very refined version of that

  The shortcuts. 

Because the instructions for “how-to” already exist, they have for decades 

Millions of people have dedicated their entire lives and purpose to discover them for us

They are now one google search away, yet we still struggle in applying them

And I think it’s because people are just tired, as a result to how difficult life has become, and because there’s too much noise and distraction 

This makes it very difficult to conjure up the activation energy to start things, and its even more difficult to keep rolling with the punches

So with all the noise around the world today, how do you block the noise and do the things that are good for you, consistently?

It’s not something that can click after reading one quote or watching one video. 

Because it takes time and patience to overcome a lifetime of distracted living. 

The most important thing I learned along the way, was Self-Awareness. 

I didn’t even actively want to

I wasn’t 22 years and searching “How do I develop Self Awareness” 

That’s not what was my world at that time

But years of just, doing things I read was good and trying to make my life a bit better, 

I stared two develop 2 things

It was Mindfulness, and Introspection. 

These are the things I worked to every day almost, to develop my self awareness. 

Through small reps, almost every day. 

I practiced at least 1 mindful activity, and 1 introspective activity. 

• In terms of Mindfulness, I started with Meditation. 

I used an app that I liked the most, I tried to make it as consistent as I could, I found ways to hold myself accountable, and I failed many many times. This will happen! But each time I tried again, that was the biggest rep I could take. 

It felt nice nothing was happening at the start, but I kept on trying because I KNEW this was good for me. I read about it everywhere and every happy person I’ve met had some sort of meditation practice. But one secret I can share with you is that they mess up often too. It’s really hard to meditate! But you need to try and try again.

Then I tried again, I found small communities to help me and share the journey with, I found mentors that I loved, I tried different apps, I found youtube videos that I liked the most, and it took me 2 years to make it a consistent habit.  

Now it’s easy for me, because I wake up and my phone is on airplane mode, so I don’t wake up to 100 distractions every morning that trp my brain, but instead I meditate first thing and then I turn it on. 

And the space that this gives to your mind is magical, and so healthy. 

• Around this period, I also got into Yoga. Which developed my mindfulness. 

• Then I started taking mindful walks without my phone once in a while. 

• Even showering is mindful. 

These are just the things that I do. 

There are dozens of mindful activity. 

They can even be creative things like painting. 

Just find at least one mindful activity that YOU see yourself doing, that seems the most appealing,  and just keep on trying it until it becomes a part of your life. 

Its just a 10-20 minute commitment, out of 17 waking hours in a day. 

• Second, is self-reflection. 

  This is not everyone’s cup of tea, and it wasn’t mine. Especially as a guy that grew up in a very restricted environment. 

But you need to understand yourself in this life man. 

Reflection is so powerful. 

The days go by SO fast that we don’t have a second to breathe and understand what’s going on. 

I started writing for 5-10 minutes at the end of my day. That’s it. 

Then I realized that writing is not just for reflecting, but also for planning and creating the life I want to live. 

I started writing 5 years ago, and everything that i wrote down, has become reality. 

• Pen and Paper is what started it. 

• Then I started using Google Docs.  I started reflecting after networking meetings, and I learned so much more. 

• Then I started saving audio recordings because they were so easy and I could do it any time with little effort. 

And each activity developed my mind in a different way. 

• So I would really recommend, find the best way for you. 

  • Pen and Paper. 

  • Computer or Phone. 

  • Audio recordings. 

  • Talking to yourself, or to other people. 

And just keep on doing it. 

The more you reflect, the more you learn. 

After months of failing, I found that  the easiest way to get started, is to slowly, incorporate them into my life with small steps. And accept that there will be ups and downs. 

 All that matters, is choosing to show up everyday as best as I can, and try. It doesn’t take much time. My brain just needs some proof of me doing it. 

There’s a reason that mindfulness is so often mentioned. 

That many happy and successful people self-reflect. 

And the combination of both of these things, is what developed self-awareness and intuition. 

So that concludes this chapter. 

Find at least 1 mindful practice, and 1 introspective practice. 

And do them as often as you can. 

And most people that see this are already trying, or have tried before. 

But both of these, are such deep and personal journeys that everyone can go on, and continue developing deeper.

My practices have just been evolving, along with me

And doing these as often as possible

Almost every day

Then dropping in and out of the consistent practice, 

Bu always coming back to it, eventually

And learning

And doing it in a different way 

This process is what create space, for my mind to heal, and understand myself better