This piece is a part of our Begin Again series, and incorporating the 3 mental frameworks outlined in the intro with the ideas discussed here in your journaling can snowball your progress.
It’s a fundamental truth about life – the difference between the man who achieved his goals and the one who dies with regrets is simple.
One just didn’t give up.
If you do the right things for a long enough time while ignoring all the stuff that could get you off track, you’ll get what you want.
We often see this unstoppableness with juiced-up Hollywood heroes – Rocky Balboa punching cow carcasses with motivational music in the background.
But life isn’t Hollywood. In the movie, this scene lasts 30 seconds. In life, it can last for decades.
Here’s how you can make it through.
These Are The Only Things That Can Stop You
Every decision we make is based on two things.
Thoughts and emotions.
- If your thoughts convince you it’s better to stop, you will – even if you realize you were on the wrong track after.
- If your emotions become too overwhelming, you’ll stop – even if you later wish you could’ve stuck it out a little longer.
To become unstoppable, you need to master both.
The Surprising Truth About Your Thoughts
Thoughts aren’t real.
This is tough to understand because we identify with the voice in our head. We take what it says for the truth. Yet, most of it is as accurate as a drunk archer in the dark.
The voice often told me I was wasting my time with my work because I didn’t see results – a few weeks later, I got a client who said they’d followed me for months.
How often have you thought someone doesn’t like you because they didn’t answer your message – then a few days later they apologize because they got overwhelmed with life?
Put simply, the mind goes through a lot of blablabla any given day.
The ego creates limiting thoughts out of fear and to keep us safe, telling you all sorts of bullshit about why you should stop doing this or that.
This happens especially when you’re tired, hungry, and exhausted – hence the negative thoughts late at night.
“I've had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened.” ― Mark Twain
The key to being unstoppable is to understand your thoughts aren’t real and stop listening to them.
- Decide what you want to do. Hitting the gym three times a week for three months or stop drinking for the next four weeks.
- Commit to it. You’ve made this decision for a reason.
- Apply the “cloud principle.” Treat self-doubting thoughts like clouds in the sky and let them go – meditation and journaling can help a lot.
You’re the sky. Your thoughts are just the weather. And that’s going to change all the time.
Make sure you stay on your path whether it’s rainy or sunny.
What Everybody Should Know About Emotions
We’ve all heard the good old “men don’t cry.”
When I was a kid and I scraped my knee, I heard it. When I split with my girlfriend, I heard it. You’ve heard it, too.
But does “not crying” make you unstoppable? Or do you just suppress your emotions because you’re afraid to feel them?
“You're not weak because you feel; you're strong because you can.” – Daniel Chidiac
Look, I know how painful life can be. Hitting the same walls comes with hurt, disappointment, shame, and self-doubt. But no matter how much you feel like someone is carving out your heart with a rusty spoon, you’ll have to remember this:
Emotions are safe.
If you don’t resist, they can’t harm you. All you need to do is let them be.
They might make you anxious, cry, shake, and scream – but they’re perfectly safe.
Once you understand that and develop the capability to manage and experience your emotions without having to act on them, they won’t be able to stop you.
You’ll be able to endure the pain of working out, the self-doubt of starting a business, and the fear of opening up to your partner.
You’ll no longer waste your energy on suppressing them and can instead use it to walk your path.
- Find out which emotions you’re afraid of or suppressing. Sadness, anger, hurt, grief, powerlessness, despair – there are many we run from.
- Give room to that feeling and acknowledge it. All you need to do is sit, feel it, and let it be.
- Do what feels right, even if it doesn’t feel good. You’ll know the difference.
Emotions are great feedback mechanisms, but terrible decision-makers. Give them space and they’ll vanish. Don’t let them get you off your path.
You’re safe.
The Simple Principles That Will Help You Become Unstoppable
Life isn’t a Hollywood movie.
There’s no guaranteed happy ending. There’s no motivational music to help you up when you’re neck-deep in shit. There’s no 30-second cut scene or fast-forward button.
Sometimes, you have to remind yourself of the fundamental truths.
Your thoughts aren’t real. Your emotions are safe.
Don’t let them stop you.
Keep going.
It’s all that matters.
