Go Keysky

You extrapolate the present moment because you believe that success is somewhere you “arrive,” so you are constantly trying to take a snapshot of your life and see if you can be happy yet.

You convince yourself that any given moment is representative of your life as a whole. Because we’re wired to believe that success is somewhere we get to—when goals are accomplished and things are completed

we’re constantly measuring our present moments by how “finished” they are, how good the story sounds, how someone else would judge the elevator speech.

We find ourselves thinking: “Is this all there is?” because we forget that everything is transitory, and no one single instance can summarize the whole.

There is nowhere to “arrive” to. The only thing you’re rushing toward is death. Accomplishing goals is not success.

How much you expand in the process is. You assume that when it comes to following your “gut instincts,” happiness is “good” and fear and pain are “bad.” When you consider doing something that you truly love and are invested in, you are going to feel an influx of fear and pain, mostly because it will involve being vulnerable.

Bad feelings should not always be interpreted as deterrents. They are also indicators that you are doing something frightening and worthwhile. Not wanting to do something would make you feel indifferent about it. Fear = interest.

You think “problems” are roadblocks to achieving what you want, when in reality they are pathways.

Marcus Aurelius sums this up well: “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”

Simply, running into a “problem” forces you to take action to resolve it. That action will inevitably lead you to think differently, behave differently, and choose differently.

The “problem” becomes a catalyst for you to actualize the life you always wanted. It pushes you from your comfort zone, that’s all.

Wiest, Brianna. 101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think .