Resourcefullness

People often site lack of resources (money, connections, environment, support, their biology, the economy) to rationalize their lack of progress.  Successful people know that they will always lack resources.  Their super power is being resourceful.

Being resourceful means leveraging existing connections, absorbing wisdom from mentors and books, and an attitude that you will do all you can with what you have from where you are.  Consider the difference between “here are all the reasons I can’t do this”, and “what resources will help me do this?”

You can hide behind the list of things you don’t have, or you can actively seek ways to architect your life.

Perspectives for gratitude

Unless you’re extremely unlucky, it’s easy to see that life could be worse.  This recognition doesn’t make problems go away of course.

But imagine trading places with those who have no one to count on, are on their deathbeds, or are living in cultures where staying alive is an hourly concern.

Imagining this and returning to the present may help us appreciate that if we have any number of friends, any semblance of health, and are not plagued with constant safety concerns, that we are the very definition of lucky.

For most people reading this, there are several hundred million people who would trade places with you without hesitation.

Mental training

We all know that physical exercise is healthy, easier to maintain than regain, and that despite diverse innate abilities we can all dramatically improve from our baseline.

Seeking a trained psychologist only in severe distress is like considering gym memberships and nutrition programs only after becoming a dangerously obese diabetic. Or like taking up meditation only when neurosis derails your life.  But like physical attributes, mental well-being can be monitored, maintained, and enhanced.

Mental states we crave (joy, focus, calm) are available to us.  Ground-breaking science (e.g., epigenetics) is confirming what many wise contemplatives throughout history noticed: the powerful insight that these positive states are not unchangeable, factory  human settings.