Learning About One's Self

"Know thyself." - Inscription at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi

A lot of the learning I do is an attempt to follow the ancient advice given at Delphi that starts this post. It's not as though it is an overriding thought in my mind or that I keep it at the forefront. It just seems to work out that way, magically, on its own.

A couple of the people that have helped me in doing this are Tim Ferriss and James Altucher.

In an interview with Leo Babauta of Zen Habits on living with and without goals, Tim Ferriss said that he believes in alternating between appreciation and achievement. He believes that a "good life" should entail both, not just one or the other. I agree with this completely. A life of achievement without appreciation seems hollow and a life of appreciation without achievement seems a waste of many people's drives, talents, and abilities to contribute to the world in a positive way.

However, even with my strong agreement, that still leaves the question, "What should be achieved?" Enter Altucher.

Altucher believes in achieving through what he calls the daily practice. The daily practice involves accomplishing four things each day. Becoming better physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Again, I have to agree, although these are still a bit vague for my liking. I love the idea, but think there is room enough to make the daily practice more specific to my personal beliefs and values.

My Daily Practice

Over the last couple weeks, I've been trying to figure out my priorities in terms of daily things I hope to accomplish. Perhaps I don't get all four each day and perhaps I do, but that's not the point. The process is the point.

In thinking over it, I have come up with my own list of four items as part of a daily practice; mine, however, are all actions instead of categories. They include:

1. Train - This is more than working out. This is having specific goals and specific reasons for going to the gym, track, or wherever else I happen to be going for a work out. Right now, I'm training with the intention of eventually squatting 500 pounds, bench pressing 400 pounds, and deadlifting 600 pounds. In the past, I trained for and completed a triathlon and two half marathons. I've also trained using CrossFit in the past, but I always had a goal. The larger goal for any and all of my training is to live a long life that is full of movement and activity. I never want to be alive, but unable to do any of the physical activity I love so much. 
2. Learn - This directly overlaps with the mental aspect of Altucher's daily practice. He believes in reading every day and writing down ten new ideas. I'm not particular about what I learn, but I do have an obsessive reading habit. I am always willing to learn from others instead of a book, but books happen to be easier to access in most cases. Usually, I direct my learning at my professional field or personal hobbies. Even though 95% of my time is directed at those two categories, I love learning completely new things and always try to connect new learning to other domains. Becoming domain independent in my learning is always the goal. I love to figure out what ideas transfer and transform other fields of expertise, again, especially my own professional field at this point.
3. Contribute - I can connect this action to both the emotional and spiritual categories of Altucher's daily practice. I personally don't see a reason to learn and grow unless I can contribute in some way. Being a better me is really just an avenue to help others better themselves in the pursuit of their own personal goals. To me, becoming more knowledgeable is kind of like being the richest man in the world and not giving to charity. If you have a lot of knowledge and don't contribute to other's learning you aren't much different. Learn, grow, develop. Then, contribute. For me, this has manifested itself in teaching and writing. I try to get down as many of the things that have influenced me into writing or words for others to hear in the hopes that they can positively enhance others' lives as well. This has nothing to do with me thinking I'm smarter or more right than others. It's just about sharing what has impacted me in a positive way. Maybe it will do the same for others.
4. Connect - Finally, connection is all about just getting together with people I care the most about and having meaningful conversation or actions. This is not as goal-oriented as the first three above. I have noticed more and more lately that my best days are the ones where I am able to go for a hike with close friends and talk the whole time or sit at a coffee shop and discuss whatever is going on in my life with a good friend. Even if I miss all of the first three actions I've just written about in a day, it is still a great day if I can meaningfully connect with a close friend or new acquaintance. To me, this becomes almost a perfect blend of appreciation and accomplishment. I am usually consciously aware of a deep feeling of appreciation while connecting and a feeling as though I am accomplishing something that many people don't take the time to do on a regular basis.

Conclusion

I have found that by really examining the choices, actions and things that I appreciate and accomplish I become more aware of myself and gain a richer understanding of myself. For instance, by just looking at the four actions above it is clear that I highly value physical strength and health, education and experience, sharing with others, and connecting with people in a deeper way than simply watching sitcoms or sports together.

These actions are ones I try to accomplish each day, but also ones that I try to appreciate that I am able to do each day as well. There may come a day where I can't squat heavy, read complex texts, write my thoughts or personally connect with others coherently, but I can certainly take advantage of all those things while I can and learn much more about myself and others in the process.

I am by no means saying everyone should do these four things each day. They work for me. I do think an attempt to find out what you value and appreciate can help anyone live a fuller life though. Whatever it is, figure it out and apply yourself. The weeks go by to quickly to be passive about them.