How Can We Be Legendary?

Barney: “We haven’t hit legendary yet. We’re only at the le.”
Lily: “If we’re at the le, why not follow up with let’s go home?”

How I Met Your Mother is awesome. However, from time to time, we don’t feel as awesome. Or at least not as awesome as how Barney feels about himself. There are days when we feel like we’re doomed to lifelong pessimism. We experience what seems like a never-ending impulse to procrastinate and nap our days away. We’re often told about the will and the way. What is missing isn’t the way, but the will to execute them. However, in a world of rah-rah positive-thinking “gurus” who are all forced smiles and high-fives, I believe finding our will isn’t difficult.

What is difficult is plotting our way.

There is no point in going to a motivational seminar or watching another episode of Gary Vee if we’re not going to take any next steps. There is no secret to an indomitable will. Show up. Do the work. Go home. Rinse and repeat. It is literally that simple. Nothing interferes. Nothing will sway us from our way. Once we make the decision, we will not budge. We will not compromise. But there is a catch. We have to let go of what we are in the quest to become what we might be.

The truth is — some of us are not willing to let go of a lot of things.

Many of us have strong views, but they’re loosely held. It is not about what we know or what we believe in. It is about what we do consistently that really matters. As Eric Thomas puts it, “Some of us want sleep more than we want success.” It is precisely the reason why some of us lose hope when we’re trying to lose weight. Even if we exercise, it doesn’t mean that we deserve sugar water. Even if we have a crystal clear view of our most critical priorities and decisions, it doesn’t mean that we will rise to the level of our expectations.

In fact, we fall to the level of our training.

We’re not responsible for the hand of cards we were dealt. We’re responsible for maxing out what we were given. The things that we cannot pull through with intensity, we can overcome with consistency. Hope is not a strategy. Luck is not a factor, and fear is definitely not an option. Sure enough, life is unpredictable. However, instead of reacting to life, why not we anticipate what is about to come? We can anticipate that there will be many unexpected problems that will pop up.

So, we find our personal solutions to help us sail the choppy water.

We can anticipate that there will be days when we’re in the pit of despair. In these days when it is muddy, maddening and confusing, we prepare a journal by our side to calm our monkey minds. We can anticipate that it will come in handy if we consume more education than entertainment. More importantly, we can anticipate that goals and will are fleeting, whereas plans and systems are enduring. A will is important, but a will without a proper way is insufficient. Theory is important, but theory without action is not enough too. When we are real with ourselves and anticipate to the best of our abilities, we will face our days with clearer eyes. We won’t know if we will succeed with a plan, but we will know with certainty how we’re gonna fail without one.