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Rule #37. Be yourself.
You’ve heard this before, no doubt. Parents, teachers, after school specials, and motivational cat posters have been telling you to “Just Be Yourself!” since you were a toddler.
But Rule #37 isn’t about just accepting who you are, it’s about becoming the best version of yourself you can possibly be.
Don’t focus on where you’re at in your life right now. Instead, think about the version of you that you’d like to be in five years. How is that person different from the current you? How are they the same?
Now consider what you’ll need to do to become that person. If future you runs marathons, you’re going to need to start running, as well as doing related strength training. If future you is a novelist, you’re going to need to start writing. If future you is thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, you’re going to need to start hiking.
You can’t just want to be a marathoner, writer, or thru-hiker, you need to become those things. That’s what being yourself is all about. It isn’t about who you are now, it’s about who you want to become. It’s about the life you need to lead to become who you want to be. So how do we do this?
First off, we don’t ask permission.
We make the necessary changes to get where we want to be.
Don’t be intimidated. It’s okay to start small and move slowly, just get started and keep moving forward. And remember, you’re not alone; most of us are in the process of becoming, I know I sure am. I want to be stronger, faster, more resilient. I want to be a better adventurer, and more capable outdoors. I’m working every single day to become that version of me, and I hope you’ll decide to do the same. If I can help you in any way, don’t hesitate to let me know.
You can be who you are, or you can become who you want to be. I hope you’ll choose to be the best you that you can be.
Who do you want to be? What goals do you have in mind? Don’t be a stranger, join the team, and share them in the comments.
“Rules for Intrepid Living” is a weekly post giving guidelines for how we can all live a bit more of an intrepid life.
You are right that we should start becoming who we want to be instead of putting it off because that is easier. I really want to start eating healthier and living better but I keep putting it off!
Well, I have faith in you, and am happy to help in any way that I can! Using a calorie tracking app on my phone has been really helpful on improving my diet. I don’t care so much about the exact calories, but it enables me to review what I’ve eaten and what’s lacking from my diet. I’ll never give up pizza (because pizza is a beautiful, magnificent creation) but I eat a pretty decent balanced diet now. Another small step that really helped me was just to start eating more vegetables. So I started bringing a small container of fresh veggies with my lunch. I’d have a little ranch dressing (just a little!) or some hummus with it. That small step has led to more salads and the like for lunch. The small steps will get you where you want to go, and still leave room for the occasional taco day. You can do it!