The Adventure Of Your Life
The Adventure of Your Life is the quest to transform all of your talent into skill and peak performance. That means following your conscience, no matter the obstacle and no matter the sacrifice. Following your conscience in the face of obstacles and distractions is also Adventure of Your Life.
Your conscience originates from your talent, and points in the direction of your talent’s optimal expression. It is the voice that calls on you to be your most authentic, most courageous, most extraordinary self, and calls you out when you fall short. Your ego is the voice that invites you to sacrifice everything for status and approval. Loss aversion is the voice that tempts you to sacrifice everything for comfort and safety. Your id is the voice that seduces you into sacrificing everything for meaningless, momentary pleasures. Your conscience is your soul’s survival instinct. Ego, loss aversion, and id are your body’s survival instincts. The human struggle is the wrestling match between your soul’s survival instinct and your body’s survival instincts. This is also the Adventure of Your Life.
Following your conscience in the face of overwhelming temptation and distraction is the most challenging thing you will ever do. It is also the most rewarding thing you will ever do. How can you set your conscience up for success every day?
To set your conscience up for success in a world of overwhelming temptation and distraction, customize your own decision-making framework. What is your best understanding of human nature? What is your best understanding of the dynamics of peak performance? What are your authentic, nonnegotiable priorities? The answers to these questions are the basis of your custom decision-making framework.
The decisions you need to make relate to how you will devote your time and attention. Set your conscience up for success by making those decisions in advance so your time and attention don’t get hijacked by shifts in your emotional state. That is how you live the Adventure of Your Life, all day, every day. Devote your time and attention to the optimal expression of your talent. Master your craft. Master the 12 Skills for Life that create the conditions for peak performance and wellbeing.
Since flow is the optimal state of consciousness that delivers peak performance and wellbeing, why would you devote your time and attention to anything else? What is a more effective strategy for living a life of meaning and fulfillment that to prioritize the Adventure of Your Life?
Be the hero of your own journey. Follow your conscience, no matter the obstacle and no matter the sacrifice. Devote your time and attention to the quest for the optimal expression of your talent. Never surrender your quest.