What insights have I gained that I am grateful for? - Part III

 A lack of self worth will destroy you from the inside out: We are all insecure. No matter what armor one projects to the world, everyone carries deep uncertainty and anxiety about themselves. These insecurities breed a lack of confidence in ourselves. There are two paths:

1. Know you are whole and complete simply by being yourself.

This path allows you to check your ego at the door and treat your insecurities for what they are: an object in your mind that does not have to be reality. This path is like driving your car down the road and waving to your insecurity on the side of the road. You see it. You acknowledge it. But you're not stopped (or defined) by this thing on the side of the road trying to distract you and take you off course.

2. Believe you are deficient and lacking something before you can accept yourself.

Short term positive changes can come from this path. You work out for 3 months, you lose a lot of weight. This path can focus you on short term goals, and it feels good (as it should) to accomplish these goals. But the results are not sustainable nor long term. If your goals are filling the holes you believe you have, you will never find calm acceptance of yourself.

Failure creates the space for growth and accomplishment: Those who play it safe take away their chance of a big payoff. Taking risks, putting yourself out into the world to say "I made this, what do you think?" is scary. It's safer to hide behind excuses and keep our work private. But falling flat on your face is good. It means you are finding where the walls are. We climb our own personal growth curve the fastest by failing, getting valuable feedback, and quickly improving. Don't hide. Don't run. Seek failure out.

Learning comes from making mistakes: Perfectionism is overrated. Often a solution that gets you 80% of the way is both acceptable and relatively easy to get to. To get the first 80% of your goal might take 30% of your effort versus the last 20% might take 70% of your effort. Ship your work. Get it out. Get feedback. Make quick improvements. 

Mental health is the foundation of happiness: Our brain is the most complex organ in the universe. The amount of water we drink, good food we eat, close relationships we share and exercise we do release chemicals in our brains that make us feel good. Our feelings create our thoughts. Our thoughts create our actions. There is a space between what we feel/think and how we respond. We can grow this space by building our own awareness. Take a deep breath. Practice mindfulness and meditate. Build your brain's ability to respond to your feelings/thoughts in ways that best align with your values.

Compound interest is the most powerful force in the world: Albert Einsteinis credited with this quote. It's true. Say you have $100. You give it to the bank so they can make loans to people. At the end of the year the bank gives you $105. You made $5 for doing absolutely nothing! Pretty sweet deal. Your money earns interest. Now you turn around and give that $105 back to the bank. Except this time the bank pays you back $110.25. Not only did your money earn interest but your interest from last year ($5) also earned interest! When compounded, meaning when this happens again and again over time, the results are stunning.

If you invested $1000 at age 18 and earned 10% a year until you were 65, you would have approximately $88,197.49. That is an 88.20x increase! For every $1 you had at age 18, you turned that into $88.20 by the time you were 65.

AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN DO ANYTHING EXCEPT MAKE ONE SIMPLE DECISION WHEN YOU WERE 18.

Open a Roth IRA. 

Do it now. Really. Stop what you are doing and do it now. 

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