Raise your life’s sine wave
Life is a sine wave consisting of highs and lows. The majority’s life is mediocre living the same highs and lows.
They are stuck in the same rhythm day in and day out.
“Most men and women die intellectually at 25, but are not buried until 60”
— G. E. Marchand
Society and school teach you how life works and what success means:
- being good in school
- to get into a good university
- make a lot of debt for the university
- graduate with a degree in medicine, law, or engineering (the highest-paying job opportunities)
- find a high-paying job
- work your a* off
- get promoted
- marry
- have some kids (but not too many)
- buy a house
- have more debt
- be dependable on the job for the money
and then, like the quote states: get buried at 60, or if you’re lucky, you live longer and enjoy a boring retirement in front of the TV.
Are you in this hamster wheel?
Doesn’t it sound depressing?
I realized it as soon as I got my first full-time job after graduating with a programming degree. It didn’t feel like the success I was striving for.
I was miserable sitting in an office for 40 hours doing almost nothing, going home exhausted, and watching TV alone. I was at a really deep low because I believed my teachers that I had achieved “success”.
I realized I don’t want to die now for 45 years, then hopefully be alive in my retirement to enjoy life a little until I get buried.
For a decade now, I:
- read a lot about personal development
- figured out my purpose and goals
- went out of my comfort zone
- experienced growth
I can tell you the goal of a fulfilling life:
A rising sine wave
Working toward your goals seems like it needs to be all highs and happiness, and no lows. This is not the truth.
You will live through highs and lows.
As soon as you accept this, life will feel easier.
Even though your work is fulfilling and you are happy, there will be cycles of lows too.
I’m writing online as a side hustle, and I’m working a full-time job. Almost every day, I have to remind myself why I’m doing this because I’m not comfortable sitting in an office for 8 hours every day.
That’s not what my dream life looks like. But I need these days with lows during the afternoons because the job gets me the money to invest in myself and the experience I need to open my own architecture office.
I’m raising my sine wave by investing in online courses, reading, and working on my online business.
Compared to my first full-time job, I’m not stuck. I have a dream day I’m working towards.
So what can you do to raise your sine wave?
Daily growth through habits
Life consists of days. And what we do daily are habits. Habits are what life consists of.
What habits do you have?
Do they help you grow or stay stuck?
Coming home from work after my first full-time job, I immediately turned on the TV and watched something until I went to bed.
I was stuck in a routine of negative habits.
My sine wave stayed at the same level.
I wasn’t happy. My mood was blah every day. Like neutral.
Your habits are what your life consists of. They define how you spend your time; hence, they define you.
To raise your sine wave, you need to have daily habits that help you grow.
Some examples:
- meditating
- exercising
- reading
- writing
- creating
- adventures
- networking
- time with loved ones
Life is not meant to be in front of the TV all the time to stay up-to-date on your favorite TV series.
I know we feel exhausted coming home from work, and that’s why we turn on the TV to turn off our brains.
But there are other ways to turn off your brain for a few minutes: reading, exercising, going for a walk, having fun with friends…
Going out of the comfort zone
This point is a weakness of myself and many people.
We don’t like uncertainty and doing new things. It’s a human instinct to protect us from things we don’t know because it could be deadly.
These days taking chances and going out of your comfort zone is rarely deadly.
Going to a networking event isn’t gonna kill you.
Starting to learn something new isn’t gonna kill you.
At the beginning you will feel uncomfortable but when you do it more often and get better, you will enjoy it and grow.
The first time I posted something on Instagram, I was scared. What would people think? Do I look good? Will people talk about it behind my back?
Do you want to know what happened? Only positive things.
- I got a little more comfortable and confident with every post I published
- I got positive feedback from friends (they love the positivity)
- I didn’t hear any criticism or talking behind my back (they just unfollowed me and that’s it)
I was overthinking, worrying, and scared for nothing.
Of course, my first picture wasn’t good. I was a beginner.
But every day I got better, and now, after 1 year of consistently posting, I’ll say I’m kinda good at it.
What do you want to be good at in a year?
Take the chance and try something new!
I never regretted any step out of my comfort zone.
(Please don’t think that going out of your comfort zone is doing something dangerous like trying drugs, picking a fight with a big guy, etc. Trust your gut feeling to not get into danger.)
Lifelong learning
I have to tell you the truth: learning doesn’t stop after you finish your path in the educational system.
If you don’t grow throughout your whole life, you are stuck and even fall behind. The majority of people don’t read any books.
They read some in school because they had to, but as soon as this chapter was over, they never touched a book again.
But lifelong learning is not just about books. Books are an amazing source of knowledge and stories. But you can also listen to audiobooks, and podcasts, watch videos, online courses, and documentaries, or read online (on Medium, for example).
Investing time and money in yourself is the best investment you can do. It will improve your life.
I love learning and I want you to find that love too.
Whatever source of knowledge you prefer doesn’t matter. Just learn, grow, and then put it into practice.
I’m a fan of reality shows like ‘Love is Blind’. They are not typical knowledge sources, but I learn about different kinds of relationships and talk about them with my boyfriend. It helps me to understand him more.
And now that the show is also in Mexico, I’m watching it in Spanish to improve my knowledge.
Learning something new and improving doesn’t need to be a burden. Find your way of enjoying it!
Conclusion
What we want to prevent is summarized in the quote from above:
“Most men and women die intellectually at 25, but are not buried until 60”
— G. E. Marchand
Not raising your sine wave of life will keep you stuck at the level you were at 25.
Do you want to stay on the intellectual level of a 25-year-old?
No? Me neither.
To raise my sine wave, I:
- established daily habits of growth
- go out of my comfort zone regularly
- never stop learning
Those 3 points summarized a lot of opportunities you can take to grow:
- meditating
- lifting weights
- getting into shape
- finding a sport you love
- a morning routine (like from the book ‘Miracle Morning’)
- going on adventures
- learning about nutrition
- watching documentaries
- moving to a different country
- learning about the blue zones
- building a business
- growing with your kids
- improving your relationships
- talking with your grandparents
- finding like-minded people
- posting on Instagram
- trying new food
- volunteering
- reading books from a different genre
- telling your story in front of an audience
- reading about a topic you know nothing about on Reddit
Whatever you choose to do: don’t stop learning!
Start being productive now!
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