by Dr. Ryan Neinstien
With two months left in the year, here are five things you can do in your life today that will help 2023 be the best year yet.
1. Start Now
Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius puts it, “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” Leaning into the whatever friction is holding you back by actually doing something and doing it consistently will have ripple effects in your life. Cut out alcohol, get up earlier, read 10 pages a day. Start something and get momentum.
2. Read Books and Take Immediate Action
The Stoics believed that life was complicated—more importantly, that it was exhausting. Reading history from culture to culture and prior time periods will help shed light on some insider tips and tricks or daily rules that can help you navigate this world. For instance, thousands of years ago Seneca saw that so many in society suffered from anxiety (just like today). One common thread was worrying about things that have not happened or was out of one’s control. He famously said ““We are more often frightened than hurt; and we suffer more from imagination than from reality.” Reminding us not to suffer from imagined troubles.
3. Get Advice from People You Admire (in any field)
For thousands of years we have known that we are influenced by the people we spend the most time with. There is an ancient proverb “If you dwell with a lame man, you will learn how to limp.” Finding a mentor you can be completely open, honest, authentic, and vulnerable with will help you go on a straight line to realistic and specific goals. These relationships cannot be one sided, you must give as much as you receive.
4. Find a Spouse or Strengthen the Bond Between You and Your Spouse
The capacity and ability to have intimate meaningful relationships has been found to be an incredibly strong predictor of success in any field. I know of many successful people who have put off relationships and family in search of glory in their perspective fields but I can personally say the best thing to ever happen to me as a surgeon was to become a husband and father. It changes your empathy and sympathy DNA and that permeates into all facets of life.
5. Stop Thinking the World is Fair and it Owes You Something
As soon as you accept this you will enjoy life more. Theodore Roosevelt delivered the speech entitled “Citizenship in a Republic” at the Sorbonne in Paris on April 23, 1910. The speech is popularly known as “The Man in the Arena.” I love this speech because The President highlights the effort and courage to do things as the things that matter. He famously said “it is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena”. Doing the work is what matters not the recognition or criticism.