Friday, oh glorious Friday.
For most of us, Friday symbolizes all that is free and good left in the world - it marks the triumphant (albeit exhaustive) end of the day-in-day-out tedious drudgery of the work week. Friday is the day we are able to collectively stick it to the man, shouting with exuberance, “You don’t own me anymore! ...At least not until Monday.” Pretty safe to say generally, we tend to give less fucks on Fridays in particular.
Usually by the time Friday rolls around, everyone is checked out mentally and emotionally. The weekend that we have waited the entire week for (or more likely, since last Sunday afternoon, let’s be honest) is so close we can almost taste it. “I’m going to be extremely productive and go above and beyond this Friday!” said no one ever.
Isn’t it a bit telling about our culture that the majority of our population is so incredibly discontented with our jobs that we have to wait for the weekend to truly live? It is sad to think something we spend at least a third of our lives doing is so utterly unfulfilling and pedantic. Each of us only has a limited time here on Earth, and we are squandering it doing things we don’t even care about and don’t resonate with us. We throw away an entire 24 hours of the finite time we have every single week, only to spend Fridays living in a mind-simulated future. I, for one, certainly don’t want to spend the rest of my days as a miserable robot in a job I can’t stand, unhappy, and not living up to my fullest potential.
Quitting our jobs without a second thought is something that is not practical or feasible for most of us. But the fact remains - wasting 24 hours is something we simply cannot afford if we truly desire to live to our fullest. So what can we focus on in order to tap into our greatest potential and create a life that we are actually excited to live?
This Friday I want us all to remind ourselves, every day is a new opportunity to reevaluate where we are at and adjust our focus. If we are unhappy and unsatisfied, if we find that life seems to have no meaning, if we feel we don’t have any real purpose of passion - the responsibility to change our current state is entirely up to us.
The 3 F’s To Finding Our Focus
1. Feel - how does our life at this current moment make us feel and why does it make us feel that way? Are you excruciatingly bored at work? Are you experiencing a lot of anger or resentment towards a circumstance or person? Emotions can tell us so much about our environment. Once we identify the emotions we are feeling, we can begin to recognize the triggers that influence the negative thoughts associated with them. What can we change in order to refocus our attention on what truly matters? Learn more about your inner world to discover what makes you feel passionate and excited about life. When we understand ourselves well enough to know what we enjoy doing, we can start to clear some space in each day to dedicate to the things that give us satisfaction.
2. Flow - what helps us reach that state of flow? Flow state is the feeling we get when we are in the zone - the energetic, enthralled state of being totally immersed in the present moment. This could be any activity from painting with watercolors, playing field hockey, finally cracking a complex mathematics problem, to cooking a meal from scratch. Whatever it is that helps you achieve that state of bliss - follow it. Make time for it. Decide what you love to do, and actually do it.
3. Freedom - what environments, people, activities are we around when we feel the most free? This is such a critical question to ask ourselves because it shows us the places our heart is truly connected to. If we live our lives feeling trapped and stuck with people, places, and things that don’t resonate with us, we will all look back with regret, sooner or later. Find what feels good. Find what you love. Pursue it relentlessly with all your might.
We only have this one life to live - Let’s actually start living it.
Through intense focus and action we achieve results.
