Stop Counting Score

The first year of my newsletters was stressful.

 

For me, it wasn’t because we were building something from the ground up.

 

I loved that.

 

Instead, it was because I couldn’t stop checking the results.

 

Every day.

 

The subscribers on my website.

 

The diminishing money in the bank account.

 

My mood fluctuated with the numbers each day.

 

It was miserable.

 

I stopped enjoying the adventure.

 

My brain was consumed with being ‘successful’.

 

So, at one point I stopped and decided to recalibrate.

 

I downloaded all the self-control apps and plugins.

 

I removed the constant temptation to check.

 

And, shockingly, it worked.

 

I started enjoying the moment.

 

The process.

 

The bliss that comes from self-improvement.

 

From developing your craft and growing as a human, not as a number.

 

And soon enough I got all that ‘success’ I had been chasing all along.

Ironic, isn't it?

The second you enjoy the process everything tends to fall into place.

But it's not that the score was no longer important.

In fact, it's what allowed us to keep doing what we loved.

It's just that it was no longer an obsession.

No longer an incessant reminder of how far there was still to go.

 

It was a metric I'd check once a day and then get back to work.

And the work, especially purposeful work, is where life blossomed again.

Legendary basketball coach John Wooden said, "Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do your best to become the best you are capable of becoming."

 

The inner scoreboard.

That's the only one that truly counts.

  

Love,

 

Dhruv.

 

PS - If you want the self control apps & plugins I use, links are below. I'm not sponsored by them but I thought I'd share what worked for me.

For your phone: Freedom

For your computer: Self Control