Don’t Forget the Fundamentals
In our life goals, we sometimes forget about the fundamentals or the basics that we know we should be focusing on. This can be a great mistake, as the fundamentals are important enough that we should never lose sight of them.
For living a good life, the fundamentals may be: eating well, sleeping well, deep breathing (to help destress), exercise, staying hydrated, nurturing and working on important relationships, avoiding chronic stress, seeking out supportive friends and colleagues, and having some free time to enjoy yourself.
I would also say that monitoring your progress is a fundamental skill, as this can help you to notice if your mental health is suffering or if you have lost your motivation and to help resolve small problems before they become big ones.
If we consider work, the fundamentals there may be: prioritizing your most important tasks, showing up on time, making sure you understand what is expected of you, working together as a team, developing good relationships with your boss and colleagues, setting attainable goals, and identifying obstacles and problems.
Since I value mental and cognitive development, other important fundamentals may be meditation or yoga, reading, learning, challenging yourself, brainstorming ideas, creative or artistic expression, and writing or documenting your ideas.
We sometimes form grand goals that we want to accomplish, and it is good to be ambitious, but we should be careful not to forget about the fundamentals.
If we try to advance too far without applying the basics, then some important part of our lives will likely suffer.
Many times, people want shortcuts to help meet their goals. However, when it comes to the fundamentals, this often means putting in the work every day. Simply sticking to them can provide a struggle every day for many of us. And so, we must remind ourselves when we want to advance and reach higher levels that the basics still matter.
What good does it do you if you get that promotion, but you no longer have time to eat right and sleep well? You may earn more respect and income, but in time, your health may suffer. You may even lose motivation at your work.
The fundamentals are there for a reason. And while they may differ from person to person, many of the basics do apply to all of us, such as those listed above that matter for living a good life.
Be aware that even the fundamentals can be overdone and get in the way of each other. For example, what good does it do to meditate an hour every day if you do not have a job or the funds to support yourself? What good does it do if you oversleep, and this drains your energy and motivation rather than helping you? Exercise can be useful, but if you obsess about it, you may fail to make time for important relationships in your life.
Today I would like you to think about the most important 5 fundamentals are in your life. What are they?
To be fundamental, they should be important to do every single day. Are you happy with how you are accomplishing them? Are you overdoing it?
A lesson I would like you to understand is that the fundamentals can appear quite easy and simple, and so we may get bored with them and want to move on. But you may find that if you do this, your life will fall out of balance, and you will need to go back and perform those fundamentals that you had neglected.
One of my books which I am most proud of explored some fundamentals in our thinking processes, and how having the right thoughts can help us to live our best lives. For example, the first three Thoughts are:
Focus on What You Can Control, Not on What You Cannot Control.
Focus on the Positive, Not on the Negative
Focus on What You Can Do, Not on What You Cannot Do
The book is 7 Thoughts to Live Your Life By: A Guide to the Happy, Peaceful, & Meaningful Life - These Thoughts changed my life around, and I hope they can impact your life too.
