Reflections from the Last Couple Weeks

What’s good, friend!

I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving with loved ones and enjoyed great food and rest.

As we get back into our normal routine, we all know this time of year is incredible for reflecting, remembering, and recharging our batteries for 2024.

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve noticed how complacent I have let myself become.

As we all know, an abundance of complacency leads to the depths of regret.

I have been to that place before — I knew I had to shake something up.

I needed a restart, a hardcore reset. But what? How?

I’ve been growing out my hair and enjoying it — but, I knew I had to drop the top.

So, I did that. “It’s okay to let go.”

But something unexpected happened, I still felt the same. It wasn’t enough.

The man in the mirror was not convinced.

My beard is something I cherish. It keeps me comfortable, keeps my ego safe, and is a part of my identity.

“Shave off the beard,” I said out loud.

Initially, I did not want to. But as the hours passed — I knew I had no choice if I wanted to spark the reset I was desperately needing.

So, I shaved that joker off. Clean Baby Face P.

Boom. Instantly vulnerable. Instantly threw myself into the discomfort of change.

Yet — something was missing.

As the next day started, I thought about bleaching my hair.

Instantly — my mind built up an argument against the idea

“Nah that’s wild. I don’t have the balls for that. What would people think of me?”

A quieter voice inside of my mind said

“At this point, why not?”

Hmmmm… Yeah. Why Not?

The reasons I shouldn’t bleach my hair were being overshadowed by the reasons I should.

• New Experience

• New Growth

• New Challenge

• New Discomfort

• WHAT DO I HAVE TO LOSE? WHY NOT?

So… I bleached the dome.

Mom was hesitant but she helped me out — before she applied the bleach she asked:

“Are you sure, Paril?”

“Yes, mom. It’s okay to do new things.”

As the bleach did it’s thing — I revealed my new look to my family.

Dad laughed and said “Dennis Rodman!”

As my family enjoyed my new look, I knew I had actual work to do.

Any Grand Gesture is WORTHLESS if it's just about the Grand Gesture.

It’s deeply uncomfortable to be walking around without my beard and with a flashy blonde dome.

I want to hide — but that's not why I did all this.

I did this to expose myself and feel every bit of the vulnerability.

I’m not saying you need to buzz your hair, shave off your beard, or bleach your hair — but I do think we all should be aware of our own complacency.

Torch the Complacency.

Stand In That Flame And Get Your Muscle Up!

If you want more of this life, you have to be willing to do uncomfortable things.

Everyone should have the ability to call out their own bullshit and challenge themselves to grow into their ideal self.

WHY?

WHY NOT?

New Growth is on the horizon, and it’s up to us to sail the ship toward our purpose and goals.

The remainder of this weeks Corridors of Curiosity will be a list of reminders + principles for myself as I move into this new season of life. I hope you read these with an open mind and hopefully, it inspires you to craft your own “Creed” or “Guidelines” etc.

Reflections from the Last Couple of Weeks

1. Being calm inside my mind is a focal point of my success. Too many times I let my emotions run over my mind instead of keeping a cool calm mind. A calm mind will always be more efficient than a chaotic mind.

2. Procrastination comes in many forms — learning has become my favorite way to avoid my responsibilities of building the life I want. We Get Better As We Go, So Just GO!

3. The morning time is precious to me. I have to get out of my cozy bed and invest my energy into my body, mind, and soul. Let go of the idea of a perfect morning routine — adhere to these 3 simple principles: no social media consumption, exercise, and mindfulness practice.

4. Exercise clears my mind — invest 30-45 minutes every morning. Early morning workouts set the tone for the day. Set my clothes the night before, and do not procrastinate once I get up.

5. Taking better care of myself is how I can improve my ability to take care of others. This means going to bed at 9:30 pm SHARP! This means avoiding my favorite junk foods: french fries, ice cream, candy, and pizza.

6. Be aware of whether I am listening to understand or listening to respond. I want to keep improving my listening and communication skills — so keep having great conversations, just need to bring awareness to the party.

7. Ask better questions — they lead to better answers.

8. Being cold is a personal decision. I will not die in 20 to 40-degree weather. Take my hands out of my pockets and grab the cold air, breathe it in. Relax my shoulders. LET THE COLD IN…

9. Focus on what matters. Be ruthless in cutting off shit that does not serve me on my journey.

10. People spend 20 years waiting to put in the first hour of work towards their dreams. I CANNOT BE THAT PERSON. Identify and go. Stop worrying about perfection.

11. Grand gestures are WORTHLESS if it’s just about the grand gesture in itself. Don’t lose myself in the gesture, lose myself in the work.

12. Learning about personal finance is crucial. Weekly (or even daily) audits and budgets amongst other principles will serve me well!

13. I want to sign up for boxing lessons. Find places to train and accept the long road ahead. Investing in self-defense will increase my confidence, self-control and ability to protect myself if need be. Plus my shadow boxing would improve greatly, I can get good enough to beat up the shadow.

14. Keep the commitments I keep with myself — no exceptions! Disobeying myself is the recipe for self-sabotage — and I’m tired of that shit.

15. Stop buying books. I have enough — it is simply another way to feel productive without actually being productive. Nothing wrong with buying books but I want to improve my personal finance!

Paril’s Top 5 List

Top Five Lessons I’ve Learned From My DAWG Kenna

1. Live in the moment, always.

2. Jump out of bed — and slurp up some WATER!

3. Enjoy the outdoors regularly.

4. Explore your curiosities!

5. It’s okay to be silly, it’s okay to rest, it’s okay to just be.

See you next week!

Embrace the Chase

Paril