What Is Yours Will Find You

 

How many narratives have we heard OR witnessed WHERE someone kept trying and trying on something and he kept failing and failing to a point WHERE the last thing he has to do is knock off his head on that concrete wall, hoping that fortunes will sway into his favor.  OR someone WHO has stretched his patience and perseverance to a point WHERE he is adamantly questioning if he should raise the white flag and give up because he has played all the cards and pulled on all possible strings, BUT with all efforts all in vain.  UNTIL one day, we will hear a sage advice that WHAT IS YOURS WILL FIND YOU. In brief, it's kind of telling us that NOT all things we want in life are for us, NOT UNTIL when the stars align📗📙📘

The concept that WHATEVER is MEANT FOR YOU WILL FIND YOU, no matter what, can seem mystical OR even sometimes kind of superstitious.  HOWEVER, there is some truth to this idea.  Life is indeed full of surprises and sometimes, the things that are meant to be ours come to us in the most unexpected ways.  Trusting your instincts is a crucial component of trusting destiny.  Your intuition can guide you towards WHAT you're meant to do OR WHERE you're meant to go.  However, it can be challenging to trust yourself, especially WHEN our society seems to emphasize the importance of rational decision-making.  Listening to your inner voice can be liberating and lead to unexpected outcomes.  And trying to control everything in your life can lead to disappointment and worse, even frustration.  There are countless factors outside of your control such as the economy OR other people's actions💥💥💥

Learning to let go of control and trust that everything will work out in the end can be empowering.  Instead of focusing on WHAT's NOT going well, let us focus on WHAT we can control and let the universe take care of the rest.  Staying grateful and open-minded alongside that willingness to try new things may lead us even to potential opportunities we might have never thought to come our way in the first place.  I heard this a few times and I CAN'T agree less that trusting destiny means trusting our journey, even WHEN sometimes it seems uncertain.  There are times WHEN you might feel lost OR unsure of WHERE you're headed to💚💛💜

BUT here's the big BUT.  IF we ever trust that everything is happening for a reason, we might yet discover that things will may still fall in place, with the starts aligning in our favor.  True, we might find that the setbacks we could be facing along the way are always necessary and helpful to prepare us and 'harden' our resoluteness and combined with our resilience for the many more future parts of our journey💥💥💥

Our takeaway:  Even as we speak now, I'll openly admit that I am a 'frustrated lawyer' because straight from university, I hopped-on to our country's most prestigious law school.  BUT after my freshman year, I took a 90-degree turn, abandoning my law studies and deciding to switch my career path towards the technology space.  NOT to my surprise, till today, I never regret abandoning law school because as the adage goes, WHAT'S YOURS WILL FIND YOU [and that exactly happened with me even as we speak now]😄😄😄

It's Fine To Criticize BUT....

 

These days WHEN and WHERE social media seems to have taken over our lives, to CRITICIZE seems to be as casual and normal as breathing.  BUT even as everyday we have that renewed and refreshed energy, often missed out is the fact that our energy yesterday might NOT likely be the same as the energy we have today.  And tomorrow we might have an energy greater than the previous days.  So, IT'S FINE TO CRITICIZE BUT hold on it for now📗📙📘

Today we might do a lot BUT God knows, tomorrow we might be doing a lot more. WHEREAS the next day, we could be doing less.  BUT that is A-OK.  Doing the things we want to do with our given energy for the day is WHAT we are aiming for anyways.  And even if we do a little bit of this and that today, that's still A-OK.  Problem is, we are tempted to keep raising the bar, often pushing us sometimes beyond our threshold💧💧💧

The disconnect creeps in WHEN sometimes we expect ourselves to always perform at the same level of energy WHERE we last had that highest level of energy of the day.  Little did we know that there are little things that take our energy that we DON'T usually see.  And we tend to see only them WHEN they become enormously big enough, until we're tired💥💥💥

Truth is, there is just NO singular rule to follow in this context.  Instead, this is ONLY set by the person you see in the mirror WHEN you're all by your own self.  And that is IF you are true to yourself that you've exerted your darn best for today.  Then, we can live with that and try again to be the better OR best version by tomorrow as compared to today.  BUT, nothing is guaranteed here because the roads ahead are NOT paved❌❌❌

Our takeaway:  Much as we would kick our own ass damn hard and grind the hardest like DAWGs, nothing is cast in stone here.  Today is as unique by itself from yesterday and so is tomorrow.  This inconsistency has been witnessed even in competitive sports like in the NBA where a superstar like Stephen Curry can end up with triple double stats today BUT come next day, everything nosedives.  Our lesson here is that we need to be aware of these normal cycles instead of end up CRITICIZING someone because he did things poorly today.  You never know if that fellow will have a 'BOUNCE BACK' of a performance come tomorrow, dude😋😋😋

You Are What You Are

All along, we would hear, YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT.  BUT no sirrrrs, our thread today has got nothing to do with foodies OR physical health.  BUT instead, we'd like to delve on the premise that living a non-delusional life may be boring BUT it's for REAL.  LIKE you wake up naturally, exercise, meditate, you DON'T use your phone, you DON'T listen to music, then you get all your work done, then you walk around.  True, spending your day like that is mindful but it can be boring, ouch📗📙📘

Verily true, controlling yourself to do the right thing is often much easier as you are able to respect and even appreciate the painful moments, as you would realize that they become that extremely necessary for the overall growth of an individual.  True, there are moments that made you that angry OR irritated BUT you knew HOW to manage them properly.  Instead of reacting on your impulse, you would acknowledge them instead.  And often, that may NOT last long BUT still, you could have tried❎❎❎

That need for instant gratification in this fast-paced world has made peace look boring, whew with toxic behaviors that seem to be so normalized these days.  LIKE people make totally absurd jokes about self-destruction to make their memes and reels go viral.  REALLY!  Worst, some think that toxicity is fun BUT NOT to defend them, some have NO idea WHAT he was doing was considered toxic NOT until they will do their self-reflection💥💥💥

True again, living a a non-delusional life can be boring BUT that's only IF you have that wrong OR skewed perspective of 'fun'.  LIKE too much consumption of NETFLIX and IG will make you crave for a life that is non-existential in the very first place.  WHY?  Because WHAT you see on the screen is a highly filtered reality.  So, have you ever considered the after-effects of those so called 'fun' and delusional moments?  YES, a lot can go wrong if we are NOT mindful enough of WHERE you will really spend your time and energy.  Think about it❗❗❗

Our takeaway:  Let's all continue scribe to this health-related one-liner:  YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT because in essence, WHAT you consume is WHO you are.  True, that consumption can either be either virtual OR physical.  And with DELUSION, it will give you clarity on WHAT you mean WHEN you say that staying mindful may be boring [really?] BUT the harsh reality is that DELUSION is a poison wrapped n a honeycomb.  To quote these poetic passages:  IN LIFE'S VIBRANT TAPESTRY, BE MINDFUL AND FREE.  STAY CLOSE TO WHAT'S REAL, LET FANTASIES FLEE.  LIKE A SAILOR ON WAVES, NOT LOST IN THE SEA.  DELUSIONS MAY DANCE BUT TRUE JOY IS THE KEY.  WITH A CLEAR AND OPEN HEART, YOUR PATH YOU WILL SEE😄😄😄

Pitfalls Of Promises

 

Our choice between PROMISES versus PITFALLS is a no-brainer BUT here's the catch.  More often, PITFALLS are tied up to those PROMISES via that uncut umbilical cord, believe it OR not.  BUT please DON'T get me wrong.  I'm NOT about to wage a solitary war against PROMISES because through the years, I did make and pledge on multiple PROMISES to myself, to my family, to my close coterie of friends and YES, even to my trusted confidants and colleagues at the workplace.  BUT alas, I have to admit that all throughout, I was as innocent as a pre-school boy that each time I spew out and drip my blood as I swear to a PROMISE, right alongside it are the PITFALLS arising from the PROMISE I just seemed to have etched in stone.  Irony here is that our sheer intent for PROMISES may cause us to be exposed with PITFALLS📗📙📘

We all agree that PROMISES are the very bedrock of forming the foundations of trust within families, teams and organizations.  And WHEN an individual commits to deliver specific outcomes, that PROMISE alone establishes a clear expectation that the receiver [of the PROMISE] can depend on.  That act of keeping PROMISES builds our own credibility and can even foster accountability within ourselves💚💛💜

Before we get lost along the way, let's increase our awareness of the most common reasons WHY some PROMISES fail to be fulfilled:

• OVERPROMISING and/or UNDERESTIMATING
• LACK of CLARITY of a PROMISE
• CHANGING PRIORITIES
• SHIFTING of FOCUS
• INSUFFICIENT SUPPORT STRUCTURE
• UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES
• LACK of ACCOUNTABILITY

A cynic might blurt:  The way to avoid PITFALLS is NOT to make PROMISES.  BUT that is a very regrettable [if NOT dreadful] proposition because that may lead to a mindset that is NOT only complacent and laidback BUT we might end up with someone with NO forward-looking attitude in life and instead, he's willing to even loose by default, by NOT even making a PROMISE at least to his very own self.  As we grapple with multifarious kinds of challenges in life, this could be the last nail on the coffin [to express things figuratively]😡😡😡

Our takeaway:  PROMISES are always a critical component in our life.  Take that away from life, we could end up like a seed planted in the parches deserts in the Middle East [except if that is a cactus].  And, even as PROMISES can be fragile enough, understanding the common PITFALLS of PROMISES can help us to proactively 'nip things in the bud'.  Frankly, there are more UPSIDEs of PROMISEs even if those PITFALLS may arise.  That's WHAT we should be up to dude!!!

Good Things DON'T Come To Those Who Wait

 

For quite a few times in the past, I was quite peeved with the world WHEN things were NOT happening in my favor, akin to witnessing one by dominoes are falling down.  BUT after having gone through profoundly with a combination of soul searching, attending life-changing events, shedding those massive masks, overcoming huge obstacles that looked like huge, massive big boulders, I made that firm decision to take back control of my life, even if that meant, changing horses at midstream because GOOD THINGS DON'T COME TO THOSE WHO WAIT💚💛💜

WHEN I was at the intersections of those 'forked' roads, I realized I was on a 'snowball effect' high on massive changes and those were the most intense feelings recurring over and over again as the changes in my life kept unfolding naturally and organically.  BUT if you ask me, HOW WAS THE RIDE during those times?  I'd humbly admit that it was a roller-coaster ride at best because after secure small, modest wins, I would hit rough patches BUT through sheer perseverance, I told myself, WHEN YOU'RE DOWN, THERE'S NO WAY TO GO BUT UP💥💥💥

After months and months of persevering and really stretching my patience as far as possible, I began to realize that the wheels of my life weren't moving all too smoothly anymore.  And at that point, I started to retreat, taking a half-step back, and then a full step back, even as I had 'huge goals' then, big dreams on the horizon WHICH I thought were 'low hanging fruits' [from an optimist's view]. At that point in time, the turnout of things really scared the crap out of me WHEN things WEREN'T progressing💧💧💧

Until I was aghast WHEN I seemed to have taken on a 'passenger mentality' in my life, making excuses for my inactions and myself.  And WHEN things really worsened, it was a huge blow to my self-esteem, and almost pushed me to give up and 'abandon ship'.  Deep within myself, I felt ashamed to be in a place in my life WHERE I hit those failures, after being so happy in my previous mini-milestone successes.  In short, I let that sense of failure to gradually 'eat away' at my spirit and I felt becoming defeated in the worst possible [and least expected] way.  I was like the favored boxer to win only to get floored and almost knocked-out and counted out by the referee😕😕😕

Our takeaway:  Through all those debacles, I was waiting and waiting for something to come and shake me, wake me up out of that 'funky state'.  I seemed waiting for life to knock on my door step and say "HERE'S YOUR EASY WAY OUT".  So, being that perennial optimist, I kept waiting for that on my door step, and waiting for things to stop being so difficult, for things to ease up on my plate, for things to miraculously get better because it felt like a lot was happening to me.  After rounds and rounds of self-reflection, I 'finally' took ownership of things and modestly, allow me to admit that I finally wiggled my way out of that deep morass and ending up standing on higher ground BUT before I end up falsely raising expectations it WASN'T that easy to snap out of it BUT I kept reminding myself to retake 'ownership and gather that gumption to have that power to reverse the trajectory that bogged me down for quite sometime,  YES dude, GOOD THINGS DON'T COME TO THOSE WHO WAIT'📗📙📘

Knowing Yourself

Change is here and it is here to stay WHETHER we like it OR not.  Although sometimes change can feel daunting, overwhelming and even unwelcome at certain times, WHY NOT consciously make it a part of our lives, and learn to develop a taste for the perks that it always brings along?  Another element of change that plays a crucial role and that is KNOWING YOURSELF.  It's really that important to take some time to get to know yourself.  Sometimes it seems like others know us better that we know ourselves💥💥💥

And once we're planning for our future, it helps IF we know more about our own thoughts, values, ideas and personality.  Knowing yourself is really important for a lot of things such as making friends and understanding HOW we communicate best.  First and foremost, let us really figure out WHO WE ARE.  WHEN we're trying to figure out WHO we are, WHAT we think about life and WHAT'S important to us, it's hard to know WHERE to start because there are a zillion things we could think OR even try to do💚💛💜

Getting to know WHO you are, your personality traits, values and skills can take time, seriously.  BUT knowing these things about yourself can help you feel more confident and it can help you figure out WHAT you have to offer others like family, your organizations, employers and even your communities.  I've met a few people in the past, WHO, WHEN confronted regarding their own selves, were in much DENIAL as to WHO and WHAT they were.  Once I frankly told someone that he has to stretch his patient a bit.  To my aghast, he reacted like "I'M THE MOST PATIENT EVER", which almost floored me because I knew him quite pretty well up close for quite many years then💥💥💥

Once you have faced the mirror and fully recognized WHO you are, let us NOT miss out your accomplishments.  Surely, each of us have our set of accomplishments, things we're good at and know HOW to do.  We bet there are tons and tons of things you have accomplished to date, be it on a personal or professional level.  Maybe you HAVEN'T even thought much about it.  OR maybe you did already.  BUT knowing WHAT you do well can help identify things WHICH you have accomplished to date.  Worst thing in life is WHEN someone WHO fails to recognize his accomplishments.  I've known some WHO, to my shocking surprise, they either failed OR refused to recognize their accomplishments for reasons I just CAN'T fathom❎❎❎

Our takeaway:  Let us NOT be too rigid OR technical about definitions.  An accomplishment is basically a goal that you have met OR achieved.   It can be as simple as NOT being late to school for a school week OR making sure you brush your teeth everyday.  BUT frankly, achievements per se, to be more relevant, are sometimes complicated like really reaching an important goal that you set for yourself such as applying for academic acceptance in one of the Ivy League universities OR even be a topnotcher of a national licensure examinations for lawyers OR doctors.  Bottomline is, KNOWING YOURSELF is a must-do because NOT KNOWING YOURSELF is the worst undoing one can commit😔😔😔

Be Cautious When We're Advised To "JUST BE YOURSELF"

 

Surely we have heard about this social maxim many times, that is, 'JUST BE YOURSELF'.  On the surface, there is just nothing wrong with this as it could even be motivating enough.  YET, researches showed that it's really NOT the best advice to receive IF your very 'own self' is either uninteresting, awkward, and in terms of manner OR in terms of behavior, IF one is rude, abrasive OR even condescending OR if in terms of mindset, one is either prejudiced OR elitist.  NOT to douse cold water on whatever optimism OR enthusiasm that may be enveloping you now BUT if any of these exceptions, outliers they may be, seems to be existing OR being manifested within yourself, Be Cautious When We're Advised To "JUST BE YOURSELF"💚💛💜

HOW often have you heard the buzzwords like AUTHENTICITY and INTEGRITY?  NOT so often I guess BUT it's imperative NOT to lose sight of their value [even IF we rarely stumble across these words] because IF and WHEN we become the kind of person WHO always does WHAT you say you'll do, WHOSE principles and values are made clear, WHO acts in alignment with those values with consistency [and WHICH MEANS, with NO deviation], you will certainly standout even in a mammoth crowd❗❗❗

Through all these years, I consistently embraced this age-old adage "FIRST IMPRESSION IS LASTING".  And that becomes very telling and significant really WHEN meeting OR interacting with someone for the very first time.  One's manifestations during that first ever meeting has been proven to be a 'game changer' especially in the job market.  Remember there are NO second chances as a job applicant.  Once you blinked and the interviewer takes it as a demerit, that becomes a demerit that can significantly influence the final outcome of that job interview😊😊😊

Much as I have had my fair share of experiences as a job applicant [during those years WHEN my RESUME was in the active databanks of headhunters and the latter literally burned the midnight oil to reach out to me for opportunities], the biggest chunk of my wealth experiences is as the hiring manager.  WHILE others would spend time on the academic credentials like the transcript of records, I instead did a quick mapping of the candidate's key qualifications and validate from thereon✅✅✅

Our takeaway:  Lest I get misunderstood, please DON'T embrace hook, line and sinker "JUST TO BE YOURSELF" but instead, spend time on your 'inner game', building the attributes, qualities and characteristics for you to become your BEST SELF.  From there onwards, WALK THE TALK to be your BEST SELF and it will help to benchmark yourself with the "BEST FOLKS' around [i.e. if your performance is more 'AVERAGE' BUT you [wrongly] thought it's your BEST, then you got to calibrate things.  So, BE CAUTIOUS to 'JUST BE YOURSELF'💥💥💥

Why Motivation Still Falls Short???

 

Question:  WHAT's the correlation between FAILURE and MOTIVATION.  Bonus answer:  FAILURE can lead to MOTIVATION and vice-versa.  Many success stories tell us that FAILURE can lead to MOTIVATION and conversely, as there is NO guarantee that MOTIVATION leads to SUCCESS, WHO knows, even after you get MOTIVATED, you may still end up FAILING.  WHICH reminds me of a venture capitalist WHO blurted:  "I WILL NOT INVEST IN A BUSINESS UNLESS THE PEOPLE HEADING THE COMPANY HAVE FAILED AT LEAST ONCE".  And NOT surprisingly, many venture capitalists agree with that.  So, WHY MOTIVATION STILL FAILS???

And NOT so surprisingly, Psychology creeps into this kind of discussion because it's technical explanation is that FAILURE teaches us lessons that SUCCESS never can.  And FAILURE teaches us humility and character, both of WHICH are highly valued and even rewarded by all our cultures, societies and even business [although society romanticizes FAILURE as the whimsical, hard-earned path to SUCCESS, it is the lessons it teaches us at the moment it happens that become more important and even useable.  At that harsh moment WHEN we realize that FAILURE is inevitable, it is a millisecond of self-confrontation💚💛💜

Admittedly, as this happened to me many times in the past, FAILURE can lead us to question our very own selves, our self-worth, efforts and even the value of our life.  Those dark days that follows our FAILURE is the most authentic form of ourselves as FAILURE can teach us empathy for fellow men.  It can teach thoughtfulness for those less fortunate and promotes tolerance and even acceptance.  YES, all those qualities are essential to our personal and even business successes💥💥💥

So, it is paramount to accept FAILURE with humility, to embrace it for the lessons it teaches you, albeit costly, NOT so glamorous and even humiliating.  WHAT happens next, your FUTURE can then be paved as FAILURE causes and triggers us to reevaluate WHAT we did, both wrong and right, and learn from it and FAILURE moves us forward [even if in reality, it literally sets us back in our journey] but even without being an optimist, I firmly believe that every single setback and FAILURE keeps us [at the very least] one step closer to our target goal[s] and dream[s]💧💧💧

Our takeaway: Looking back at my personal FAILURES in the past, I can frankly admit that WHAT led me to those FAILURES was the very fact that, with my leap of faith, I took the risk until I got hit and failed.  Let's admit it, we have risked FAILURE to strive for something big and came up a little short.  And WHEN we fail, it's possible we went big versus settling for mediocrity and that is the very crux and key to SUCCESS itself.  Dreams motivate us to think big and push ourselves beyond the status quo and into something better.  The catch here is if you set a mediocre goal to avoid failure, it will always lead to mediocracy.  As to WHY MOTIVATION STILL FALLS SHORT, our answer should right on our very finger tips, dude❗❗❗

Do You Need To Be 'JUMPING OFF THE PAGE'

 

WHO DOESN'T want performances that seem to be JUMPING OFF THE PAGE?  I for one, I would always relish those moments BUT just like in any competitive sports, even if you are recognized as the 'GOAT' [Greatest of all time] like NBA's Lebron James, every game your performance will absolutely NOT be JUMPING OFF THE PAGE.  I remember those days WHEN the company I was working with [that was SHELL for more than 12 years] was having its own professional basketball ballclub and in the mornings WHEN they had a scheduled game by evening time, the basketball players will strut in at our workplace to check their BIORYTHM😃😃😃

On the surface, PERFECTION sounds, well, PERFECT enough.  Indeed, a worthy aspiration.  BUT PERFECTION means being flawless, a pristine whiteness no less.  BUT for those [I was one of them before] WHO dealt with PERFECTIONISM, we now know firsthand that it's NOT all it's cracked up to be.  And far from making us our best own selves, PERFECTIONISM can indeed be a trap for us, our feeling of shame and guilt and low self-esteem, sometimes all rolled into one💚💛💜

Indeed it is very laudable if we embed within ourselves, to perform things with results that will be JUMPING OFF THE PAGE but more often, WHILE it's best from a motivational perspective, more often it's wishful thinking no less.  I fell into that trap numerous times before BUT I realized that it can cause us to limit our own choices and in the end, keep our lives small in order to avoid risking OR facing failure, whew💥💥💥

WHAT happens next?  far from making our life to near-PERFECTION, PERFECTIONISM can leave us feeling empty and lonely.  And in this age of the ever increasing influence of social media, it is obviously more tempting than ever to look at the perfectly filtered moments of other peoples' lives and to feel like your life is the only one that is anything less than PICTURE PERFECT [oh yesssss, I remember, even during that NOT so long ago Covid-19 Pandemic].  And WHEN we compare our lowest moments to everyone else's shiniest ones, our biggest flops to everyone else's top ten hits, our worst failures at everyone else's greatest achievements, we'll likely blame our own self❎❎❎

Our takeaway:  As nowadays, social media facilitates that instant internal comparison of our own selves at our worst to others at their absolute best, WHEN we buy into that idea that life should always look and feel "INSTAGRAMMABLE', we are then setting ourselves for one huge disappointment to another.  BUT again, PERFECTIONISM has been around us for the longest time, far longer than when Mark Zuckerberg first launched Meta's Facebook so it just makes sense that we need to look at things more closely as to WHY is it so tempting to compare ourselves to others and pursue perfection as if it were possible?  Just because someone's else BEST performance JUMPS OFF THE PAGE😡😡😡

Any Idea WHAT'S DRAINING Us?

 

Any idea WHAT'S DRAINING us [over and over again]?  Oh YES, success ISN'T solely about doing more.  Instead, it's about doing better.  BTW, doing things better DOESN'T require complexity BUT instead, it requires clarity.  And in our pursuit of excellence, we often overlook subtle habits that, over time, sap our energy and hinder our progress.  WHAT's most important is for us to pin down 

draining us.

• OVERCOMMITTING - On the surface, saying 'YES' to every meeting, opportunity OR favor might feel like leadership.  BUT over time, that behavior becomes one of the biggest invisible drains on our energy.  Next time someone INVITES you, think about it a hundred times before saying 'YES'

• TAKING THINGS PERSONALLY - WHEN we attribute every interaction a person has with you to HOW they feel about you, it can be exhausting and more often than NOT it's NOT correct.  And chances are, it's NOT about you and you're NOT helping the situation by TAKING THINGS PERSONALLY
• And HOLDING ON TO THE PAST?  - As the old cliche goes, PAST IS PAST, there's ISN'T utility to be holding grudges OR being angry [that's like 'killing' ourself] and the only person you'll be impacting is your own poor self

• ALWAYS CHECKING SOCIAL MEDIA - Before I get bashed on this, the reality is, IF someone has to wait a couple of hours for a social media message, then they end up waiting and stuck up.  BUT hey dude, the world WON'T end, so, let's sit back and relax.
• CONSTANTLY WORRYING - Verily true, worrying does NOT and will NOT solve problems at all.  If something is way out of your hands, then it's OUT OF YOUR HANDS, period

• NEGATIVITY - Oh Oh, that's another 'silent killer'.  The thing is, if you're NEGATIVE, you are NOT part of the solution and moreover, you're part of the problem.  On that note, you'll NOT just be draining yourself of energy BUT you can likely even drain others' energy, whether that's at home, at the workplace.
• UNHEALTHY LIVING - Oh Oh, this is a long list and we can start with sleep deprivation.  If you're sleeping less than 7 hours of QUALITY SLEEP, you got to fix that ASAP.  To complicate your health issues, if you're in a lot of processed foods, NOT exercising enough, getting dehydrated or skipping meals, you're dead on the water

Our takeaway:  Our own energy is at the very core of things.  And habits are the foundation of WHO we are as a person and even as a professional.  We are the product of our everyday habits and we choose everyday WHETHER we want to improve ourselves, maintain excellence OR contribute to our own discontent.  BUT first, we must be aware ENOUGH of those BAD HABITS that will only exacerbate in draining our energy.  So, that DOESN'T give us any reason to ask:  WHAT'S DRAINING US???