Solo Leveling
Greetings ladies and gents,
Happy New Year! I pray that your 2025 is off to a great start and it only goes up from here. It tends to be an annual tradition during the early parts of a year to have different goals for ourselves that we want to see through for as long as possible. Today we won't talk about whether or not those particular plans of yours are being met or not. Instead, let's focus on the benefits of keeping them and why your solo journey spent leveling up can make you stand out for all the right reasons.
It is a natural feeling to want to present the best versions of ourselves when in the presence of people that we care about, in any sense of the word. Whether it be a family member, a friend, a coworker or a romantic partner, showcasing what makes us a quality human being creates positive energy not only for them but for us as well. Being your ultimate self can be a shared experience that benefits both parties involved. The catch is that you must be willing to be alone many times in order to reach these heights, and that takes discipline.
When someone is exposed to you on a regular basis, it isn't as easy for them to recognize anything different about you. There hasn't been enough time spent apart in order for any real developments to be either made or witnessed. However, once you decide to buckle down and lock in...let's just say that it shows. For example, if you've been making it a goal of yours to learn how to play the piano, the time must be put in. You can tell your friends you're learning it, but if they're listening day after day, the results may not be as obvious. Sure the daily encouragement can work wonders, but you still may get discouraged if you're looking for the daily affirmation when such a skill takes extended time. Try putting the work in solo for different periods(a week, a few weeks, a couple months, etc) and follow back up with others. I bet the reactions to the strides you've made will hit a bit different.
We discuss the gym a lot in these types of situations, but that's because it's such a relatable topic and mission for so many of us. There's nothing quite like that feeling one gets when you haven't seen someone in a while and one of the first things they express is "Wow, you look great! Have you been working out?!". It's just a natural reaction to smile and have positive internal feelings about yourself knowing that the results are being recognized in an obvious manner. But as I'm sure we all know, this definitely does not happen overnight. When you first start a working out journey, you may feel sore the next day but can't expect to physically see but so many changes. It just isn't realistic. That isn't the time to get down on yourself as anything worth achieving takes some labor put into gaining it. If it didn't, it wouldn't feel half as good once you met those goals. Stay focused and at least give yourself some months to see some true gains. You may not be where you want to be yet physically in 2-3 months of working out, but the transformation you do see taking place should be all the incentive to keep pushing to the finish line.
The time spent doing your solo leveling up can feel long, excessive, and even lonely at times. I'm never going to pretend that it's about to be a walk in the park, because it's not. But wouldn't it feel that much cooler looking back a year from now and saying to yourself "Wow, I did that." Just think about the years that have already come and gone where a certain level was supposed to get reached and the work hasn't even started on it. I have to hype myself up weekly, if not daily, in order to make certain goals in my personal life a reality. So while you're going into your solo mode, you're never truly alone. It's ultimately a shared experience that we have pushing to be better. Let's make sure we meet on the other side of it...ready to show how far we've come.
