Sleep Until Noon and Day-Drink: A LESSON IN LIFE-HACKING YOUR GOALS

Holy moly it’s hard being a human these days. Any human, really. I mean, have you noticed the tremendous pressure??

Pressure to be a certain way, look a certain way, achieve a certain amount of success, to live-out-loud, make waves, ride or die, bitches!

Jesus H., it’s a lot of pressure. Tell me you’ve noticed this.

And even if you can tune out all of that external pressure to expand your thigh-gap and make seven figures, to live in a penthouse with an insanely hot but equally deep European artist/mogul named Rolf and make beautiful babies and be the best mom while never losing yourself and and maintaining personal integrity, there are still those innate wants and desires that exist within you as an individual. Hopefully you’re acknowledging those as well…

“Wants” might also be defined as “goals”. But the point is: there’s shit we would like to do/be/have, and this stuff serves (or sometimes ill-serves) as the motivation behind, oh, just about everything. Whether we acknowledge it or not.

But I would like to argue that there is something you should be acknowledging even more than any want or goal. Something way more important. And it's something we don't think or talk about nearly enough.

That something is knowing and navigating how you feel right now on this wobbly (or perhaps rock-steady) leg of the journey.

Because when we start paying attention to what we want and really need now, in this moment, and not just what we think we want or need for the future, we are expediting our journey to the bigger-better-shinier life we crave.

When we start choosing what feels unbelievably good now over the finished result later, we’re life-hacking the shit out of our goals.

Because I do know this to be true: nothing is more important than feeling good in the process.

I repeat: NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN FEELING GOOD IN THE PROCESS. It’s your job to discover and explore what feels good. And keep in mind, “what feels good” will often not look how you think it should.

Because we tend to assume that “feeling good” is doing nothing.

“Feeling good,” in the generic, white-washed sense generally looks like being lazy, not doing any work, and day-drinking.

And while feeling good can totally include those things (and often does) there is plenty of space for work, sweat, drive, and heart-pumping pursuit under the metaphoric umbrella of what might feel really, really good to you right now.

The key is listening and really paying attention day-to-day, moment-to-moment to what you truly, madly, deeply crave. (GOD I STILL LOVE THAT SONG.)

We need to get better at checking in. We need to get better at giving ourselves permission to do what feels awesome free from the judgment of "right" and "wrong". We all need to let go of what we think we “should” be doing, and start doing the stuff we really want to be doing.

So let’s take a gander…

Which feels better: sleeping in until noon or setting the alarm for 7am?

Your instincts might be wailing, “NOON! DUH! Sleeping in = #goals! ALWAYS.”

But is that the truth? Always? What about when you wake up at noon and regret sleeping the morning away? What about then? Maybe 7am wake-up calls make you feel like a boss.

But then again, maybe not. Maybe an easy, noon o'clock rise-and-shine would work wonders for you.

It’s time to get real. Be honest with yourself. Remember: neither is wrong, and both are correct.

What feels better: making the booty call? Or staying in with a DVD? Don’t knee-jerk this one, really think about it. Get real. Be honest with yourself. Both sound totally great, but which feels more right and perfect for you in this moment?

What feels better: The quarter-pounder with extra cheese, or the chia and kale smoothie? GET REAL. Be honest with yourself. There’s room for both. So what feels better now?

A well-designed, fulfilling life leaves plenty of room for the element of surprise, and that element will always be you. Get used to the unpredictability, the shifting. You’re not a robot, you’re a human. If you're really paying attention to what helps you feel your best in the present moment, the future will find a miraculous way of taking care of its mofuckin’ self.

Treat this practice like an experiment; see how it goes. Trust a wee bit. You can get used to tuning in and doing what’s right for you without judgment. Give yourself permission, pretty please.

If sitting on the couch isn’t making you feel more connected and alive, get off the friggin couch. If running 6 miles every AM ain’t doing it for you, it’s time to mix it up. Be flexible. Stay fresh. Forget what you think you should do, and start honoring what it really is you want to do to feel your best. Your answers can and will surprise you. Be courageous enough to let them.