In the past few days we spoke about the first 7 principles of success as described in "The Rhythm of Life" by Matthew Kelly (more here : day-1-purpose; day-2-priorities; day-3-balance; day-4-discipline; day-5-growth;-day-6-faith; -day-7-relationships )Today we delve into the eighth principle: Generosity (Just a small but important note, the term success here can be applied to many areas of life, and ultimately, it's really just about intentionally becoming the best version of yourself.) PRINCIPLE 8: GENEROSITY “A meaningful life is a life given away.” Generosity is giving your time, energy, love and resources without necessarily expecting anything in return. In the book, meaningful success includes improving the lives of others and in that process it creates connection, gratitude and impact. The book talks about generosity as a way to align with life as it can keep life moving- it indicates that when giving stops (whether that's our time, attention, forgiveness, or resources) stagnation sets in. Psychologically, generosity counteracts scarcity thinking. This is important because scarcity thinking narrows focus and increases anxiety. Studies show that giving activates reward pathways and strengthens meaning, but only when it’s freely chosen. The self determination factor matters. When generosity is driven by guilt, approval-seeking, or self-erasure, it leads to resentment and burnout. This leads to disconnection with others and oneself.

In the past few days we spoke about the first 9 principles of success as described in "The Rhythm of Life" by Matthew Kelly (more here : day-1-purpose; day-2-priorities; day-3-balance; day-4-discipline; day-5-growth;-day-6-faith; -day-7-relationships; day-8-generosity; day-9-integrity)Today we delve into the tenth and last principle: Reflection. And then we're done!!!!!! (Just a small but important note, the term success here can be applied to many areas of life, and ultimately, it's really just about intentionally becoming the best version of yourself.) PRINCIPLE 10: REFLECTION “Without reflection, life loses its rhythm.” In the book, this step of the process is where everything else that's been talked about it either integrated or lost or just becomes performative. Meaning...discipline turns into rigidity, generosity into depletion, relationships into neglect, integrity into image managing, faith into performance, etc, etc. It ends up being the opposite of success. The author describes the act of reflecting as essential to learning, course-correcting and gratitude. It's yet another way to help us live intentionally rather than reactively or on auto pilot.

In the past few days we spoke about the first 6 principles of success as described in "The Rhythm of Life" by Matthew Kelly (more here : day-1-purpose; day-2-priorities; day-3-balance; day-4-discipline; day-5-growth;-day-6-faith). Today we delve into the seventh principle: Relationships (Just a small but important note, the term success here can be applied to many areas of life, and ultimately, it's really just about intentionally becoming the best version of yourself.) I love the Brene Brown video... PRINCIPLE 7: RELATIONSHIPS “No one becomes great on their own.” If you know me, you know how much connection/relationships matter. Connection is a top value for me and so there's an extra appreciation for this principle. In the book, we are reminded that success is incomplete if it costs us our relationships because achievement/hustling/ambition at the expense of connection and intimacy eventually ends up collapsing into loneliness, burnout or emptiness. From a psychological perspective this makes sense because we are wired for connection--our nevous systems regulate thorugh safe relationships, not throrugh accomplishments. I also want to point out that it's not just relationships with others but also the relationship that we have with ourselves!! Relationships also shape identity. The people closest to us either raise our standards or lower them. Kelly stresses that greatness is never a solo project-it is formed through encouragement, challenge, and accountability. Even when we think that we've done something on ourr own, there aer often times people that have been part of the process.

In the past few days we spoke about the first 8 principles of success as described in "The Rhythm of Life" by Matthew Kelly (more here : day-1-purpose; day-2-priorities; day-3-balance; day-4-discipline; day-5-growth;-day-6-faith; -day-7-relationships; day-8-generosity)Today we delve into the ninth principle: Generosity (Just a small but important note, the term success here can be applied to many areas of life, and ultimately, it's really just about intentionally becoming the best version of yourself.) PRINCIPLE 9: INTEGRITY “Integrity is the alignment of values and behavior.” Integrity is when our inner values, outer actions, and private choices move in the same direction-it contributes to a sense of wholeness ratherr than disintegration. When we live divided it creates an inner tension/conflict and we use A LOT of energy managing tension, justification, and shame. The war inside. Research on cognitive dissonance shows that inconsistency erodes clarity and self-trust. And, interestingly enough, over time, small compromises don’t just change behavior, they reshape identity. When stress increases, integrity is often one of the things we negotiate away. But success that requires us to abandon our values eventually costs more than it gives. That inner erosion costs our peace.

Last week we spoke about the first 4 principles of success as described in "The Rhythm of Life" by Matthew Kelly (more here : day-1-purpose; day-2-priorities; day-3-balance; day-4-discipline). Today we delve into the fifth principle: Discipline (Just a small but important note, the term success here can be applied to many areas of life, and ultimately, it's really just about intentionally becoming the best version of yourself.) Principle 5: GROWTH “If you are not growing, you are slowly dying.” Growth is a non-negotiable principle of life. It doesn't have to be a constant upward progress, it can be seasonal, but it's gotta happen in order to avoid the soul shrinking that will happen as a result. Stagnation is not neutral...it's regressive and stagnant water becomes putrid and also has the tendency to infect things around it. Growth must be intentional and often requires humility-admitting what you don't know, where you need help and recognizing a need for change. We often mistake growth for intensity-doing moer, pushing harder, building up speed. But we must not confuse momentum with growth. Think of riding a bike down a not so smooth hill and at the end you need to make a turn. Momentum on it's own could end up being catastrophic--being intentional with how you navigate the hill, when to apply the breaks, when to maybe even walk the bike is necessary. This analogy is only in relation to momentum because part of growth may also need to bring in the question "is this a hill that's really best suited for my goal/my life". Sustainable growth requires integration meaning that it requires the space to process, reflect, and consolidate what has been learned. Without this rhythm/balance, growth becomes compulsive and lessons aren't fully learned.Again, it's not necessarily about speed. It's tough though because we can struggle with delayed gratification sometimes.