Know Yourself Like Your Success Depends on It

beginnings are only endings if you stop there.

You are your only asset. Know yourself and you will overcome obstacles. Ignore your self-knowledge, and you’re wasting vast resources you already have within you. In the end, it’s not the amount of resources you have, either, but how you utilize them that will decide your success.

I’m no expert in meditation, prayer, or journaling. I’m probably more skilled than the majority of the population in those areas, but there are still many better than I who already do a great job explaining these concepts and teaching in detail how to perform and excel with them. Even in the areas I am commended as knowledgeable, such as in crafting personal mission statements, I haven’t provided detailed instructions.
Why?
Because my aim is not to have you blindly follow a set of instructions

I want to be an author who influences vast numbers of readers and affects their lives on a deep level. Now that my brain knows this, my internal guiding mechanism seeks opportunities to do just that

Today, I fight against my vices in the same way. I don’t tackle them directly. Instead, I overload myself with positives, focusing on useful tasks that contribute to my well-being.

Reserve a couple minutes of your time, preferably in solitude (not obligatory, but very helpful).
- Sit or lie and relax (not obligatory, but very helpful).
- Close your eyes (not obligatory, but very helpful).
- Breathe deeply for two minutes, focusing on the air coming in and out of your nostrils (you can also focus on any of your body parts or sense your body in general); when a thought crosses your mind, acknowledge it and get back to your point of focus.
- Congratulations. You’ve just meditated for the first time in your life; repeat this process ten days in a row and you will develop a stable meditation habit.

A personal mission statement “focuses on what you want to be (character) and to do (contributions and achievements) and on the values or principles upon which being and doing are based.”[1]
Your mission is your personal constitution.

The number one obstacle to starting meditation is your attitude. Most people don’t even consider doing meditation because they think it’s some semi-magical activity below their dignity.

Many people have troubles starting meditation for the first time. They can’t hush their own thoughts and focus on the practice. Thanks to my journaling habit, I had mastered this and found meditation easy.

The second main obstacle for starting a habit of meditation is that for many it’s just another thing they don’t have time to do.