Do it for you

Do it for you:

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Do it for you.

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No one else.

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But you.

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Stop living life for others.

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Live it for you.

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I’ve been grappling with this recently.

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Why do I do what I do?

Why do I constantly challenge myself?

Why do I always keep pushing the boundary?

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Why can I not relax?

Why can I not sit still?

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Why do I feel this need to always prove myself?

It started with my parents.

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As it does for anyone.

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We are our parents' children for a reason.

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They do the best they can with what they have, and we are the product.

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Our subconscious is shaped by who they were, how they acted and what their environment was like.

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We are a product of their upbringing.

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Which shapes their personality.

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I got lucky.

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Super lucky.

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I have the 2 greatest parents in the world.

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They have given me every opportunity and more.

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But they have also given me my personality.

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This drive.

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This ambition.

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This goal.

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To do as much as possible.

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To never stop.

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To never be comfortable.

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To always keep working.

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I have trouble resting.

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Ask anyone in my family.

I can’t.

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I’m on all the time.

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I’m 0-100.

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If I commit to something, I commit.

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There’s no half-ass in my opinion.

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Half a marathon?

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Why not an actual marathon?

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Half an Ironman?

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Why not do the full?

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I don’t do half.

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At least in my head.

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And why?

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Why do I do it?

For a long time, it was to prove myself.

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Prove myself to my parents.

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But also to prove myself to me.

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That I wasn’t just lucky.

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I didn’t just luck into the circumstances and experiences I’ve had.

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I created them.

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I got into med school abroad and chose to spend 6 years in Scotland.

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They didn’t do that.

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And even though I never would have had the opportunity to go if not for them, there are lots of kids who could’ve had the opportunity who have never amounted to anything.

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But once I left medicine, it was just me.

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Me on my own path.

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Figuring it out.

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No specific guide or role model there in front of me.

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The biggest one was my dad, but his career path was completely different.

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He had no idea what it was like to leave medicine after graduating and enter a new industry.

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I had to do that.

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I had to figure it out.

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I had to work for it.

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And I did.

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I kept going.

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And going.

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And going.

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And have never stopped.

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But it hasn’t been just work.

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It’s been life.

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Marathons.

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An Ironman.

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Climbing Kilimanjaro.

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Writing 2 books.

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Writing over 1300 blog posts.

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Becoming scuba certified.

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Being a dance choreographer.

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Hitting a golf ball over 300 yards.

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Being a single digit handicap.

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I did those.

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No one else did.

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I put in the time.

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I put in the effort.

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I tried a lot.

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I failed a lot.

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And look where I ended up?

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Here.

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Exactly where I’m meant to be.

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But I always did it for me.

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I never did it for anyone else.

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Just for me to prove to myself that I could do this.

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That this life was possible.

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I vividly remember my brother telling me years ago.

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‘Why do you write so much?

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I bet it’s because you like to tell people you’re a writer.’

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Are you f***ing kidding me?

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You think I do all of this to tell people?

I could give a f*** about what people think of me and my life.

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I’m doing this for me.

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I’m doing this because I want to do this.

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Because it’s a challenge.

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But also because it’s fun.

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It’s unique.

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It’s different.

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And for what you get to experience and learn along the way.

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I have been in such unique circumstances in my life and a lot of that was just because I said yes.

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Just because I wanted to try something to see how far I could go.

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So please do it for you.

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Do it for yourself.

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Conquer the world for you.

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Not anyone else.

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For no one else is there during the climb.

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It’s silence.

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It’s you and your journey.

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And in those moments, you can’t think about someone else.

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It has to be about you.

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People can motivate you to achieve things.

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But you have to realize that the anger you hold in your heart to prove it to someone is not going to sustain you.

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It may get you to your original goal.

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But ultimately it has to be about you.

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Please.

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I’m begging you.

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Do it for you.

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