How to Train Your Mind: Personal Philosophy
"Your philosophy is the foundation to align your thoughts to who you are, not coupling them to what you do."
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Why Personal Philosophy Matters
The purpose of doing deep work is to align your thoughts, words, and actions. By aligning those three components, it forms the bedrock of how you think. The story that you're telling yourself.
For me, it adds connective tissue to feel fulfilled about anything you do. Many sources will help you find your passion or your hidden talent. Here's the thing: nobody can tell what that is. You have to look deep inside and ask yourself, what do I stand for? Look at the roles you fill and see if there are common themes. But don't let those roles define you. Who you are is deeper and more nuanced than any role you choose to fill. Everything you need is already in you. Sometimes you have to have to go looking and uncover what you're really about.
By uncovering your core, you can see what resonates at a fundamental level. The roles you fill are an extension of what matters most to you that have bubbled up to the surface. How I have applied my philosophy was like a goal or mantra. If I can say this phrase to myself and I've done at least part of it today, then I was still on track to what fulfilled me the most. I believe in playing the long game. No matter how passionate you are about something, there will be times of friction and procrastination. There will come times that you won't enjoy aspects of what you have to do. The real beauty of your philosophy allows you to overlay on top of the least enjoyable elements and lean into them because they serve as part of the larger whole that resonates with you
Finding out your philosophy is not simple by any means, but even taking steps to reflect can have a profound shift in what you see around you. I believe that every one of us has something that you resonate with so deeply that there would be no way to stop you from operating that way. It's an innate trait, but in many cases, we don't stop and reflect. Many of us go through life following the signals of those around us, and what society says what we should care about. In turn, this could lead down the road of cynicism and burnout if you let yourself walk to the beat of someone else's drum.
Let us start breaking this cycle together! The most crucial part of society is the individual. We are the many that make up the whole. If we feel fulfilled in our own lives, then we perform better in every aspect. I made a similar case talk about prioritizing recovery for the individual as well. Here is a similar idea, if your thoughts reflect what you say and you do what you say. Then it all comes together as a cohesive whole. You not only feel better about why you do what you do, but those around you will see the drive and intensity. Also, understand that your philosophy is not set in stone. You are dynamic, and what resonates with you will evolve, and so should your personal philosophy. Your personal philosophy should be the internal fire to continue growing.
Do The Deep Work
We've covered what a personal philosophy is and why it is relevant to know what you are all about. Now it's time to get put the work in. I'll lay out the framework for I've used to work through my own and some useful tips at each part if you get stumped or are not sure how to continue. I recommend you can get a notebook and start writing down anything that comes to mind.
People You Admire
What are some people you may know personally, professional, or well-known public figures that you look up to their character or values?
What do they stand for? Some examples are Martin Luther King Jr., Michael Jordan, and even companies can fit here as well, like Nike's Just Do It.
Quotes or Thoughts have Shaped You
What are the thoughts or ideas that you continually come back to or have stayed with you?
Words You Love
What are words that resonate with you the most at your best?
Start at 50
Circle The Top 25 Words You Like
Rewrite
Circle Your Top 10 Words You Love
Synthesize
From the three lists above, begin looking for common themes or patterns in choices that you seem to circle.
Take A Leap - Get Uncomfortable
Once you've analyzed what you resonate with, try to arrange into a sentence or phrase 25 words or less.
Start writing as if you a loved one rather than a colleague who would be reading it. Be vulnerable!
Stay It Out loud
Do you FEEL it?
Yes?
Hell Yeah!
Now Live It ( in the words of Michael Gervais, "Can you be about it?")!
If not, keep working!
At any point along this process, feel free to share with someone who knows you well. Ask for their honest feedback; what words or qualities seem to fit me the most. Don't over-explain what you're trying to work on; have them give you raw feedback and impressions. While working on my own philosophy, I used input from my friends to refine it before it felt right. This exercise may feel strange, and it's not uncommon to have the most trouble have trouble coming up with a phrase that feels right initially. Sleep on it, sit with it, meditate, do whatever it takes to get yourself through it. Your philosophy doesn't have to be done quickly; take all the time necessary to get something that feels right to you, not according to others.
My Personal Philosophy
Now that the framework has been laid out, I can't expect anyone to follow along if I haven't put in the work myself. You'll see what I mean shortly, but first, let me explain how my personal philosophy has evolved. The first version of my philosophy was: Be Present, Be Curious, Be Authentic.
At the time, I was in a transitional period. I had recently gotten out of a long relationship. I wanted to adjust how I dealt with loss differently in the past. The order of the words was specific to what my goals were at the time. Looking back, being present became my anchor to what I needed at the time to work through what had happened. It also allowed me to be open to new experiences I would have otherwise not have allowed myself to take part in. My friends were essential in helping to hammer the philosophy into place. Anytime there was an opportunity; I tried to share it and see how people reacted. If you've listened to this podcast for a while, I am naturally enthusiastic and animated. So it should come as no surprise to share openly about what I'm working on or thinking about.
A side of effect of working on a personal philosophy helped create the philosophy of Feeding Curiosity. One of my friends made a comment asking if my philosophy was for the website and, while not directly for it, sparked an epiphany! I was struck THIS was how companies figure out their slogan as I mentioned with Nike above or even McDonald's. You know their slogans, as well as the logo. I did what I did best and got to thinking.
At its core, what is Feeding Curiosity all about? On the drive home from school, I was able to think through the process thus was born Think. Question. Synthesize.
Think.
What are you curious about?
Ideas or topics you find yourself keep coming back to?
Question.
What questions do you have about interests?
How can you answer those questions?
Who can you learn from about your interests?
Synthesize.
What have you learned?
Distill what you've learned and what you already know to formulate a new question.
Repeat the process to your heart's content!
Back from the tangent, as I've mentioned, your philosophy should evolve along with you. Attending person training with Compete to Create, I had a chance to revisit my personal philosophy. Six months later, I still believe what in the first philosophy, but I felt it could go deeper. Initially, I had thought I had come to a new anchor, "Be the change you want to see." I've always had a sense of responsibility that goes back further than my memory. But feedback from one of my classmates said that was quote from Gandhi. While inherently nothing wrong with that as I believe, it is a powerful quote. I had come to independently. I wanted something the resonated with my core that meant as much as it could. That even if I tried to go deeper, I don't think it could.
Current Philosophy: With Knowledge, Comes Responsibility
The above philosophy is a combination of two quotes that have resonated with me since I have been a little kid
"Knowledge is Power"
"With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility" - Uncle Ben
Again not unique in their own right, but these quotes are foundational in the way I orient myself in the world. As a little kid, my dad would say, "Knowledge is Power" the words didn’t sink too deep at the time. But anything said enough starts to embed itself.
The second quote is from none other than Peter Parker's Uncle Ben. While not the first person to resonate with the quote, it has been so profound for me that when I did get my first tattoo is the only option that felt right. Seeing the artwork for the first time after explaining the idea gave me goosebumps. I can say ever since I was old enough to know better I've resonated with Peter Parker/Spider-man's sense of responsibility.
This is where I synthesize my version. I don't have any natural inclination for power by traditional measures. I also don't think you have to have great power or be great to be responsible. It is up to each of us to be responsible stewards of what we know and use it to the best of our ability. The best we can do is leave the world a little bit better than we found it for those closest to us.
I'm sure many of you can see how this applies to the ongoing experiment that is Feeding Curiosity and resonates so deeply at my core. Do I think this is the last version of my philosophy, not even a chance, but I do think its better than the first one. I don't need all this backstory to be about it. I wanted to be vulnerable about it to show how powerful this had been for me because of the responsibility that I feel to live as I would wish others too.
Live It
Having an anchoring philosophy has had a profound shift in the sense of purpose and fulfillment I can get out of my daily experiences. This episode acts as a framework for each out you to find the anchor for yourself! Here's the thing as well; it's up to each other to keep us accountable for what we say. I've shared my philosophy here, and it is embedded in Feeding Curiosity. You have a good idea of what I am all about or aiming to be, and I expect each of you to call me out when I'm not holding up my end of the deal. To each of you who do the deep work, I want you to share it with those that are close to you at the very least. If you're feeling spicy, add it to your Social Media profiles! I have my personal philosophy on both Instagram and LinkedIn. Go out there and live it!
This podcast and text are adapted from the mindset course I attended with Compete to Create. I want to be as transparent as possible here. Everything here is my attempt once again to synthesize what I’ve learned and applied it as broadly as I can. If the topic of training the mind interests you check out Compete to Create and Finding Mastery Podcast as well. Any mistakes or misinterpretations are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of Compete to Create.
Compete to Create is founded by Seattle Seahawks head coach Peter Carroll and high-performance psychologist Michael Gervais. Compete to Create is oriented around giving individuals and the tools to strive to be their very best in every aspect of their life.
If you want more listen to our podcast with 2X Olympian and Mindset Coach for Compete to Create - Nicole Davis!
#47 - 2X Olympian Nicole Davis: Mindset, Learning, and Recovery
