Strength From Within

24 karat is the measure of pure gold. it’s valued for its 99.9% purity, but this very purity makes it incredibly soft — too soft for most practical use. to gain strength and durability, it must be alloyed with other metals. similarly, i’ve come to see life in the same way…

happiness

if i find myself stripped of everything, who would i be then? in that stark emptiness, all i have left is myself. everything external is but a complement to who i am, none of which is a part of my core being. no amount of possessions can ever fill the void within, and no amount of validation from others can make me love myself more. the core isn’t defined by what i own or how others see me, nothing outside can complete me, because i am already whole to begin with.

happiness, i’ve realized, was never about acquiring more. no amount of wealth, achievements, or approvals can ever truly satisfy the soul. happiness has always been a journey — the willingness to listen to my heart and to discover myself along the way, being kinder and embracing the person i’m becoming. i spend much of my life chasing after things i thought would make me happy, and i forgot to stop and notice what was already here.

happiness was never in the hands of others; it is about being content in the present and embracing authenticity, including all the flaws and imperfections. when i finally accepted that, i feel like i’ve unlocked and acquired both grit and resilience. to be passionate and persevere, to adapt and recover from any adversity, to have my mind and spirit be resolute, to have an unwavering courage in the face of hardship, and to overcome any obstacle that comes my way. by harnessing and channeling my emotions to cultivate discipline, i can feel unshakable and unstoppable.

discipline

discipline enables us to maintain consistency and laser-like focus over time, but cultivating it requires more than just the exertion of willpower; it’s not something we can sustain through sheer force. to understand deeper, let’s examine what causes the lack of discipline in the first place.

doubt or a wavering state of mind. when uncertainty creeps in, we tend to question ourselves, and this gets in the way of our discipline. on the other hand, the absence of doubt enables us to carry out tasks; we feel resolved and guided by a strong sense of purpose.

resolve can be cultivated. however, we often make the mistake of trying to build it through grand gestures or on special occasions such as new year, birthdays, or other milestones. unlike habits and willpower, emotions fluctuate the most on a day-to-day basis within our minds, and resolve is one such emotion.

emotions cannot be selectively muted, they are felt in their entirety or not at all. people who are emotionally numb are disconnected from their feelings and don’t feel anything deeply. while this numbness may protect them from negative emotions, it also robs them of the capacity to foster positive ones like resolve.

being disciplined means cultivating resolve on a daily basis. capture mental snapshots of the moments when you feel most driven and resolute, and use them as fuel for your willpower. start with small or easy tasks that you can do consistently, something that won’t be emotionally taxing or overwhelming. visualize resolve as your inner fire, a small flame that you stoke daily until it grows and blazes brightly. through that cultivation, you will gain the required emotional energy to carry you forward.

purpose

raison d’être, what is the purpose of life?
there isn’t a universal one — only the meaning we choose to make.

unfortunately, finding purpose is hard these days. most of us are too busy with our daily lives to even think about it, often overwhelmed by external distractions that leave us with a sense of meaninglessness. as life becomes meaningless, we start to seek external sources for quick dopamine rushes, we become so accustomed to instant gratification that we end up externalizing our attention.

we live surrounded by distractions. constantly scrolling, constantly listening or watching something, there isn’t a time when we’re not bombarded with external stimuli. the more we fill every silence, the harder it becomes to hear ourselves think. we’re bound to lose the ability to pay attention to our internal stimuli, be it our thoughts or feelings. it is not a surprise that we struggle to find our purpose, so much so that there’s a neuroscience evidence that backs up the fact that technology usage can suppress our amygdala and shut down our ability to be in touch with ourselves.

in short, we lost the ability to be alone with boredom. as the mind quiets and the inner voice starts to speak again, boredom becomes a gateway — that is, if you can sit with it long enough. you don’t need to climb mountains or travel the world to “find yourself”, though it does help to step away from your usual environment. all you need is just stillness, and the willingness to face what we’ve been “trained” to avoid for so long.

when you reduce external stimulations, we can be closer to ourselves. then, as we keep exhausting our thoughts, to the point where we feel intense boredom, to the point where we reach the end of the train of thought, that’s when we can begin to see our life clearly. we’ll be hypersensitive to everything internally, we can start to hear our true self, and that’s where purpose reveals itself.

the purpose isn’t with life itself, but rather in the pursuit of it. it is within every single one of us, and nobody else can answer on our behalf, nobody but ourselves can fill that void. through this discovery, we can start to align a life out of it, tolerating the difficulties of life, doing hard things because we know why and what for, because we care for the life we’re building.

24K you

we value 24K gold for its purity, but it is too soft to be useful. it must be alloyed with impurities to gain the strength to endure. the same goes for people — our essence isn’t found in perfection, but in the authenticity and integrity of our character, forged by our flaws and experiences.

with the advancements of technology, we’ve become too comfortable with all the digital conveniences and lost touch with ourselves. grown too accustomed to external stimuli, constantly craving more. we’ve essentially forgotten how to enjoy solitary moments of self-reflection, left feeling numb and letting things happen rather than making things happen. one of the best things we can do to take back control of our life is to find contentment from within, and practice living with The Art of Less.