CXIII. On Problems
When later shows up, and no one built the bridge you were to use to cross the river.
P.S: Most of you loved the previous entries on How To Deal With Toxic People & How To Negotiate.
"A river is easiest to cross at its source." — Publius Syrus
Big problems always start small, just as tiny snowflakes eventually form snow - when you ignore something, avoid something, or keep putting it off. You know the test is soon. You know you haven't studied enough. You're out of practice, or out of stock. You know that a particular habit is dragging you down. But you tell yourself you'll deal with it later. Then later shows up, and no one built the bridge you were to use to cross the river.
The smart way? Fix things early.
You already know where you're weak, where you feel insecure. Maybe it's a subject you haven't mastered. Maybe it's how horrendous you look in the mirror. Maybe it's the way you handle stress, or how you talk to people, or how you avoid hard work. These problems don't fix themselves. And if you don't act early, they turn into big messes you'll regret later.
Waiting always feels easier - but nothing is funny when you're putting out tiresome and unnecessary fires just because you didn't do the right thing from the outset.
See, most people don't fail because they're not smart or talented but because they get lazy. They sleep in too much. They skip practice. They drink a lot. They let the sirens of comfort derail them. But every time you avoid something hard, you fall behind a little more. And one day, everything hits you at once. Then you panic, and by then, it's already too late to fully catch up. There is nothing noble about scrambling.
If you're about to start something tough - like internship, a new job, or a business - you won't magically become more focused and conscientious. Most probably life will just get busier. Maybe you'll get a child along the way. And if you don't learn to manage your time now, you'll be unable to prioritize and execute later. If you don't understand your body, prime it for performance and manage your energy - you'll burn out. But the people who get things done, who keep getting things done? They, knowingly or unknowingly, train for and solve problems before they meet them.
Relationships also need practice. Love is a practice. People think they'll be better at handling love or friendship later - when they're older, wiser, freer. But emotional control doesn't show up overnight. You learn it by spending time with different kinds of people, by staying calm in conflict when things don't go your way. By communicating your needs even when it's awkward. By becoming the kind of person who isn't thrown around by silence, distance, jealousy. The more you work on yourself now, from the feedback you get from your interactions, the easier it is to be happy in relationships. You'll still love unconditionally when things get hard.
Leadership is the same. If you can't do what you said you'd do, if you find an out every time life gets hard, if you snap at people when you're tired - how can you lead anyone else? Leadership starts by mastering yourself first. That's the only way.
And if you feel like others control your time - bosses, seniors, systems - then you need to listen to your soul's outcry and build your own thing before you get depressed and weary from the resentment. Write. Read. Code. Create something. Sell. One small habit, repeated daily, can turn into serendipitous freedom. But you have to begin now.
All the good stuff in life — peace, confidence, strong friendships, love, money, success — comes from how you prepare. How you act before things get bad. Before things get too serious, too intense. Not during. Not after. Before. So don't wait for disaster. Don't wait for regret to teach you what you should have done, what you already knew was right. If you know something needs fixing, fix it now. Solve it before it becomes a problem. That's how you win.
I'm not telling you to do everything - there's always some sht to do. Just try to minimize third order consequences as much as possible. Or catch a drop on your strategic goals. Don't underestimate how much you can do in an hour.
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