Are You Living or Existing?

This past weekend I went snowboarding at Australia’s Mount Hotham.

While I have been a longtime skateboarder, and a short-time surfer, I’d never been snowboarding.

While my skating skills were somewhat transferable, it didn’t stop my ass from hitting the white powder about 50 times.

But that was okay.

It just meant that I had to get up 51 times.

Every time I fell down, a little voice inside my head urged me to take a break, and head inside to the warmth of a cafe to coffee and chill.

And every time, I silenced that voice, got back up and kept going.

By the end of the weekend, I was smashing out S-turns and even attempting 180 jumps.

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Living v Existing

As I write this, my body is in pain.

And I love it.

The pain is a reminder that I’m living.

If you’re not experiencing physical or mental discomfort every now and again, it means you’re not pushing yourself, and if you’re not pushing yourself then you’re not becoming the best possible version of yourself.

If this is you, then and you’re not really living — you’re just existing.

If it has been a while since your muscles ached, or you felt your heart beating wildly in anticipation of doing something that scares you, or that you suck at — like giving a talk in front of 100+ people, or hitting the slopes — then make plans to get out of your comfort zone.

Don’t forget to say “no!” to that little voice in your head urging you to quit, and keep going.

Life’s too short not to! 🏂

Steve Glaveski is the co-founder of Collective Campus, author of Employee to Entrepreneur and host of the Future Squared podcast. He’s a chronic autodidact, and he’s into everything from 80s metal and high-intensity workouts to attempting to surf and do standup comedy.

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