Recently, I have been pondering a quote I came across, “Every next level in your life will demand a different version of you.” I read a lot of quotes, but this one has stayed with me because I believe it has tremendous potential to help propel people to the next level.
We all would love to get to the next level in our lives. As humans we have an insatiable desire to improve things; for instance, we naturally want to have better relationships, make more money or look better physically. Most of us would love to advance at work or get a better job; however, most of us rarely experience a noticeable improvement in our lives. Things seem to go on just as they always have, day after day. Why is this? Why do we struggle to rise to the next level?
I believe the core issue is that we think we can move forward without fundamentally changing the person we are. We want the next level, but we are unwilling to become the type of person who can get to that next level. It’s actually true that, “Every next level in your life will demand a different version of you.” The hard truth is that you must change if your life is going to change. If you want to get to the next level in your life you must do three things differently:
1. Think differently.
Most people think that their lives will get better with the passage of time. But the passage of time only does one thing—it makes us older. Our lives get better when we choose to take action to make our lives better. Tony Robbins once said, “The path to success is to take massive, determined action.” The truth is that your life will improve when you do.
Better choices lead to a better life. Let’s take the example of marriage. If you want a better marriage, you must begin to listen more, serve more, and speak more words of encouragement. You must make time to be with your spouse and find things that you both can work on together. When there is an offense, you must choose to forgive. You must be faithful in order to build the foundation of trust. When you do these things, over time you will get to the next level in your marriage. If you refuse to take these kinds of actions, your marriage will stay at the level it is or get worse. The same is true for any other area of your life.
2. Feel differently.
We are emotional beings. Our actions come from our feelings. For instance, when explaining to someone why we didn’t do what we said we would do, most of us have said, “I just didn’t feel like it.” Our decisions are based on our emotions, for better or for worse. If you want to get to the next level, you must learn to create the right emotions that will fuel the right actions.
Also, you can generate the right motivation by reviewing what you want out of life every morning. I do not let a day go by without thinking about my preferred future. This picture of the future fuels my daily choices. I know in my heart that if my future is to become a reality, I must take action today. Envisioning the future triggers strong emotion. It will not just happen.
There are several things that you can do that will trigger strong emotions; for instance, daily exercise has been proven to dramatically impact how we feel. Listening to the right music can create incredibly strong emotions and fuel the necessary feelings you need to take action. It will also help to think and envision your life if you do not take action. Sometimes, envisioning your dreams not becoming a reality will be enough to get you moving!
3. Commit differently.
Finally, so many people think they are committed, but they really aren’t. People who are committed keep a noticeably different schedule. Steve Alfred made this comment about Michael Jordan, “When I played with Michael Jordan on the Olympic team, there was a huge gap between his ability and the ability of the other players on that team. But what impressed me was that he was always the first one on the floor and the last one to leave.”
This is true of all the greats who made it to the next level. It doesn’t matter what sport or activity it is. It’s true for musicians, actors, and politicians as well. They simply commit differently and on a different level than those around them. Getting to the next level requires an extraordinary amount of work and time. At a minimum, you will most likely have to at least double your effort if not triple your effort to make it to the next level. Sound intense? It is because no one gets to the next level with the same effort and intensity that they currently have.
In conclusion, you must pay the price…or expect to remain the same.
Questions to ask:
- What does the next level look like in your life? Be specific.
- What actions will you have to take to get there?
- How will you create the emotions that will drive those actions?
- Are you willing to commit in a different way? How will your schedule change?
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