part0280

As we’ve discussed it in yesterday’s entry, staying a champion means that you’ll always need to put yourself in new, uncomfortable situations. It’s the price you have to pay for excellence.

Personal growth in general has its price, too. From my personal experience, here are several things you should expect on your journey toward improving your life:

1. People being confused about your actions. Unless you’re surrounding yourself solely with top performers, your immediate social circle will probably be puzzled why you’re subjecting yourself to discomfort, prioritizing work over enjoying yourself, or rejecting pleasures today for the sake of tomorrow. The sooner you learn to ignore those voices, the better off you’ll be.

2. Outgrowing certain people in your life. It’s painful, but you’ll probably outgrow some friends or loved ones. You’ll find it harder to connect with them and they’ll find it harder to connect with you. This doesn’t necessarily have to happen in every situation and with everyone, but prepare yourself for the reality that some of your relationships will probably weaken or stop being as fulfilling as they used to be .

3. An incessant desire to improve everything. Once you start making positive changes in your life and experience in your own skin how powerful new habits and attitudes can be, you’ll feel the desire to improve everything. This can be a source of frustration when you realize that certain people don’t want to change or that certain social mores actually value mediocrity over excellence.

4. Self-guilt that you have it better than other people. As strange as it sounds, if you successfully introduce some important changes in your life — develop a healthy physique, form positive nutritional habits, set aside some savings and find meaningful work you enjoy or at least one that satisfies you financially — you might start feeling guilty that others have it worse.

Considering that most people are either obese, unhealthy, broke, or unhappy at work, chances are you that you will indeed live a better life than they are living. However, in the end you gained the right to enjoy the life you have now through your own efforts. Don’t feel guilty because you made better choices. Other people could have done the same.

5. A difficulty to enjoy what you have. The more you achieve in your life, the more you’ll want to achieve. When you notice that something is lacking in your life, you’ll want to change it. This carries the risk that you’ll never be able to enjoy what you have or unrealistically expect that everything and everyone needs to be perfect. Sooner or later (ideally sooner) you’ll need to learn how to be grateful for what you have and be content with it.