The Renaissance Man/The Higher Self

Hello, angel faces. Today I’m going to share with you my perspective on goals right now. Basically, I want to do everything. I want to be a published author and illustrator. I want to design t-shirts. I want to be a model. I want to sing and play instruments. I want to teach. I want to be an actor. I want to travel the world. I want to learn to speak a different language (or two, or three). I want to do a ton of stuff—so much stuff that I wonder if I have time to do it all before I die.

Put simply, I want to be a Renaissance Man.

According to dictionary.com, a Renaissance Man is “A person with many talents or interests, esp. in the humanities.” That is a pretty apt description of who I am—and more importantly, who I will be. See, right now I feel like I have maybe two talents and a whole boatload of interests…but with time and effort, I would like to have many talents. That’s why I’m practicing guitar and piano every day. That’s why I complete a lesson of American Sign Language every night. Ultimately, that’s why I’m even writing this blog.

If you’re like me, you probably have a ridiculous amount of goals. But…occasionally…you might feel worn out. You might get tired, or you might think, “this will take way too much time/this will never happen/I can’t do it.” When I am in that kind of rut, here is something that helps me.

I picture what I call my Highest Self: the version of me that has become the Renaissance Man. This version of me is smart, strong, fit, and capable. He has traveled the world and acquired knowledge and wisdom from his journeys. He has many friends and he has become a role model for others. He has many artistic talents. He uses his knowledge and artistry to help make the world a more beautiful place, and to assist others however and whenever he can.

My Highest Self is a long ways away, and I have a whole lot of work to do before I can be anything like him. But when I get to feeling down, I just picture that person in my head and think, “if I want to become him, then I can’t give up now.” I don’t know if that will help you, but it definitely helps me.

Maybe, the next time you’re in rut, think of your Highest Self, and ask, “how will I become that person?”

Before I go, here is the obligatory Friday Fitness Pic. I can’t say I’m seeing a lot of progress yet, but in this for the long haul. Talk to you guys Monday! Have a good weekend!