1-Sentence-Summary: Own Your Everyday shows you how to let go of comparison, stress, and distractions so you can find your purpose and live a more fulfilling life by sharing inspiring lessons from the experiences of author Jordan Lee Dooley.
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Do you ever fell like the pressure to follow your dreams and do amazing things is just too much? Sometimes it’s overwhelming, especially when it seems like you’re getting it from every angle.
Those who are crushing it make “finding your calling” sound easy. But the reality is it’s not so easy to figure out your life.
The burden of this too often makes you try the wrong paths to get things together and reach your full potential. You might be looking to Instagram, your degree, or getting a good job as ways to show everyone, including yourself, that you’re a success.
But these only lead to temporary satisfaction and more stress. But you don’t have to stay stuck here forever. You’ll discover how to truly find your purpose and live a life you’re proud of in Jordan Lee Dooley’s Own Your Everyday: Overcome the Pressure to Prove and Show Up for What You Were Made to Do.
Here are 3 inspiring lessons from this one:
- Always dive deep enough to find the root of your problems if you really want to solve them.
- Let go of the pressure to perform by eliminating the habit of comparing yourself to others.
- To beat distractions, look at their future consequences with the 10-10-10 rule.
Are you ready for some motivational life lessons?! Let’s get into this book and get some!
Lesson 1: If you want to finally solve your problems, dive deep enough to uncover their true roots.
Have you ever felt embarrassed by a huge zit on your forehead? Maybe this was a common occurrence for you as a teenager. The author had acne too, even into adulthood.
Her outbreaks were embarrassing and presented a problem when she needed to get on camera for her job. It was so bad that she tried to cover these imperfections with makeup. Slowly, it got worse, eventually resulting in painful breakouts deep in her skin.
Although it was tough to get over the embarrassment enough to go to a doctor, Dooley eventually made it only to find the truth about her acne. Unexpectedly, she also got an even more profound truth about life.
The doctor told her that smothering the acne with makeup was just making things worse. The true root of the problem wasn’t something she could just hide like that.
Dooley quickly realized that her acne is like our imperfections. Her covering it with makeup is like when we try to hide our flaws. And just like with acne, your habit of doing this only makes your insecurities about yourself worse and keeps you from reaching your full potential.
The real you has weaknesses, and that’s okay. Only by discovering who you really are, imperfections and all, can you truly find your purpose.
Start by taking a 30-day challenge during which you don’t criticize yourself. As a standard, avoid saying things about yourself that you wouldn’t say to a friend.
Lesson 2: Stop comparing yourself to others and you’ll be less stressed.
How often do you scroll through social media only to feel depressed afterward? Everyone you see is doing amazing things and you’re left wondering why you aren’t doing the same. You feel anxious wondering how your life could be better if you’d just work a little harder.
This is known as comparison-induced pressure, and it’s something you need to get rid of. The angst and insecurity that you experience while checking what everyone else is posting on social media isn’t good for you. But it’s hard not to get sucked in.
The author knows about this, especially when she visits the gym. While on the treadmill, she’s often comparing her speed to that of those around her. But just like running on a treadmill gets you nowhere, so does this habit.
Instead, you need to beat the comparison-induced stress by recentering yourself on your purpose.
Ask yourself why you’re going to the gym in the first place. Is it to “race” the people around you? Of course not, you’re there to become fit and reach your goals!
If you’re starting a business, consider whether you’re doing it for the Instagram pictures or for a more meaningful reason. Maybe you really just want to make a living, be financially free, or improve the world.
Also focus on joyful thoughts each time you’re tempted to be jealous. You might think about how impressive the jogger next to you is for running so fast, for instance. Or even better, about how you’ve improved your own speed recently.
Lesson 3: Use the 10-10-10 rule to uncover the hidden consequences of distractions so you can beat them.
In the last couple of years I’ve found a dozen or more different graduate programs that I could do. I also purchased multiple online courses, most of which I haven’t finished yet.
It seems nice to live in a time when we have so much information available to us, but there’s a hidden danger in it. All of these opportunities make it really difficult to make the right choices, which also makes it harder to live a life of purpose.
To beat this, begin by listing the things that most often distract you. What do you have a hard time saying no to after a long day? These are important to know about because the more distracted you are, the less meaning your life will have.
Once you know all your go-to time-wasters, utilize the 10-10-10 rule that author Suzy Welch first came up with. Whenever you have to figure out what you should prioritize, think of the consequences of that choice in the following time-periods:
- 10 minutes
- 10 weeks
- 10 years
This is an easy way to make better choices immediately.
Consider, for instance, the effects of putting off your blog post to scroll through social media. In 10 minutes it might not even make you happier, and in 10 weeks or 10 years you’ll wish you’d written it and started building your business!
Own Your Everyday Review
What an empowering and encouraging book! Own Your Everyday really got me pumped up, especially because I can relate to so many of the situations the author speaks about. I’m certain that this will be a game-changer for your life!
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Who would I recommend the Own Your Everyday summary to?
The 31-year-old mom of three kids that feels overwhelmed and wants more purpose, the 53-year-old that wonders if there’s more to life than the daily grind, and anyone that gets tired of the emptiness they feel after endlessly scrolling through social media.
Last Updated on June 8, 2022
