Nothing is neutral
#72 Why every small decision quietly moves us closer to — or further from — the life we want.
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Now jumping into today’s blog:
It is March 2026 - and honestly … I am not moving the needle when it comes to my goals for this year.
During my men’s circle in January, I proudly told the others about my milestones that I wanted to achieve until we meet again a month later. But then life happened and I did not manage to get my milestones done. I barely made the minimum - looking after myself and doing some exercise.
All the motivation and drive that I had at the beginning of the year started to fade and I got comfortable.
Instead of waking up early and working on my next project, I slept in.
Instead of using my weekend to draft new ideas, I spent time with my family and wife.
Instead of running daily, I told myself, it was okay not to overdo it.
Do I regret my behavior?
Not much - simply because I still feel very content with my life. This year, instead of measuring my productivity, I pay closer look to my inner peace.
Do I get closer to building a new passion project?
Nope - and here is the problem, that I misunderstood. I thought, that if I shift my focus and energy towards my family and inner peace, my project would halt.
But noooooo!
Because, as Brian Tracy said:
Everything counts.
Nothing is neutral!
Often times in life, we only count the things that we want to count. But in my opinion that is false hope. Regardless what we decide to do or not - it counts! Either your action brings you closer to your goals or it pushes you further away. There is no neutral.
In my case, As my new year’s resolutions, I promised myself to look after my inner peace and also have only one new education project planned. Since I poured more energy into my first bucket, I did not feel bad about myself because I believed that the second bucket would just be on halt.
But after finally picking up the project a couple of weeks ago, I realized that I did not start from zero, but actually a couple of meters before the starting line.
I realized, I was not as sharp and focused as 3 months ago, when I first drafted the idea. It was harder to concentrate and put the pieces together, so that it made sense. My presentation skills got worse, since I had such a long break - affecting directly my communication skills.
Everything counts - Life works like a balance sheet.
Every action is either an investment in your future — or a withdrawal from it.
After hearing these words, it reminded me, that I had to be more mindful of everything. I realized, that I had been ignoring parts of my promises to myself, after focusing, too much on one thing.
Does it mean, that I will change my habits drastically in order to fill both buckets?
No!
I still believe that my emotional well being and feeling at peace is more important than pushing through a project while neglecting my relationship and my spirit of #yeudoi.
But I will be more self-aware and honest with myself, that it is not a zero sum game. I will keep in mind that all my decisions will effect my future. Similar to the quote:
What you don’t change, you choose.
I am glad, that I have partners in the project that keep me accountable and support me in becoming an honest and better version of myself.
Let’s see in a couple of months whether I managed to live an honest life — full of #yeudoi — while still moving closer to launching the education project I have in mind.
Because maybe the real challenge isn’t choosing between peace and ambition.
Maybe the real challenge is being honest about the cost of every decision.
What about you?
Are you still on track with your New Year’s resolutions?
Thanks supporting Son of a Viet Kieu. If you want to check out other blogs, here are my favorites!
I Did It. I Wrote My First Book. (➡️ E-Book here)
Navigating the Social Media Maze: From Anxiety to Empowerment
Clinging to life: My close to death experience in New Zealand
You value kindness and authenticity the most? Then these passion project might be exactly what you have been looking for: my passion projects
Keep staying awesome! #yeudoi
I agreee, your wellbeing should be the first priority! It’s true that every action somehow counts when tackling a new project but that can also be small, positive habits. Like taking care of yourself and saving up energy to even start with the project:)