Dear friend,

Recently I’ve been thinking about personal growth, and studying a bit of ecology as a metaphor.

So what prevents a species, or an ecosystem from flourishing? Here are some things which prevent growth:

1. Lack of nutrients/resources
2. Parasites
3. Competition
4. Disease
5. Predators

How to thrive

Applied to us personally, here is how we can think about it:

1. Lack of nutrients/resources: What knowledge, information, or facts do we lack — which prevent us from growing personally?
2. Parasites: Who are some parasitic people in your life who prevent you from growing and becoming the best version of yourself? It is it a negative family member, partner, “friend”, boss, or acquaintance?
3. Competition: Don’t feel like anyone is competing with you. Life isn’t a zero-sum game. If you realize that you aren’t competing with anyone in life, then you can truly flourish.
4. Disease: What kind of mental diseases hold you back? Envy, jealousy, dissatisfaction are some mental diseases which prevent us from growing. How can we learn to banish these negative emotions and feelings?
5. Predators: Avoid what will kill us. Unhealthy foods, drugs, or substances. What can we eliminate from our physical or mental diet?

Don’t limit yourself

Don’t limit your growth. I feel the best way to prevent hitting a plateau in life is to subtract, rather than add to your life.

So think about your personal limiting factors to your own personal ecosystem. What can you continue to subtract, to find more joy, purpose, and meaning in your life?

Never stop thriving,
Eric

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