Quit trying to keep up! Ask these 2 questions instead

Quit trying to keep up Ask these 2 questions insteadQuit trying to keep up Ask these 2 questions insteadMost of the time we dont even know that were doing it.We dont know that were playing. We dont realize that weve signed up for this crazy merry-go-round of KEEPING UP.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moraKeeping up with your friends.Keeping up with how much money people make.Keeping up with the achievements of your colleagues.Keeping up with vacations.Keeping up with looking good on the gram.Keeping up with timelines, of what youre supposed to have and when youre supposed to have it.Keeping up with the newest health trends.Keeping up with beauty standards.Keeping up with new technology.Keeping up with things to have. People to be. Success to climb. Money to mount. Ways to look. Trends to master. Zen to keep. Places to go. Parties to attend. Phrases to say. Work to create.Do you ever stop and ask yourself, But do I even want it?And can you take that further to ask yourself, But why do I think I want this?Somewhere in your answer is the truth. The truth to where youre feeling pressured. The truth to what actually matters to you. The truth to where youve opted into this rat race of KEEPING UP. One that is devoid of soul. One that has lost its choice (aka your greatest freedom). One that isnt grounded in what matters most to you, but rather sourced from how to make yourself matter.When you come from that place, the place of mattering already, the place of having enough and being enough already, you make choices to pursue more from a place of alignment. And when you do that, youll find fulfillment every time.Keeping up will run you dry. Itll run you ragged. And there will always be someone to keep up with no matter what youve done, what you have, or who you are. So the only way to win the game of keeping up, is to stop keeping up entirely. Instead, create, pursue, and desire from a place that matters most to you and only you.This article originally appeared on Maxie McCoy.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people