Stop Decorating Your Prison Walls

Freedom isn’t about escape. It’s about building brick by brick. So, why are you in a rush to live your dream life?

You have been breathing for what, 2, 3, 4, 5+ decades not living your dream life, so why do you suddenly feel this urgency to skip all the building steps and jump straight into it?

I am really writing this to myself. I zoom out and look at the big picture of my life, the plot twists I have already added and the many more to come. And honestly, it stirs up anxiousness I try to avoid, pulling it right to the front of my thoughts.

That is the recipe for ungratefulness. It pulls you out of your lane and into comparison, regret, even blame. But how can you build an empire, the empire that is your life, using broken bricks?

You cannot.
So stop.

Fill your time with useful thoughts instead of feeding the same loop. Whether you realize it or not, your thoughts are recycling themselves every single day.

The subconscious mind is trained by what you feed it. What you pay attention to is food for your subconscious.

If you are feeding it reality TV, highlight reels on social media, gossip, and every headline the news throws at you, no wonder you feel defeated and out of time.

In simple terms, you are rushing because you are romanticizing the escape from your personal prison. But instead of breaking down the walls brick by brick, you have been decorating them.

Here is a simple fix to stop rushing your dream life and instead romanticize the building process.

• Review your screen time. If your top three apps are not teaching you, growing you, or pushing you toward your goals, delete them.
• On YouTube, use incognito mode. It blocks suggestions for 90 minutes so you get a blank slate. No distractions, just type in what you came to learn.
• Evaluate your music. If it glorifies drugs, murder, drama, and promiscuity, delete it. All of it. There is a reason they call it trap music.
  

Now that you have removed cheap dopamine, it is time to replace it with high-quality activities that excite you and actually move the needle.

That could look like:

• Picking up a skill you have always said you did not have time for (language, instrument, coding, cooking).
• Giving yourself one 90-minute block of distraction-free focus on a meaningful project.
• Reading 10 pages of a book that expands your perspective.
• Taking a 20 to 30 minute walk without your phone to let your mind wander and connect dots.
• Journaling or brain-dumping ideas that have been floating in your head.
• Strength training, stretching, or a workout that leaves you feeling stronger.
• Calling a friend or family member and having a real conversation.
• Creating something, that could be writing, painting, building, designing.. this is how you turn energy outward instead of consuming.
• Practicing mindfulness or prayer to regulate your nervous system.
• Investing time into your business or finances, budgeting, brainstorming, or refining systems.

And here is where the magic of 100 days comes in. When you commit to showing up daily, whether it is walking, journaling, creating, or building, you stop negotiating with your feelings and start leaning on your plan.

Neuroscience backs this. Repetition wires new pathways in your brain, and the longer you practice a habit the more automatic it becomes. Consistency literally rewires your nervous system to make the hard things feel easier.

That is why my own 100-day challenge has been so transformational. It is not about intensity, it is about consistency. One step, one habit stack, one day at a time.

So as you move into this week, remember to stick to the plan, not your emotions. Your feelings will rise and fall, but your habits are what carry you forward.

Stack something small and meaningful onto what you are already doing. Take it one day at a time, and before you know it you will look back at 100 days of proof that you can trust yourself to follow through.

If you would like a tool to help, I put together a 100-Day Tracker and Guide you can download [here]. Think of it as a roadmap to keep you steady when your emotions try to pull you off course.

You’ve cleared the cheap dopamine. What’s your first brick toward your dream life? Reply and share it with me.

Peace out, Peace in.

-Spivey J.