I bet you've heard someone who only talks about how hard they are working on their new business, or how great the gym is going, and it's pretty annoying. Hell, you might even be that person, but it almost nags you in the worst way possible.

Talking is easy. Despite it not doing as much as actually doing the thing you are talking about. It's easier to talk about the gym or the business as opposed to actually sitting down and working on it.

Talking can feel like a great substitute for the real thing, but after you do some introspection and are honest with yourself, you may realize you didn't do much at all.

Mental Masturbation is when you imagine stimulating ideas and believe them to be true, when in reality there is no practicality to the matter.

Social media encourages us to live this way, as social media is a wheel on which you can spin your daydreams on.

But there is a way out of this cycle. Work.

The cliché actions speak louder than words, still holds true to this day.

Mental Masturbation

You dream of the day when you have everything you ever wanted, the car, the girl, the body, but what are you doing about it to get there?

These are aspirations, aspirations that need to be turned into action. It's great to have dreams, but don't live in fantasy land. Take a glimpse, and then get to work.

It's easy to daydream consistently till the point you almost feel like you have what you want until reality hits you like a ton of bricks and you realize it's just a fantasy.

This can push you towards instant gratification activities that dilute your ability to live in reality till a point where reality is quite literally painful to experience. Most people would rather talk about the life they envision rather than try to live the life they envision.

Talk is cheap. And it is not as fulfilling as doing the work, but it is easier to do, which is why so many indulge in it.

Now, talking about the work you are doing is not necessarily a bad thing (don't boast), but where the trouble comes in is when you start substituting the good work you are doing with the words you are saying as if they are the same thing. No Bueno.

Or maybe you just dream about the life you want to live. Also, no bueno. You can't dream hard enough about the life you want and expect it to come flying into your arms.

I've learned this the hard way. I've spent a good few years of my life thinking about what I want to do, rather than living the way I want to. And I'll tell you the former is extremely gratifying, but also very draining. You feel as if you are doing work, but are in reality in the same place you were before.

So how do we fix this?

Cut the talk. For awhile. You want to remove the temptation to mentally masturbate, and instead focus on doing the work.

Social Media Curse

The ever-perpetual narcissistic machine, also known as social media encourages you to talk about your dreams rather than live through them.

The continuous highlight reel everyone shows, while never showing bad moments or struggles of their life. I don't imagine this helps anyone's psyche as nobody lives a perfect life.

You may see people constantly posting videos of how good their newfound business is going, while it may be true, it can become a distraction very quickly. The same can be said for posting fitness posts all the time. You conflate work with pictures and ego with progress.

If you hit great milestones and want to share it, go for it. I think it is worth sharing your great achievements, but when you are on the road to building something new, removing distractions like social media can help you get there faster.

I think this plays a large role in the "talk is cheap" argument, as the post should only be a representation of the work you have done rather than a substitute for the work itself.

Social media feeds into your ego which is a distraction from what is most important: growing and learning.

Humility is the antidote. Always stay a student. Post when you have something to say, rather than feel like you need to post because you need to say something.

Work Is Struggle

Life is hard. A fact most of us know. But the real good parts of life come from going through the right struggles in the right way.

This is a big category, but the right struggles would be like a job that has work you feel fulfilled doing, hitting the gym, building relationships, creating organizations that do good in the world, etc.

The right way, so to speak, is by attacking the problems of life head-on, and not hiding away from the challenges of life. Are we always successful at this? No, definitely not, myself included, but just because we aren't always successful doesn't mean we shouldn't try.

I have found that a fulfilling life is built by finding and enjoying the problems you solve in life.

For me when I was younger I genuinely enjoyed being a student, which provided me with much meaning in my life. Was I always successful, or always right, no, but I enjoyed the work and the problems I was working on, so I felt fulfilled.

This is a type of fulfillment that can not be provided by simply talking about it. Talk in this manner is but empty words without any real weight or gravitas to them. On the other hand, doing the work solely as opposed to just talking about the work will provide you with a substantial amount of achievement that can not be provided by cheap words.

You have to be willing to work in the dark when no one is looking. Only then can a true champion emerge as at this point you are not motivated by others, but by your own self.

Eye of the Tiger baby.

This Article Was Inspired By A Chapter From Ryan Holiday's Book "Ego Is The Enemy".

Part I: Aspire

Chapter: Talk, Talk, Talk