Your guide to a healthier perspective of life
The best thing we have going for us is that we’re young and capable. Compound interest is our most trusted ally. Work hard and bust our butts (sacrifice) now so we can live like nobody else in the future.
Easy choices, hard life. Hard decisions, easy life.
Choose to do something difficult now that moves you closer to your goals. It’s always easier to put it off until tomorrow, but that will prolong the inevitable and works against your best interest.
Embrace your mistakes. Do not hide from them. Confess…if you’ve wronged/hurt someone, admit it to them and apologize. If you’ve done something that doesn’t align with your values, try to right your wrong and make sure you never do that again. To say it out loud – admitting it, owning it – will help to prevent you from doing it again. Hiding your mistakes or covering them up is lying – to yourself and others – and will eat you alive.
Seneca, like many other stoic philosophers, had it right when it came to their attitude towards mindset, beliefs, and feelings. Basically, we control how happy or unhappy we are with our thoughts. When something happens, we can convince ourselves that we are lucky or unlucky, that something is happening to us instead of for us, or that it’s a failure versus an opportunity to learn.
We are what we tell ourselves and we become what we consistently think. Think positively and you will become a more positive person. Think negatively and you’ll become more like Eeyore from Winnie-the-Pooh. For those who are unfamiliar with this character, this is how Wikipedia describes him: “He is generally characterized as a pessimistic, gloomy, depressed, anhedonic, old grey stuffed donkey who is a friend of the title character, Winnie-the-Pooh.”
Now, if you were picking who you wanted to hang out with for a day, would you pick the person who is chronically pessimistic and gloomy? Of course not! And guess who is the only person you hang out with 24 hours a day? (Hint: it’s yourself)…why would you choose to be anything, but happy?
Do not let the opinions of others (or, more accurately, what you think their opinions MIGHT BE), stop you from dreaming big and being true to yourself. We are all “weird” in one way or another. We’re all unique.
Stop trying to be like everyone else. The average American is overweight, in debt, and doesn’t like their job (life?)…why would you strive to be more like that?
Be true to yourself. Dream big, but more importantly, go after those dreams everyday. People may say that what’s you’re aiming for isn’t possible. But those people either don’t understand the dream, don’t understand the effort you’re willing to put in to make it happen, or don’t want you to succeed because it will make them feel worse about themselves. They’ll eventually come around when you start achieving success, and if they don’t, don’t worry about it. You can only control yourself – your thoughts/beliefs, actions/inactions, attitude, etc.
How many of us are anxious for no reason? I don’t consider myself an anxious person, but after some self reflection on vacation, I realized how neurotic I can be as well. We all have duties and responsibilities, especially as parents, but how much of our anxiety is serving us?
So what if you slept in? So what if your butt gets a little sandy or your shoes get wet? So what if you don’t workout for a day? You don’t always have to be doing something.
I’m always trying to focus on self improvement, but sometimes the best thing you can do is just relax. Don’t stress, don’t worry, don’t let anxiety over something that might happen in the future take over your thoughts and keep you from being present in there now. Life is good. Enjoy it.