Take Back Your Life
Are you someone who sits around and waits for things to happen to them? Do you look towards others for support or wait for that one perfect opportunity to help solve all of your problems and needs? Well, you’re in luck. Because this this post is not for you! In fact, you’re chances of success in life are slim to none if the majority of your decisions are based solely off of expectations.
The take away here is that in this world of ours nothing is a guarantee. Any choice that you make that is dependent on other people, an event, or some entity or higher power, should be approached with caution and be accompanied with a backup plan. Period. Leaving things to fate or hoping that events will unfold in your favor is irresponsible and foolish. So below is a brief guide to help you take control of your own path.
1. Set Your Own Rules
The most beneficial thing you can do is set rules for any expectation that you have. Set up a condition that needs to be met by a certain set date and if that condition fails to be met follow through with an action that you perform. This will avoid having an undesired outcome play out and require you to take action instead of leaving you in deference to fate.
2. Do It Yourself
Don’t expect people to actively go out of their way to grant you opportunities. Create your own. For instance, if you work somewhere that does not offer you many roles or projects for growth and development then try to create your own environment that meets your needs outside of the position you are in.
3. Don’t Always Seek Approval
We all seek validation when we’re making life decisions but sometimes we get stuck in a stagnant cycle where we won’t take action until we’ve heard millions of voices that support us. Don’t get me wrong — asking for your friends, family’s, or even a professional’s opinion are all extremely useful, but this behavior grants all of the authority to others instead of giving you your own. Be the author of your own life story. It’s fine to have people in your life who act as editors or as peer review, but you should be the sole-proprietor of the content in your life.
4. Never Say Never
Most of the time the odds will be against you in any scenario. Life just isn’t fair. To quote a famous scene from Tyler Durden in Fight Club: “you are not a unique and beautiful snowflake”. There’s always going to be someone that is better looking, or has more money and is more proficient at something than you are — and there are millions of those people out there.
The point is to not let your inner voice of: “I’m not [blank]” keep you from attaining your wants or needs. Want to be a great artist? Have great group of friends? Buy that new car? Then never say that you’ll never be able to obtain those things for yourself. Self fulfilling prophecies are a real thing, so be mindful of your inner voice and support more productive narratives.
5. Seek Your Fortune
Whether it’s finding your ideal career, having that seemingly unobtainable material object, or meeting the love of your life — you have to make an attempt to achieve whatever you’re seeking in life. The alternative is that you’re left empty handed, displeased with yourself and stuck in the same scenario you were in before. Take action and make yourself accountable for it. Once you’ve done that you’re well on your way to having your treasure.
So I highly encourage you to try at least one of the aforementioned steps if you can. I think you’ll find them each very easy to implement and highly effective depending on your situation. It all starts with you. Each day that passes is an opportunity to improve your quality of life in seemingly small ways. It may appear to take forever or be frustrating and difficult, but nothing good in this life comes easy. So take ownership and steer your life in a new and better direction. Your treasure awaits.
