I love self-improvement, reflection and personal development. I read books, write in journals, talk to others and even meditate for guidance. And all these things are great. Really. It’s good to be looking for perspective in life and to value that perspective coming from all different sorts of places. But I bet you don’t need it as much as you think you do.
We’ve talked about this a little bit on the blog already—nobody can teach you how to live your life. Everybody’s got their own opinions on what life is and what we should do with it. And sometimes you can learn from them, which I encourage. But ultimately, you’re the only one who can decide what perspective is suitable for you, your values and your life.
Obviously, being someone on the internet who offers my own perspective in hopes that others will take it and learn from it, I would like to be listened to and have my ideas considered. But life is so individual.
You are unique
There’s never going to be a way for me to talk specifically enough to completely cover the situation of any one person online, nor would I try to. The fact is, it’s your job to sift through the ideas that come to you in life. Only you can and should do it.
You have your own thoughts, ideas, values and backstory. You have your own hopes and dreams and motivations. That doesn’t leave me off the hook for posting bad ideas or anything. I’m always going to do my best to vet the ideas I have before posting them, and that has been my policy since the beginning. But it’s not all going to be important or interesting to you. And that’s okay.
You already know
The thing is, it’s not just about you finding your own answers. It’s also about you having them in the first place. Call it what you want. Intuition, personal awareness, common sense. But the fact is, you know what direction you want your life to take.
Think I’m wrong? Okay. When was the last time you told yourself (maybe even said it to other people, out loud) that you “should” be doing something. I’ll bet you’ve said it before. Heck, probably even recently. Did you do that thing? Did you make it a habit and part of your life? If not, you’re missing out on what life is all about.
The building blocks of your dream life
The truth is, you can easily make a life to be proud of simply by following through with what you already know you should be doing. It sounds too simple. But it’s true.
That thing that you know you’re putting off? If you would integrate it into your daily life, then that wouldn’t be the end of it. Habits compound. That habit would bring a new one that you would realize in very much the same way, and it would be up to you to see it through.
This is how you get to the life of your dreams—the one you can be proud of and fulfilled by. Honoring what you know you should be doing. And some of you might be thinking “Oh my gosh but then it never ends” and yes, that’s true. But that’s the great part about life. You get to just keep on tweaking and growing and experiencing and improving. With this sort of outlook, you’ll always be satisfying some new dream. What could be better than that?
