Life is too short to waste time

  

Life is too short to waste time

I woke up this morning thinking about all the sadness in the world. I’m not sure why. Maybe it has something to do with the news. Maybe not. But what I have realized over the years is something very powerful and motivating. The plain and simple truth is that life is short. You’re here one minute then gone the next.

It’s funny. We don’t actually think about this much. Until tragedy strikes us, we don’t give it a second thought. We never realize that life is short and it’s meant to be lived. Instead, we’re immersed in stress, anxiety and fear. Fear. That’s a word that many of us live and die by. Not physically. But emotionally and mentally. Even financially. Yes, sometimes even spiritually.

We’re all victims of fear. We all conjure up these what-if scenarios in our minds that drive us crazy. What are we so afraid of? Why are we so deathly running in one direction when we should be embracing fear? This has nothing to do with you or me or anyone else. It’s pre-programmed into our minds. We’re afraid of pain. All kinds of pain. So we try to embrace pleasure.

Tony Robbins often says that we’ll do more to avoid pain than we will to gain pleasure. We would do more to avoid $25,000 being taken from us than going out there and earning an extra $25,000. But this fear of pain is ruining our lives. Life is too short to live this way. It could just be our last day on earth for all we know.

We always hear about people being taken from this world too suddenly. Some calamity strikes and they’re gone. Here one day and vanished the next. As if they were some memory. And when that happens, you realize that life is incredibly short. But after the pain and agony of that subsides, you realize something else. Life is meant to be lived.

Don’t wake up another day to live in fear. Embrace it. Follow it. Love the fear. Move outside of your comfort zone and do things that you normally wouldn’t do because today could be the last day. You might not even know it. But if you don’t enjoy the journey rather than worrying so much about the past or trying so hard to achieve something far into the future, then what’s the point?

Sure, there are things that we need to do. There are goals that we must achieve. I know that. But what about this thing called fear? If you don’t tackle it, not only will you never achieve your goals at the highest level, but you’ll live a life so constricted by the mere thought of something that you’ll never extricate yourself from the confines of your own self-inflicted prison.

How To Embrace Life

Considering that life is so short, we have to embrace it. When I say embrace it, I mean the fear. Ever get that feeling, when you had been so afraid of doing something for so long, and then you successfully did it, that you suddenly became empowered by it? Something like public speaking or asking a girl out on a date. Stuff like that. Know what I mean?

Fear is very powerful. Most of us would rather live these complacent lives than to embrace and overcome our fears. But that’s not enough. That doesn’t work if you want to take life by the horns and really make something of it. When you live in fear, everything becomes a larger struggle because you’re fighting so hard to move away from the potential pain that you forget about what it means to live life itself.

As an entrepreneur, I can tell you that I’ve often lived in fear in the past. It wasn’t until I moved myself out of my comfort zone that I was able to take the bull by the proverbial horns. It wasn’t easy. Nope. Not at all. I was so used to living in fear for much of my life that I was stifled by it. But then something happened and I came to realize that life was too short to be paralyzed by fear.

So I embraced life. I welcomed fear. In fact, I beckoned it. I started doing things that I was deathly afraid of doing. And you know what? Some wonderful things started to happen. I found people who were ready and willing to help me. I began attracting the right things into my life. I wasn’t just thinking abundantly. I was acting it.

Through the failures in life, I’ve learned a lot of great lessons. I’ve learned about the nature of people. I’ve learned about business. Love. Contribution. And most importantly, about persistence. So if you’re sitting there thinking that you’re too afraid to embrace life after just realizing that life is incredibly short because some event has jarred you out of your thinking, here’s what you should do right now.

#1 — Write down everything that you’re passionate about in life

When was the last time you stopped to write down what you were passionate about in life? No. Not just think it in your mind. To actually write it down? Been awhile? There’s a certain switch that happens when we write things down. It moves from the abstract into reality. Thoughts materialize on paper in front of us. This is monumentally important.

Ask yourself what are you passionate about? Don’t answer something superficial like money. Money is just a conduit to something else like freedom or security. The question is about passion. You’re not passionate about money. Maybe about what money would bring. But forget about money for a moment. What else are you passionate about?

Is it your family? Is it helping others? Is it traveling? Is it new experiences? Is it reading books? Write it down. Write down everything that you’re passionate about and then a short description of why it means so much to you in life. This is crucial. Don’t skip this step.

#2 — Write down what you’re no longer willing to tolerate

We usually end up tolerating things because we’re too afraid of the alternatives. For example, you might tolerate a relationship because you’re too afraid of divorce. You might tolerate your 9-to-5 job because you’re too afraid of starting your own business and failing. Or you might tolerate your diet because you’re too afraid of trying to lose weight and failing or what others might think about you.

What have you been tolerating? What have you put up with in your life for far too long?  Don’t just think about it. Write it down. Again, writing it down makes it real. Thinking about it keeps it in the abstract. Write it down then write down why  you’re no longer willing to tolerate it.

Something uncanny happens when you do this. You won’t realize it right away. But your mind will start searching for ways to overcome those things that you’ve been tolerating for too long and have been holding you back in life. Watch. Just do it and you’ll see how it unfolds.

#3 — Revisit the big goals that you gave up on

When you realize how short life is, you begin to understand why you can’t sit around on your hands any longer. And that you need to revisit those big goals that you gave up on. Write them down. What did you want out of life that you gave up on? What did you settle for instead? Why did that happen?

We live in fear too often. We think that if we reach for something and fall flat on our faces that it’s the end of everything. We failed miserably. But you know what? That’s okay. I’ve learned more lessons through failure than anything else. It drives you. It motivates you to reach for more.

What’s stopping you from going after that goal? Remember, life is too short to allow it to slip through your fingers. Don’t let a tragedy jar you you and awaken you to that simple and realistic fact. Don’t ignore this. Do it right here and right now. Be honest with yourself.

#4 — Create a new set of empowering goals

Ever heard that saying, the best time to start is now? Well, it’s true. Rewrite your goals and create a solid plan of action. You can still go after goals that you had years and years ago. Did you know that Colonel Harland Sanders, founder of KFC, was 62 years old when he started what’s now become the most famous chicken restaurant franchise in the world? And it was after many many failures with just $105 to his name.

Don’t make excuses. Life’s too short for that. Create a new set of empowering goals that will fuel you and drive you forward. Don’t be afraid to fail. As long as you don’t give up, you won’t fail. Just get back up again and keep pushing. Complacency is not an option. When you look back at things, you’ll never think about the things you did, you’ll think about the chances you didn’t take.

It’s tough to have regret like that at the end. We’re so busy worrying about present-day problems that we forget about the long-term benefits of achieving our biggest and most outlandish goals. Go for it. Don’t cower away in fear. Push and push. Your future-self will most definitely thank you for it.

#5 — Come up with compelling reasons to achieve your goals

We will always do more for others than we’ll do for ourselves. With that in mind, come up with some compelling reasons for achieving your goals. What can you do for others? What can you do for your family or friends? What about for the community? What matters most to you? That’s what’s important. Not individualistic desires.

I know that you’re like me and that you would go out of your way for people close to you. You’d do whatever it took if they were in danger, wouldn’t you? Well, why not do whatever it takes now, even if they’re not in danger? What type of life can you provide for your family or what value can you give to the world if you were to achieve your dreams?

Figure that out and you’ll find the solution. Come up with reasons that you would quite literally give life and limb for. I’m not exaggerating. Think about it. In the past, didn’t you do whatever it took to achieve something when you really wanted it badly.?And I mean badly enough? Of course you did. That’s the secret sauce right there.

#6 — Write down 3 times in your life that you’ve overcome fears and succeeded

Fear produces stress and anxiety. It engulfs us like a wildfire. I hate that feeling. But it’s also true that we have all overcome our fears in the past. Even if they were little ones. We’ve had breakthroughs. Get back to that point, mentally speaking. What situations can you recall right now where you overcame your fears to succeed?

Even if it was something not major. That’s okay. But don’t just think about it. Write it down. Be descriptive. What were you thinking? What was going through your mind? How were you so afraid but were able to overcome it? What thought process did you have to go through to get there?

The biggest take away? Find out what you did to overcome that fear. And see how it can help you overcome what you’re afraid of today. Be honest. The more honest you are, the better. You have to walk through the pain. You can’t ignore it.

#7 — Do something outside of your comfort zone

We all have a comfort zone. I know I have one. But pushing yourself out of that is important. Even if it’s something small. For example, if you’re afraid of meeting new people, go to networking events and speak to others. Push yourself. It’s only temporary discomfort. But that temporary discomfort could mean a lifetime of empowerment and comfort.

It seems small. I know. But our little actions build up steam. It creates momentum. If you’re deathly afraid of public speaking, find a way you can speak in public. Embrace the fear. Literally. Life is too short to ignore it. It doesn’t take too much to get this going. If you’re deathly afraid of heights, get on an airplane or go up a really tall building and peer down the side. Whatever it it takes.

Your life is literally on the line here. It’s easy to ignore fears rather than to embrace them. But you embrace them, something happens inside of you that’s inexplicable. You change. And it’s for the better. It gives you fuel for the fire to achieve anything you want out of life. Nothing is impossible when you embrace your fears. Remember that.

#8 — Contribute something of value to help others

When was the last time you did something for someone else? Do you often search for ways to help others? For me, that’s one of the most important things in life. I want to find ways that I can help the people around me. And you should too. You know why? Because life is about contribution. It’s too short to only worry about yourself.

The best part? If you can find something that fuels you that’s bigger than just you, it gives you purpose. When you add value to the lives of others, an extraordinary transformation occurs. Imagine being able to make money doing something you love and also giving to other people at the same time.

Of course, this isn’t just about making money. You should find ways to contribute in any way possible. Donate your time to help others solve some problem or just to lend a helping hand. If you have disposable income, consider donating some of it. Do something to make the world and the lives of others better and you’ll begin to attract good things in life.

º º º º º º º º º º º

Credits 

 The article was posted by: Wanderlust Worker

 Original title: Life Is Short: 8 Steps For Embracing It And Following Your Dreams

Quitters never win

Quitters never win

We’ve all heard the saying before: Winners never quit, and quitters never win. So, why is it so easy for so many people to quit on their goals? The answer is simple: It’s easy.

The harder choice would be to push through the obstacles and the challenges. Facts are in, more people will fail at success than succeed. More people will fail at their fitness goals than succeed. More people will fail at their marriages than succeed. More people fail in college than succeed!

The failure rate at anything and everything seems to be higher than the success rate. It comes down to one thing: Those who make it just never quit, and those who don’t quit too soon.

What if Thomas Edison gave up on his attempt to improve the light bulb? What if Michael Jordan quit when he got cut from his high school basketball team? What if Martin Luther King quit on his march for freedom when things got a little scary?

Where would we be as a society if the leaders from our pasts quit on the greatness they pursued in their lives that have changed and affected so many lives thereafter?

In my career, I’ve learned a very important lesson I will continue to carry with me: The only way to fail at anything is to quit.

The great Napoleon Hill once wrote,

Most great people have attained their greatest success just one step BEYOND their greatest setback and failure.

This leads me to believe that most people have failed and quit right before their greatest achievement was about to occur. Often, there was just one more step needed. If you aim to achieve some sort of greatness in your life, the task will not be an easy one, and you’ll want to quit multiple times.

But, before you do, remember a few key points:

                                 REMIND YOURSELF WHAT YOU’RE GOING BACK TO

If you were happy with your life in the first place, you would have never ventured on this journey to achieve something greater. When someone pursues success in life, it’s exciting and empowering at first.

The future seems bright, but because everything in life gets mundane after doing it for so long, once the excitement dies down, the obstacles and challenges start to feel overwhelming.

The paths they expected didn’t have the setbacks and failures they’re now experiencing, and this is usually the moment when they start doubting whether they’re doing the right thing.

One thing is true in life, and that’s that you cannot control the circumstances, but you can control your response to them.

Before you quit, remind yourself what you’re quitting to go back to. Remind yourself of the life you didn’t enjoy and the situation that didn't make you happy. Remember why you ventured out for greatness in the first place.

It may feel good to revisit at first because it’s where you’re most comfortable. You won’t have as much pressure, and the challenges may go away temporarily, but once the dust settles and you realize where you are again, the feeling of not being satisfied will rise again.

You’ll be unhappy again, except this time, you’ll be ridden with guilt and disappointment because you failed your attempt. The more times you let yourself quit on your goals, the harder it becomes to continue chasing them.

Lance Armstrong once said,

Pain is temporary. It may last for a minute, or an hour or a day, or even a year. But eventually, it will subside. And something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it will last forever.

Reminding yourself what you will be going back to is sometimes enough to push you to move forward.

REMIND YOURSELF THAT MOST PEOPLE WOULD QUIT

Doing what most people do will only grant you what most people have. If you want different results than what most people get, you need to be willing to do what most people won’t. Not quitting is one of those things.

When times get tough, most people choose to quit. If it’s an easy choice to make, then it’s probably the wrong choice. In life, you constantly face two choices when opposition comes your way -- the easy choice or the right choice.

If most people are busy making the easy choice, challenge and push yourself to make the right choice. Sure, it’ll be harder, but it’ll get you further ahead and closer to achieving your goal.

More opportunities exist on the roads less traveled. It’s less crowded. And, those who are there are people who have faced the same challenges and risen above the occasion and pushed past their own obstacles. What better place to be than in the vicinity of those looking to achieve the same things in life?

Free yourself from the conformity of others. Pave your own way. The latter of that would be to live the same and have the same, therefore, be the same and stay the same... forever. Remember, the choice is yours.

REMIND YOURSELF THAT THE BIGGER THE CHALLENGE, THE BIGGER THE REWARD

No matter where you are in life, if you’re looking to achieve something great, how far up you need to climb determines the magnitude of the challenges you will encounter.

Most people look at challenges and grow discouraged without realizing that a challenge is an invitation to the next level of success in your life. A challenge is simply a mindset you aren’t used to acknowledging. That’s why they feel so uncomfortable at times.

Finding the right solutions and getting the right perspective doesn’t change the challenge; it changes the person pursuing it. Like Abraham Lincoln once said,

We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.

It all comes down to a matter of perspective. If you’re being challenged, it’s not the end of the world — it’s the beginning of a new one.

Understand that life wants you to succeed; it wants you to have everything you’ve ever wanted, but it won't make things easy for you. It wants you to work for it. It needs to challenge you mentally and shape you to become the caliber of person who can have that certain type of success in life.

You can live your entire life desiring and wanting more and being comfortable with the mentality and person you are now, or you can allow challenges to change you and mold you into who you want and need to be in order to achieve your most desired dreams and goals.

If you are not getting ahead in life, you are falling behind. Remember, whatever you seek is seeking you. But, you have to allow the challenges to shape you. Embrace them. Accept them. Napoleon Hill said it best,

For every obstacle and failure carries with it the seed of equivalent benefit or advantage.

Can you train yourself to find that silver lining in every obstacle? Can you brush yourself off and go at it again? Do you have what it takes to make the right choice over the easier choice?

One last thing before you quit: Remember that no one else deserves success more than you.

We are all running the same race. You can’t control where you begin, but you can control where you finish. Some of us have to work harder, dig deeper, seek longer and push further. But, we are all unique and hold within us a unique advantage. It’s your job to discover what that is and pursue it with all you have.

Develop the habit of moving beyond your limitations and fears. When you quit, you are only quitting on yourself. Before you quit, decide not to. Like the great Olympian Ruben Gonzalez once said,

                Develop the courage to start, and once you start, 

                develop the courage to not quit.

º º º º º º º º º º º

Credits 

 The article was posted by: Sandy El-Rayes

 Original title: Quitters Never Win: 3 Things To Remember Before Throwing In The Towel

Take Control of Your Thoughts

Take Control of Your Thoughts 

Think about the world we live in today. Think about how much negative news floods the television. Think about the trivial and often times, petty banter that we can get mixed up on in social media. What do you think that does to your mind, or even your soul over time?

If you don’t watch what you let into your mind – negative thoughts from yourself or from others – then you are allowing weeds to grow and to spread. Life just starts to happens to you. No matter how smart you are, how savvy you are, how inspired you are – if you don’t stand guard at the door of your mind, then you are giving the tacit approval of the disempowering, disenchanting and disillusioning.

So what’s the best way to feed your mind? To proactively feed it. And that is a lot easier than you may think. Tell yourself that this year, there isn’t going to be a single day where you don’t do something that positively feeds your mind. Even if it’s as minuscule as reading for 10 minutes a day. Even if it’s meditating for 10 minutes every morning. Think that’s too much? Then what about listening to a podcast on your commute. How much extra time does that take out of your day? Absolutely none!

The more that you make this a habit, the more engrained it will become in the way you go throughout the day. Negative news on the television will begin to signal you to change the channel. Pedantic arguments on social media will inspire you to watch an inspiring YouTube clip. The stress of a morning commute may even turn into your favorite part of the day as you listen to an empowering and enlightening podcast.

Eventually, these small changes will add up in one very big way. You will become more in control of your thoughts. You will become more in command of your environment. And you will be more conscious of the ways that you can elevate your life and find new opportunities for improvement.

º º º º º º º º º º º

Credits 

 The article was posted by: Tony Robbins

 Original title: Feed Your Mind

Good Choices = Good life

Good Choices = Good life

Everyday we’re confronted with a barrage of choices. We make choices about the clothes we wear, the food we eat, the appointments we schedule, the people we meet, the time we turn up to work, which bus we catch, where we sit on the bus, what we do after work, and so on. Living a rich and satisfying life means making good choices on an ongoing basis.

What is a good choice? Good choices are decisions that keep you heading in the direction in which you want to go. Bad choices, on the other hand, end up being counterproductive and can quickly begin spiralling into stress, confusion, and despair.

Some of the trickiness of choice-making arises with options that may be pleasing in the short-term but may incrementally steer us off course over the longer term. Just taking that one extra serving of dessert or staying in bed for only ½ an hour more can be choices like this. Conversely, some decisions can be a bit dreary or difficult at the time but lead to better directions down the track. Staying home and studying or completing another gruelling session at the gym are examples of short term discomfort for longer term benefits.

Perhaps the most fundamental consideration with choice-making is to ensure the choices you make are congruent with important goals you have. If you have a quiet, distant goal of being financially independent one day and building a successful career, then making decisions to party excessively with late nights involving lots of drugs and alcohol, will likely lead to later discontent and misery regardless of how good it all feels now. Perhaps the partying is related to an important goal of being accepted and liked by others but it is at odds with career and financial goals.

Understanding the dynamics of choices can help improve the decisions that you make. Essentially, any choice involves at least two options, both of which have pros and cons associated with them. It might seem, at first, that one of the options doesn’t have many things going for it at all but the very fact that you have paused before pursuing one course of action over another suggests that not everything is humming along synchronously in the machinery of your mind. Taking a moment to reflect on that aspect of your inclinations and wishes that made you hesitate can help you understand the situation more clearly. From this perspective you’ll be able to make a more informed decision.

Any choice is made, sooner or later, by considering goals that are more important than the two choices currently in view. At a workshop recently, one of the participants explained that she had made a choice in the morning between having breakfast and lying in bed for longer. She made the choice by deciding that self-care was a priority at the moment so she opted for the extra time in bed. Clearly, “self-care” is a more important aspiration than either a morning’s breakfast or an extra few minutes in bed. By becoming aware of this more important goal, which option to choose became obvious. Another participant described choosing between wearing slacks or shorts to the meetings of the day. As she to’d and fro’d between both items of clothing she realised that she hadn’t seen anyone else wearing shorts so she decided to go with the slacks. So, for this participant, becoming aware of other people, and having her “fitting in” goal highlighted, quickly resolved the decision-making that had been occurring moments before.

Whenever you find yourself pausing over a choice you’re about to make, consider both options in some detail and find the important aspects of them. Pay attention to more highly-valued goals that you might become aware of as you’re considering your options. If you can find the higher-level goals that are in the background of your deliberations, the path to take will be evident.

Choice making is an integral part of our daily lives. Ordinarily we’re very good at making choices and we do so efficiently and seamlessly. Now and then, however, we come up against a decision that gives us a moment to pause. When that occurs, look for the merits in both options and notice the higher-valued goals that appear as you’re considering the choice you’re pondering. Once the important goal is in view your decision will be clear and you’ll know that the path you’re about to take is consistent and congruent with all that it means to be you.  

º º º º º º º º º º º

Credits 

 The article was posted by: Tim Carey Ph.D.

 Original title: Making Good Choices