We only have one life but, for many of us, with so many external factors at play in business, work, relationships, and life in general, it can feel like we are never really in control of our own destiny. If you feel overwhelmed and question where your life is heading and which direction you should be taking, here are some steps you can put into action to take back control and truly live your best life.
Take accountability for your own life
When you realise you can, in fact, do whatever you want, and that your choices are yours and no one else’s, it will absolutely set you free. It can be very easy to blame other people, what’s going on with someone at work, or maybe another competitor in the market is causing the pressure. There will always be things happening that cannot be controlled. But you can control your thoughts, the actions you take and the decisions you make. Own your life and the situation you are in, and stop blaming other people and external factors, as this will not serve you.
Get clear on your purpose
Be certain about what you want, whether from your financial position, your relationship, where you live or the people you spend time with. Your purpose is unique to you. Think about what gets you out of bed in the morning. Is it to create financial freedom? Do you want to give your children a better situation or a better start in life than what you had?
The best way to gain clarity around your purpose is by making space for yourself. Go to a quiet place where you don’t usually work from, take a blank sheet of paper, and write down everything that you want. This will help you start to form ideas and focus on what you really desire.
Cut out all the things and people that aren’t serving you
Think about who you are surrounded by, the things you are doing and the habits you have and ask yourself if they are serving you or hindering you.
It’s important to be quite ruthless in this process and you may have to make some drastic changes. For example, there might be certain people in your life that are sapping your energy and bringing you down. In your business world, there could be people in your team that don’t have the correct expertise.
Whatever it is, you may have to make a tough decision to truly align with your purpose. Remember, this is about your destiny and creating a life that you really want. Take a good hard look and decide who should be in your life, who shouldn’t, and who you may need to reduce the amount of time you spend with.
Create new habits for at least 30 days
On the journey towards where you want to be, you may need to create new habits, and research shows that if you can change a routine for 30 consecutive days, you have a good opportunity to make it your new ‘norm’.
Things will only become easier over time as new habits eventually become second nature. Will power is great but it will only get you so far. Your routine and habits are what will truly carry you forward. Forming new habits may be painful in the short term but you must keep going. Eventually they will become part of your routine and will no longer need to be forced.
Be tenacious and build your resilience
Nothing worth having comes easy, and building the life of your dreams and becoming the person you want to can be hard. If you do the hard things in life now, things will be easier for you longer term. But if you try to take short cuts and do the easy things now, in the longer-term life will be harder for you. Be tenacious and, when you get knocked back, try to come back even stronger.
Conclusion
If you want to, you can control your own destiny and create the life you deserve. By being brave and bold you can create a brilliant life, but you must own it, take control and realise that life happens for you and not to you.
