Make a living or design a life. It’s a simple, yet powerful choice in how you choose to live your life. Many of us make a living, working away for years to reach retirement, not aware of any other way. It’s what our parents and grandparents did, work hard and save for a decent retirement. What many don’t realize is there’s another way, a way to design and work towards a better future…and that choice is yours.
The American Dream
When we were kids, the world was full of possibilities. Everything was new, exciting, and we were only limited by our own imaginations. Over time though, we become aware and accustomed to the norms of society. The school system teaches us to work hard, get good grades, and get a good job. They’ve essentially taught us to become employable, contributing members of society. From there it’s up to each of us to strive for the, “American Dream“. This will be slightly different depending on who you ask, but it usually breaks down to something like this:
Typical American Dream
- College degree
- Good Job
- New Car
- 401K plan
- Marriage
- House
- Kids & Pets
- Retirement at 65 years old
Now, this is a very respectable dream and one worth working towards. However, it’s a dream that has been paved and used by a majority of the population. The system has groomed us to work for a living in a consumer based society. What this equates to is a lifetime of debt/liabilities that forces you to keep working to afford a lifestyle. Thankfully, there is a different way, one that empowers you to design a life of your choosing. It all starts with having the right mindset.
Mindset
Having the right mindset is the first key to designing your own life. Everyone has experiences in life, good and bad, that make us who we are today. It’s what you do with those experiences that make the difference. For example, let’s take Eric, a 35 year old retail employee, making $35,000 a year. He hates his current situation and wants a better life. He holds resentment at his parents for not making him go to college, blames the economy for crummy job options, believes he is over taxed, hates the current president, and places blame on everything keeping him down. What Eric doesn’t realize is that he is placing blame on everything besides himself and that is what’s truly keeping him down.
The key is to take extreme accountability. The fact is, most of us are in the exact position we are in because we made it that way, good or bad. Had Eric taken accountability, he would have gone to college, gotten a great job, and designed a life of his choosing instead of blaming those around him. With a mindset of accountability, one will take responsibility for their current situation and discipline themselves to work towards a better future.
Attitude
The second key to designing a great life is a positive attitude. Your attitude controls how you experience day-to-day life. It’s the reality your mind sets on the people and situations you encounter. If you constantly harbor a negative attitude, it will eventually manifest itself in your personality. You come to expect the worst and when you receive the worst, it becomes a reinforced cycle of negativity.
The great thing is, we control our attitude. The world throws us many curve balls in life, but choosing to keep a positive attitude is a great way to reinforce positive results in your life. To help you keep a positive outlook, try placing a positive spin on these areas of your life:
- Past (consider your past a great learning experience)
- Future (hold a positive outlook on your life and goals)
- People (you can’t be successful by yourself, so build positive relationships)
- Yourself (arguably the most important, keep a positive self-image)
Mindset and attitude are very closely related, but to be clear, mindset is how you perceive the world around you and attitude is how you react. Take responsibility and keep a positive attitude and your on your way to a better life.
Take Action
Now, this is where things start getting interesting. What do you want your life to look like 5, 10, 30 years from now? Are you working the same job you have for years to pay off your mortgage or are you fulfilling your life’s passion with no financial burdens? Take time to consider the life you desire and start working on a plan to get there. With your goal in mind, start reverse engineering the steps necessary to reach that goal. To make things easier, try mirroring the steps taken by someone further ahead in the game than you. You may not know exactly what you are doing at all times, but the important thing is to take consistent action and keep moving forward!
Focus
This brings me to my last point here, focus. It’s vital to remain focused on your goals and do away with any distraction. Distraction comes in many different forms, but you must stick to your guns. Time is our most precious resource and wasting time is is a sure-fire way to become derailed. The world is full of distractions including social media, news programs, happy hours, and much more. Do away with these distractions and discipline yourself to stay focused on the goals you have set for yourself. It may not be easy, but remember, your goals are worth the sacrifice.
We’ve covered a lot here and I hope it’s inspired you to design a better life for yourself. The combination of a positive mindset, positive attitude, consistent action, and focus is extremely powerful. Now, I challenge you to design your ideal life, make a plan, and get to work making your dream a reality!
Working on your life’s plan or planning on doing so? Share your thoughts/progress below!
