There’s one area in life, people all over the world wish to have and that’s “success”.
No one leaves school excited to start on their path to becoming an alcoholic, a drug addict, or a failure. We all leave school full of the promises of success, opportunity and a fun filled life.
One becomes an addict, because one takes miniscule steps in the wrong direction, every single day. At the end of the day our success, or lack of it, is up to us. The choices we make and the steps we take, to achieving our goals and dreams are ours and ours alone.
If you start your day with exercise, it’s going to work on repairing and restoration of your body. Exercise will increase your oxygen levels, giving you more energy for the day ahead. From there, if you have a light and healthy breakfast, you’ve made a wholesome start to your day. All you need to do now, is to continue throughout the day and work on this every day. Sounds simple doesn’t it? And it can be.
Healthy living, work/life balance, money, spirituality and great relationships, are all the fields we should be working within, if we want a successful life. Start your day right and you’re more likely to finish your day right.
Suitable rest, a healthy balanced diet, exercise and a balance of work to fun ratio, is the aim. So how do we achieve this?
Start with a to-do/goals list. Lists keep you focussed and on track. Without a list, we meander through our day and if we accomplish anything, it’s more luck than good design. Most of the high achievers in the world, work from their lists.
Start your day right, first with exercise and a healthy breakfast, then follow through by looking at your to-do list. A suitable start to your day, is to look at this list every morning (and again in the evening). Morning, to see and refresh your mind, with what you need to be working on and evening, to plan the following day/week and mark off what you’ve achieved during the course of the day.
It’s quite possible you’ll have distractions throughout your day, which side-track you from your tasks. Having a written plan will transport you back to your tasks, as soon as the crisis/distraction is over. So, keep your list handy and look at it regularly.
Success is ensuring you take little steps, every day, towards your goals. No matter what the goal is, even if all you get is 5 minutes in your busy day, the implementation of the miniscule and mundane, will get you to the finish line. Don’t stop. Don’t quit. And you will get there.
It’s helpful to journal your progress, even your lack of progress. This shows you the areas you can improve on, areas you’re wasting time and areas in which you’ve worked well. At the end of the day, have another list of 5 items you can implement tonight, to make tomorrow easier.
My evening list is a simple list; make sure the kettle is full, for my all-important first coffee in the morning. Fold and put away whichever washing is still hanging on the line. (For me, out of sight, out of mind. Because I can’t see my washing line, I often forget it.) Pack, or unpack, the dishwasher. Have a quick tidy through (this might include dusting, sweeping, or cleaning the bathroom) and finally a look at my to-do list. I tick whatever I’ve completed off the list and write any new entries I wish to add, for the following days. All in all, this evening list generally doesn’t take more that 15-20 minutes to complete.
These are the simple, routine steps I follow, to have a successful day, which turns into a successful week and then months of successful choices. At the end of the year, I can see the progress I’ve made. I feel the benefits for the steps I’ve taken and these lists help me to live a successful life.
Even with the hiccups in life, keeping to my lists more often than not, puts me in good stead to finishing the year with positive outcomes, in all matters of my life.
As well as healthy eating and exercise, included in my lists are monetary goals, relationship goals, spiritual study and reading goals, as well as rest goals (and it is important to schedule rest, particularly if you’re a bit of a workaholic). What’s the point if you get to the end of your years, so driven, that you haven’t enjoyed your life!
I achieve more in the first 3 hours of my day, than others achieve in their whole day. I’m focussed, driven and loving life, however I do allow myself time to pause when I feel it necessity to do so.
I’ve got time management down to a fine art. To achieve in life, it’s a requirement to manage one’s time, emotions and finances. If any of these are out of balance, stress
comes to the fore. And we don’t want stress.
Negativity can ruin what would otherwise be a great day. Learn the discipline of control over your thoughts and actions and your days will be a lot brighter and happier. Just as your success depends on you, so too your discipline, your joy and your peace of mind.
If you’re struggling in an area, read a book, or listen to you tube on the topic. You could even find a mentor, if you think it could help. Find someone to whom you are accountable (and not a friend, because they’re too soft on you).
Remember, discipline is important. Also, discipline is like a muscle, the more you work it, the stronger it gets. See, you have no excuse, if you feel you have no discipline. If you find yourself struggling, work at the area in short bursts. Try for half an hour, then increase to an hour and so on. Eventually you’ll overcome the area you’re struggling in, if you persevere and don’t quit.
I know what I’m talking about. I’ve gone from someone too scared to say “boo” to a goose. I was overweight, depressed and riddled with anxiety. The first course I ever did was a simple 2-day course, because that’s all I felt capable of managing at the time and even that was a huge challenge for me.
I really believed I was stupid and I constantly berated myself. I was my own worst enemy and it showed, in my moods, my attitudes and my self-care, or lack of. I had no confidence in myself, or my abilities and was too frightened to try something new.
Now I’m a photo-journalist and author, with books which have made Amazon’s best seller list. I’ve now done numerous courses and love to learn.
Gone is the depression, suicidal thoughts and excess weight. I can hold my own in a crowded room, give a speech and even sing in public. I’m a long way from where I started and I’m loving life, every day.
And I want that for you too. You can live the life of your dreams. If, like me, all you can manage is small steps to start with: start there and then build. Don’t quit, until you reach to your destination. Sure, there’ll be hurdles along the way, but if you keep going, you’ll overcome them, just as I did.
Don’t be like the clown, with an artificial smile; seemingly happy on the outside, but miserable on the inside. In life, you can continue the path you’re on, or you can create a new and exciting path. The choice is yours to make!
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