How To Own Your Life
Staying true, and staying you.
The other day, I was sat down talking to a friend of mine, and she was like, “I didn’t even choose to live this life. I was just given life, but I didn’t ask for it, and there’s not even instructions on how to live a good life. How fair is that?” As spontaneous and random as this thought of hers was, it’s not exactly wrong either. There’s no instructions on how to live life the right way. Sure, there’s morals, and there’s religious books for people to follow, but is that all you really need?
Positivity-
As much as I hate to say it, I love self-help articles and books. I love listening to endless positivity and I love how it makes me feel. For some reason, hearing other’s success stories is so motivational. However, I also know that a lot of people get more discouraged from success stories, rather than inspired. I don’t blame people who feel this way, because sometimes hearing about the things others are achieving just makes us think about the things we aren’t achieving. After knowing how this feels, I’ve come to the conclusion that positivity and aiming for a good mindset every day is the best way to combat feelings of regret or defeat.
It’s not like being happy every day is the easiest goal in the world, and I don’t think being positive means you even have to be happy every day. Personally, positivity just means that you can have bad days, but you’re thankful for them anyways. Being grateful has been known to cause people to develop a higher self-esteem, reduce stress, and discover better coping mechanisms for the more difficult sides of life.
Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them. -Marcus Aurelius
Visualizing-
Visualizing where you want to be is the best way to move past where you are. Life is all about moving up and expanding as a person, and taking a little time each day to imagine and plan out where you’d like to see your life go can be so beneficial! It’s essentially the practice of manifestation, which I’m sure most of you have heard about once or twice in the past. The real power in manifesting a better life comes down to the fact that you’re opening yourself up to success. If you’re down and negative all the time, people won’t feel comfortable taking a chance on you, and you certainly won’t feel comfortable taking chances on yourself.
Have you ever heard that quote: “dress for the job you want”? It’s the same practice! Why should your dreams have to stay dreams? Why won’t you give them a chance to become reality? If you’re so caught up in the “luck” of things, you won’t give it everything you’ve got. You can’t sit around and wait for fate to come in and make your life better. That’s your job, and it’s your responsibility.
Good Company-
Finally, and I cannot express this enough, surround yourself with positive and supportive people. The other day, my best friend asked me what I would change in my life if given the opportunity. The only answer I could come up with is that I wish I would’ve followed my dreams sooner, and not let myself get embarrassed over the things I love to do, like writing. Some of the people I used to surround myself with didn’t support me and my passions in the way I supported them, and that really impacted me in a negative way! I stopped doing what I love all because others told me it wasn’t worth it, and that people wouldn’t enjoy what I write.
Once I stopped and looked at what I was spending my time on, I realized how stupid it was for me to let the people around me decide what’s important in my life. Ever since this realization, I’ve been trying really hard to keep pushing, and be unapologetically proud of my work. If nothing else sticks with you from this article, please remember that it’s okay to prioritize the things you enjoy, even if others don’t enjoy them as much. We’re all different, and we’re born with different gifts for a reason.
I hope you remember that while life doesn’t come with instructions, it comes with really great people, really great opportunities, and a time limit. You don’t have forever to become confident, and you don’t have an infinite amount of time to pursue your goals. I think that’s more than enough reason to start doing what you love now. There’s no better time than now. It’s the perfect time to start owning your life.
