12 Steps to Make Your Life Awesome

(Photo by Ahmed Zahid)

(This is a guest post by my friend Ace)

Have you ever woken up one morning before work and thought:

“How did my life end up here?”

or,

“My life isn’t really going anywhere.”

You’re not alone. As you progress down a path of self development, its only natural to start wanting more for yourself as your limits increase. Stepping up to claim it is the difficult part.

Here’s some tips i have found out so far on the journey

1. Say “Yes” to everything.
Taking every opportunity that comes your way, no matter how ludicrous, strange, or uncomfortable. Undertaking new opportunities gives you more choices, feeds you with new experiences and breeds further opportunities.

I remember taking a nasty job in a cinema hotdog stall once. I said “Yes” despite wanting to say “no”. The wages were low, the hours were long… but the experience developed my skills at talking to people massively.

Say ‘yes!’

2. Keep a mental score card
When i look back at the things I’m really good at, or the goals I’ve achieved, they all have one thing in common: i relished in the challenge.

If someone says to me it can’t be done, I’ll do it- because i want to push my limits above theirs.

Challenges are formed and savored when you look for the positive aspects in a problem and then dwell on them. Dwelling on an idea keeps a mental check book at the forefront of your mind so you can gauge your progress at something.

I think it’s great to be able to write down and measure goals…in theory; but that’s hard work! So by keeping them in the front of your mind, you never forget them.

Interestingly, if you do this, you’ll actually find you write them down also! This is because you really, really, really want to do so- not just because it makes good sense to do so!

3. Accept all feedback, see the positive aspects in criticism
Criticism stings. If we are ‘smarter’ than normal we naturally block it out because it affects us emotionally and lowers our self esteem. If we take it to heart then bigger problems may be caused in our mind.

Criticism is like fire; respect it but don’t get burned.

The next time another ‘individual’ picks you up on an aspect of your character, welcome their feedback; you’re fortunate to get a free consultation. They’ve obviously seen a weakness in you against their own set of ideals.

It is your job and skill to decide whether the person giving you feedback has ideals you would like to emulate. If they do, then take on board what was said. They’re helping you. If their ideals fall short of yours, discard what comes out their mouth. Simple!

4. Realize that every person can teach you something new

Always look for the strongest and most positive traits in every person you meet. Each one is better than you in some small way. Be open enough to learn from them what they have already mastered -even if it is learning how to avoid a mistake.

5. See the best in everything
Being positive is a skill. It takes practice but it rewards instantly. Eradicate all negative thoughts and your life will change.
Having the courage to do this is one of the hardest parts.

6. Move out the comfort zone
If something makes you feel comfortable, you have already mastered it and it’s probably not worth doing anymore. Change your approach, or move on.

7. How to get the body you’ve always dreamed of
The hardest part of getting a six-pack is getting out the door and going down the gym in the first place; when you really should do. The rest is a cinch!

Everybody else on the planet has this problem- and only a few ever overcome it properly.

8. Move towards things you want rather than away things you don’t want
Lots of people will easily tell you what they don’t want.

-They don’t want to live at home anymore.
-They don’t want to spend their lives working a 9 till 5.
-They don’t want to die of a heart attack.

People going places will tell you:

-They’re looking to move out.
-They’re taking steps to become free of work.
-They’re keeping fit and healthy.

This one is tough. Especially if you are not sure what your immediate goals are.

9. Kill time or fill time
Be proactive. Use your time to learn. You are a learning machine.

Go to night-school. If you have a spare evening once a week, go enroll on a course that interests you.

It doesn’t matter if it’s in singing, computer programming, French or bricklaying. You’ll become a more interesting person as a result and you’ll have new experiences to flavor your character.

You may also surprised how many new skills you can foster in a very short space of time. Doing this may also help you re-assess your goals.

10. Action is the hardest part but makes the biggest difference
‘Doing’ something is harder than ‘thinking’ about something. It takes a level of stress to perform, especially when compared to sitting down on a nice couch and thinking about it with a cup of coffee in your hand.

If you’re like me, you’ll spend 80% of your time thinking, and 20% doing. Yet it’s the 20% that really does make the big difference to your life.

Even more ironic (or is that ‘moronic’) is the fact that all the ‘careful’ thinking & pre-planning that preceded an action often goes out the window as soon as we begin to physically undertake it. The human mind is very apt at thinking on its feet and changing its approach as a situation requires.

11. Perfectionism is death
Many people like to order things in their world to an unobtainable level of harmony. This causes them to lose sight of their original goal.

I’m an artist, and I’ll use my experience to illustrate.

If draw a picture the right way, the first 80% of my effort is raw passion. For me, its where the magic happens. The next 20% of time i expend is spent tidying up rough edges. Fair enough, i have to erase the pencil lines and such.

Now, if i go into “perfectionism mode”, i spend a good chunk of time drawing a picture, then readjusting it….then readjusting it….then readjusting it…and so on. This happens until what i am left with doesn’t even resemble my original idea. The passion is lost and my picture is lifeless, even if is drawn to a higher technical level.

Perfectionism makes any talent boring and dull -and will make you not enjoy it anymore.

12. Goal setting
Damn, part of me hates the idea of goals and i often i negatively write it off as corporate babble that should be taught in a seminar at an expensive hotel (near an airport). SMART goals make me wince.

However, goals are hugely important to success and the best way i have found to set them is this:

Have a long term goal- that is a wider plan of where you want to go. Keep it loose, but know roughly what direction you want to move in. I know i want to be more rich than i am right now.

Set mid-term goals that naturally attract you. The wrong way to do this is to sit down at a desk with a piece of paper and strain your brain. No, that won’t do. Instead, next time you are overcome with a flash of enthusiasm about something- like running a marathon or doing something cool, and JUST remember it in vivid clarity. That’s it.

Here’s the important bit. Check in with yourself 3-4 times a day to see how you are progressing with your mid-term goal. Think about it a lot. If you like to train down the gym, daydream about it when you’re not exercising. This’ll keep your goal at the front of your mind.

Every time you make a little progress to your desired goal (you ran faster this week than last week, you lost 4 pounds in weight) CONGRATULATE yourself.

The positive feedback loop this inevitably creates becomes unstoppable.