Live a Deliberate Life
Its been said, that you are where you are in life, because you are who you are. In other words, at this moment, your life - and who you are - is the sum total of everything you've felt, thought and done.So, with that said, how can you improve your life? Well... its simple - and difficult. You can't live a better life without becoming a better person. And you can't become a better person unless you know what and who it is that you want to be. Now, I'm not saying be someone you're not. Far from it. Rather, you need to be you.
How then, do certain people do and achieve more than others? Well... this one shocked me when I found it out, but the answer is simple: the people who achieve more than others, designed their life to achieve it. Essentially, they decided to achieve what they did.
They live a deliberate life.
Think about anything you've ever achieved. Anything. Go back to when you were a kid. Chances are, you learned how to swim, or ride a bike. And, if you learned these things as a child, you probably still know how to do them. But at one point, you had no skill in that area. At one point, you didn't even know how to find out what it takes to ride a bike or swim. So you asked someone - probably a parent. And they taught you. And you practiced and learned, and eventually you excelled to the point where its now second nature. Its a pretty standard learning practice. And its a large part of our childhood. We decide as children that we want to learn how to perform a task or enjoy an activity, and then we simply go ahead and do it.
So what does that have to do with living a deliberate life? A lot.
See, once we enter the great realm of adulthood, a lot of us tend to forget about this child-like fascination with learning and achieving. We get caught up in our daily routines, our jobs, our every day lives. We get used to watching television, and talking on the phone. Not that any of these things are bad - but they become our routine. Then we find ourselves a few years down the road, and we realize that time is slipping by. As that Talking Heads song goes, "Well? How did I get here?" If you don't know the answer, chances are you got to where you are by proxy of the fact that you didn't choose to go anywhere else! You've let other people's agenda mix with your own apathy, or laziness, or comfort, to lead you to the point you find yourself at right now.
But here's the good news. You have in you - right at this very minute - everything you will need to achieve anything you want in life. The real question you need to ask yourself is: what do you want to achieve? See, the process of achievement is exactly the same. All you have to do is duplicate it.
So think about your life. Is it everything you want it to be? Probably not. I don't say that to put you down. Rather, I say that because life is a journey. And lets face it, any long journey is usually far more interesting than the actual destination.
I ask you again: think about your life. Think about where you could be. Think about where you want to be. If you don't know what you want - that's ok. Pick something small. Choose that one small thing you *always* wanted to do. Then make a plan to do it. And remember, making a plan involves... well... planning. You need to generate tasks and affix times to them. Then, take the first step. Before you know it, you'll be moving forward. And when you're moving forward towards a self-determined goal, you're living a deliberate life!
So what is it? What's your first goal? I'm challenging you today: do something that moves you forward.
Life is meant to be enjoyed. Live a deliberate life and celebrate your achievements!!
posted by Mark @ 8:59 PM
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