6 Steps to the Life You Desire

To Have the Life You Desire, Do These 6 Things

Be careful of playing too safe.

“Nurture great thoughts. For you will never go higher than your thoughts.”—Benjamin Disraeli

Do you aim high? Or do you play it safe?

It sounds like an obvious question — and maybe it is — but if you do, that’s great. Because most people set their sights below their capabilities. Most people play it safe.

I get it. Amidst the turmoil of a global pandemic, the safe option seems like a pretty good one.

And goals need to be rooted in some sort of reality, otherwise we’re wasting our time.

But we too often play small because we’re afraid of being judged. Or laughed at. Or failing. Or because we don’t think we deserve it.

We all deserve the best life has for us. But we can’t sit back and wait for “The Good Life” courier pack to turn up on the doorstep. We have to play our part too. Here’s how.

To Have the Life You Desire, Do These 6 Things

1. Believe you are worthy.
   Seriously, if you don’t believe you deserve good things — and a good life —they won’t come to you. You will (unconsciously) sabotage what’s good in your world — and you’ll end up settling for less. This is true of work, money, relationships — everything. You deserve good things and good people in your world. Own it.

2. Create time to think and dream.
   Thinking and dreaming doesn’t just mean staring into the space — although most of us have done plenty of that in the past. Active thinking and dreaming is more productive. So, set aside some time to think and dream into a notebook, your laptop, or your phone. Capturing your ideas is important. They won’t always be great ones, some of them will be terrible! — somewhere in there — you’ll find a golden nugget.

3. Get off the couch and act.
   Over-thinking is a rabbit hole. As humans, we have a tendency to spend too much time in up our own heads and paying attention to our own wayward thoughts, which, ultimately, just spins us around in circles. Action is the best circuit-breaker for this. When we take action on our ideas or goals, we drag our thoughts and feelings along for the ride. And that ride takes them to a healthier and more productive destination.

4. Minimise toxicity.
   We all devote too much time and energy to things — and people — that aren’t good for us. So, run a critical eye over your own landscape and note what, and who, is holding you back. It may be hard to wipe toxicity out altogether but at least point yourself in the right direction by cutting back on it. You’ll be amazed at how liberating it is.

5. The Universe is your ATM.
   Author Kathrin Zenkina takes credit for this line. It’s true BUT only if you make deposits — a lot of them. If you sit back and expect this ATM of Life to keep spitting out the goods at you (without you putting in any effort), you need a reality check. Life is a reciprocal arrangement. So, aim to do some good in the world. Be a friend. Do a favour. A kindness. An act of service. In one way or other, it will return to you.

6. Know who the real judge is.
   We too often limit our lives by worrying about what others think of us: whether they will criticise us or talk about us behind our backs. Which is weird because people will do that anyway, even if we do nothing much with our lives. But the sad thing is worrying about the opinions of others stops us from dipping into our curiosities and venturing into the unknown.

So, throw off the shackles and live the best, and biggest, way you can. The only person you should allow to judge you is you. And, even then, you should be kind.