In today’s society, people are often faced with decisions that will shape their lives for the better or worse. It is common to feel stuck in a life where you have a job you don’t enjoy and may even dislike because it pays well. We all like to live autonomous and fulfilling life. We often hold ourselves back from achieving this by being unclear about what we want from life or being afraid of making the necessary changes in our daily existences.
So how can you free yourself from the shackles of an unfulfilling life?
- Find out exactly what you want out of life: Most people don’t know what they want from life. They amble around without a larger life goal or a clear sense of purpose. Not having a clear idea of what you want from life holds you back from greatness. It all begins with setting an intention for your life. The most important thing you can do to have a fulfilled and happy life is to spend time thinking about it. One way of evaluating what you want from your future self is by asking yourself: What are my talents? What are the things I would like to do at some point of life? Write down your idealized, perfect day and then make a “life list” (things that you would like to do at some point in your life). This will tie the structure of your ideal day (ie: spending time traveling) to your focus on the larger goals (publishing a great travelling magazine within the next two years)
- Determine your values and align your habits accordingly: Determine what is your core values (reason that excites you and keep you motivated to take action). Once you know what you want, take a conscious effort and plan towards your goal. Ensure your habits is aligned with your values by prioritizing what you really need to spend on (ie: if your value is money, then you will be prioritizing on your spending habit).
- Don’t let fear keep you in your way: It’s normal to be afraid. Taking a leap that will change our lives definitely is frightening. Acknowledging your fear by choosing courage over your comfortability. Be prepared to conquer it by simply “give yourself a carrot”. Linking achievements with rewards is a great motivator. Human brain is built to pull towards a reward state and away from threat. Promising yourself a reward once you conquer the fear will make this difficult process more appealing.
- Make room for what you want: Eliminating unnecessary things in your daily life. People often lament the fact that they don’t have enough time to do what they care about in their lives, but the good chance is that we can achieve anything we want. It just requires a little life planning. Look at your current obligation and determines which actually necessary and wave goodbye to unnecessary ones. Built a “stop list”. List down 3 – 5 stop-doing lists (things that bring you down without giving you fulfilment or drain you). You probably discover is that many of these tasks can be removed without any serious repercussion. Once you restructure your time this way you can start opening up to everything you’ve always wanted. Filling your days to the brim with things that you enjoy doing and enrich your life.
Don’t let your circumstances, fears, or others define your life for you. You don’t have to live the life as was expected of you.
Your best job security is your own choice. Breaking free from unfulfilled life is all about finding out what you really want to get out of life and what you are willing to do to get there.