Most of us are continually growing. We do so because we want to improve what we have and who we are. This is not to say we are unhappy with our current life, just that most people don’t like to be stagnant. Just as we should never stop learning, we should also never stop growing and improving ourselves.
Improving our life usually means some sort of change. Most of us don’t like change. Change means work, and honestly, most people don’t like to work hard even if it is something worthwhile.
There are some people who think that improving their life means running away from their current life and completely starting over, leaving behind commitments, relationships, sometimes even children to create a whole new life without trying to work on the life they had. Can’t say I recommend that as a solution because nine-in-a-half times out of ten they are running from themselves rather than their circumstances. Once the newness of the new life wears off they will be searching again for the next place to run. This isn’t improving who you are; it is running from who you are. Sadly you can never run from the person staring at you in the mirror.
When I talk about a better life I mean improving the life you have, the life you committed to, the person that you are.
How do you make your life better? First off, take an inventory of what in your life you would like to improve. Write these things down. Would you like to lose weight? Move out of an apartment and into a house? Be a better parent? Maybe, you would like to get a degree, or change occupations.
Next, set some specific goals. For example, if you want to lose weight, don’t just set a goal of “one day I want to lose weight.” Rather, set the goal of “I will lose 20 pounds by September 30 of this year” or “Starting this Monday I will spend one dedicated hour each night with my kids, I won’t talk on the phone, work on the computer or watch TV, this is time I will spend with my kids, getting to know them.” These are just a couple of examples. My point is set the goal to be as specific as possible. If it is too open ended you are giving yourself an out, time to procrastinate or make excuses and most likely won’t strive hard enough to meet the goal.
The key is to write down your inventory, and most importantly, write down your goals. To increase your commitment to yourself, tell at least two people who are close to you in your life what your goals are. Ask them to be your accountability partners. Ask them to ask you specifically about your written goal and the where you are in meeting that goal.
Start today; write down your inventory of the thing in our life you would like to improve on to make a better you. Then set your goals, write them down and tell two people. Remember, tomorrow never comes.
