As a grownup, do you sometimes lay in bed at night and think about your life and say, "How did this happen to me? Why is my life like this? How did I get here?" I know what you mean -- I talk with people who I am coaching all the time that are unhappy and dissatisfied and want a different life. So -- how can you have the life you want?
1. Decide what you want. What do you want your life to be like? What would truly make you happy? What do you want in terms of love? A career? Health? Travel? Friends? Wealth? I believe that you are (and can be) the architect of your own life. Yes you draw up the blueprint and the plans. You can decide exactly you want your life to be like and reinvent it. How do I know? I did it. About five years ago my wife died suddenly and I was left a widower at the age of 54. My life as a married man ended and I was suddenly left alone. It was a tragedy, but at some point I had to just move forward. So what I had to do was start over and decide what I wanted my new life to look like. Today I am married again, and I have the best wife in the universe and I am happier than I have ever been. Take time in the next few weeks and write down your goals and what you want. It's a great feeling in your soul when you know what you really want.
2. You get what you put up with. Years ago I worked with a woman who was talking with me in the lunchroom. She told me she was very stressed, because her in laws were visiting and they were very mean to her. I asked her what she meant. She said they called her names and made fun of her because she was overweight. I asked her what her husband was doing when this was happening, and she said he was laughing as well. I told her she should not tolerate anyone treating her that way, especially her husband and family. Tell people you will be treated with respect or guess what? It's over. Too many people in marriages allow themselves to be treated poorly by the one who is supposed to love them the most. You deserve better. You deserve a life filled with joy love and passion. Don't you?
3. Read and study. I get this question all get time -- "O.K. I know what I want but I don't know how to go about getting it." Here is what I find fascinating -- we live in an age where we can find so much information at just the touch of a button! We can download a book, find thousands of references, white papers, articles, videos and free information. Most of it instantly and much of it free. So you can find information about anything and start to study and research and put together a plan of exactly what it is you need to do. Guess what? Others have done it too -- just study what they did. You can get a mentor. You can hire a coach. You can join a group, an association, or a mastermind group. You can start doing that today. Now.
4. Don't let other people dictate what you should do. As Billy Joel once said in song form, "I don't care what you say anymore -- this is my life." That is so true -- it is your life and as far as I know you only get one. Don't let anyone tell you what to do can or can't do. There are so many negative people in the world who take great pleasure in minimizing what you are capable of. Don't let small people try to make you small too. Thank them for their misplaced advice and just go do what you want to do anyway. Far too many people get caught up in rules invented by someone else!
So today make a decision that can change every aspect of your life. Decide to unshackle yourself and live the life you want and you so richly deserve.