Building Yourself Up - How to Better Manage Your Life
Hey all,
There are some people who have a great grip on their life. There is the majority that wishes they had a better grip on their day to day livelihood. People who are happier are typically the ones that have a greater control of their life and influence on others around them. So the question is, what are they doing differently? I've listed a few things you can be doing each and every day to better assess where you currently are in life and how you can get to the next level.
Have a Strict Calendar
I've learned this skill from my first college roommate who had every last minute planned out on Google Calendar. Very seldom did he ever stray from what the calendar said. While this is a very extreme case, my point is many people say that they are going to do something, but either forget or become too lazy to do it. If you have a calendar, you mitigate your chances of forgetting about what you need to do. I say the word "strict" because it is still easy to reschedule or push away important things that need to get done. If you want to be able to manage your life better, you need to become disciplined with the things you say you will do, otherwise in the long run it is easier to push away opportunities to grow. You can manage a "strict" calendar by setting rewards or punishments (positive and negative reinforcement) for completing or failing to complete a task.
Have Brutally Honest Friends
We all need a group of friends who are there for you no matter what the situation holds. The best type of friend is the type who will call out your bulls*** and help you to grow. However, I don't believe this is enough. If you have a friend who is open to telling you anything, my advice to you is to go ask that friend how they honestly value you. What are traits you have that they enjoy? What are some things you do that cause dissonance between you two? What can you be doing to be better? Where do they honestly see you in five years? etc. The difference between you evaluating yourself and having a brutally honest friend do it is that if you were to try to evaluate yourself, you will have bias. You will tell yourself that you will be better tomorrow just by magic. An honest friend will tell you where your slacking and help you get to your next stage in life.
Set Realistic Goals
No one goes to the gym on their first day, sits down at the bench and lifts 300lbs. If you can, you are some Hercules. The way to get yourself to lift 300lbs is to work up to it a little at a time, biting off each chunk until you reach the weight. The same thing is true in life. If you want to be the best version of yourself, that most likely will not happen overnight. You need to work up to it. Take the advice from your friends, and work bit by bit until you can see improvements. Work a little harder each and everyday at work until someone notices and rewards you for it. It's worth it. If you want to play guitar, learn a chord a day, then a song a day, then a solo a day, then write your own music and do it all again. Managing your life doesn't mean you have to have it all figured out in ten minutes. It could be a ten year journey.
Start today.