There’s nothing like the feeling of being your own boss. Whether you are the boss of your business, health, or life, it’s a great feeling. Sometimes, happiness can be hard to find if you are in a job that is too strict or has too many hours or has a manager that micromanages. Other times, you may be in a relationship that is going downhill or in some other way not providing what you need. Cutting these toxic ties will begin you on the journey of creating the life you want. Making your own decisions and figuring out what you want are just two of the ways to reach happiness.
The first step to run your own life is to take control of your life. Sticking through challenges, discovering opportunities, and being able to discern between an opportunity and a distraction will boost your self-esteem, productivity, and control. Taking control is the best way to figure out what will be beneficial to your life and to maximize the potential.
Here are four other steps to run your own life.
Lure your happiness
Like our personalities and our fingerprints, each of us has our own idea of happiness. We each have our own idea of success. Though, the amount of money you make tends to be tied to your success, our intrinsic definition of success can be quite different. We may enjoy traveling, programming, writing, or spending time with our family, but for each of us, happiness is unique.
To chase your own happiness you’ll want to approach situations with a positive attitude. Challenges and your reaction to them show who you truly are. Each station in life has its challenges. Staying positive and keeping an open mind will greatly boost your happiness.
You may not have control over the course of the situation, but adapting to changes as quickly as possible will ease a lot of stress and help you learn more. By remaining positive in these situations, you’ll gather people to support you because they will feed off of your positivity.
Another great way to reach your own happiness is to check-in with your core objectives. As time goes on, things happen and you may lose sight of the ultimate goal, but to run your own life is to make goals, write them down, and revisit these aspirations to make sure you’re still on the path you’ve laid out.
The constitution quotes, “… the pursuit of happiness.” This is accurate, to an extent. Our brains are wired towards negativity. By zoning in on negativity we can preserve our lives. But in the modern world, these five negative neural processes for every one positive neural process can be a problem. A trick to maximize that one neural process is to appreciate everything. The ability to walk, eat, get clean water from a faucet a few feet away, swallow, laugh, go outside when you’d like, drive a car, and use the bathroom by yourself. There are many people who can’t, or don’t, have access to these things or abilities. Each of these events seems small and unimportant until they are gone. By appreciating every little thing, you won’t have to chase happiness. It will come to you, willingly.
Self -check often
After you’ve decided who you want to become, you’ll want to challenge the progress you’re making towards becoming that person and how often you are holding yourself accountable to becoming that person. Life is a constant journey of progress. Setting milestones before and after each change you want to accomplish will keep the journey in perspective. By using self-checks you can decide if you need to change directions or put more effort to become who you want or live your life the way you want.
These self-checks should be positive, and not used as a way to put yourself down because you haven’t reached your goals. They’re simply a way to refocus yourself. So, when you’re making these self-checks you’ll want to focus on what you have done right because the goal is to go forward. Going back, or obsessing over failures, can stagnate your growth in disappointment or regret.
Believe in yourself
To follow your goals, you have to give yourself time to chase them. But, how can you make more time throughout your day?
Say No
Say no to projects and commitments that aren’t in line with what you’re interested in
Receive a fair pay for your work
Working for extremely low rates is a waste of your time and won’t help you get to the freedom that financial stability can offer. There are many employers and companies that will pay you what you’re worth. Be patient and look for these companies.
When you believe in yourself, you won’t settle for anything but the best.
Practice proportions
Keep all things in proportion. If something is a little thing, treat it as a little thing. Try very hard not to stress over small things.
If a difficult decision needs to be made, it’s a good idea to breathe, not overreact, and sleep on it, if you have enough time to do that. Having a clear head is the best way to make the best decision for you. With more time or having slept on it, you will have been able to make a more extensive pros-and-cons list, get your emotions under control, and focus on the little victories of the decision. Every decision you make has joy because you have the ability to make them.
Running your life means constantly upgrading your thought process. Like other skills, your mindset needs practice and habits to advance. When you read motivational material, talk to new people, practice external skills, and set aside time every day for introspection, you’ll transform your mindset. Stay open to changes and give yourself time to think.
Once you run your own life, being a passenger will no longer be an option. Your life is yours. Make sure you’re the boss of it.
