I remember when I was young and my father wanted me to do what he thought I should do in life. I think most people have been down this same road. Others telling us what we should be doing and not what we really want to do. Sure, what we do should enable us to sustain ourselves and it’s legal. Other than that, it’s not the responsibility of others telling us to do this or that.

There are many areas of our life, besides a career, where others tend to put their “2 cents” in when it comes to telling us how to live. As long as it doesn’t have much of an impact on the lives of others, I don’t see anything wrong in living our lives the way we see fit. Even the government tells us what to by enacting certain kinds of laws and regulations that may be based upon their personal values. Here’s where it gets tricky… Values.

We have values that start early in life in all of us. There are cultural values, community values, family values and personal values. Each of us carry within us values developed throughout life. They can change. The problem comes when one person believes their values are better than another person’s values.

For each of us, it’s the top 5 values that are our drivers in life. Certainly they may change, though, the top 2 usually will stay the same. Some people will value family over things. Others are focused on helping others while still others are money driven. I have a form that will help you discover your Top 5 values. Simply download it from this link. I’ll post a video later that will help guide you.

While values an important part of what matters to you, it’s not the only thing. Being self-aware also counts. This includes both the emotional and physical aspects of self-awareness. I won’t go into the details on this subject. What I will say is that learning the process of mindfulness is important for self-awareness. This means to put down your smart device and explore each moment of you.

Discovering your purpose is another part. It may come from what you value most in life. You’ll know when you feel it. That is where being self-aware helps. Most people have a hard time finding their purpose because they were probably told what they should do by others.

So, what really matters to you? Once you answer this, then moving onto the 3 keys is the next step.

1. The first key to is to create your personal story. If you were to imagine the end of your life, was it what you wanted it to be? If not, then it’s time to create it. Beginning right now I want you to write it out as you would want it to be. What would you be doing throughout your life that helps fulfill your life’s mission? Put in details of special moments in your life. Who is with you? What resources did you need to help you accomplish all you did? You might even imagine of the positive outcomes because you did what really matters to you.
2. The second key is to fully embrace what really matters to you. This includes discarding those people who try to discourage you from living the life you were meant to live. It may be hard for you at this point. Too many times those closest to us are scared of change and may sabotage your successes. Keep your mission and dream at the forefront and go back to your personal story.
3. The third key is to enlist those people who support your journey.  We can’t go at it alone. We may not have the support of those closest to us. This is where finding mentors, coaches, new friends and so forth who can provide needed support is important. There are people who may have traveled a similar path, find them. Read stories of them too. Heck, even reading of people from history can help. I have a mental mastermind as well as a real mastermind of people who support me.

Moving forward towards what really matters to us can be lonely sometimes. You may get scared and that is okay. You’re only human. You may fall down. Get up and brush yourself off. If what you’re doing really matters to you, then get some grit and keep moving forward. One day you’ll realize that it was really worth it. You’ll have no regrets in life because you did what really matters to you.

Cheers,

Bob Choat, “Transformational Master Black Belt”
America’s #1 Mind-Body Transformation Expert and author of Mind Your Own Fitness