AlittleBetter.net

Post by Justin Dixon Follow me on Twitter Photo courtesy of Fazen

This post was inspired by @pcantone on twitter, who wrote:

@alittlebetter A better life=success, good health, happiness, fame and fortune?

I originally tried to give my answer on twitter. Half way through my third tweet I realized that I had more to say than could be sanely fit in 140 characters or less, and since I write about how to help you make your life just a little better it is definitely a question that deserves a good answer.

The truth is that what a better life means is completely dependent on what you are aiming at. For a PR agent it may mean becoming famous and revolutionizing his/her career field. For the family that is struggling to make ends meat a little bit more money each week could make a huge difference. There are some common elements a better life can be broken down to though.

Knowing what you need. A man who is consistently hungry knows that he needs more food. A woman with a leaky roof knows that she needs some repairs. If you know you need something but you do not know what it is than it can be completely frustrating. You may even blame a need on something being wrong with you as a person. Don’t blame your identity. That is a harmful practice. Take out a piece of paper and start writing out what you feel you are missing. Than at each point answer the question why? Why do you feel you are missing that? Continue to ask why until you can’t go any further. Even if what you need ends up being more clarification on your needs than you have an idea on something to work towards.

Having goals that you are moving towards. Success is completion of a goal. Without a goal no success is possible. It doesn’t matter what your goal is. You get to set that. You are in charge of deciding what is important for you, but it does matter that you have goals. It does matter that you have something to push towards, and make you grow. The moment you stop growing is the moment you begin to die.

Being more honest with yourself. To be really honest with yourself isn’t as easy as you would think. Most people act contrarily to the way they say they believe. This is very normal. We think we believe one thing, but we don’t. Here is a quick test to see what you believe; what do you actually do? A man who believes he can fly will not be afraid of heights. Take a good hard look at where your “beliefs” don’t past the test. Don’t be disturbed by inconsistencies you find, instead try to figure out why you don’t believe what you thought you did. Maybe there is a good reason, or maybe you just need to shift your perspective. Either way you can only benefit from becoming more honest with yourself.

Being at peace where you are. You may need to push towards goals, and I heartily believe that we must grow or die. However, if you know that you are doing your best than relax. You are doing what you can. That is what is important. The only real way to fail is to give up on something without giving it your all. Wherever you are in life you can choose to be happy now. You can choose to smile, it does effect your mood. You can choose your attitude. You can choose to take a few minutes and just breath, it can make a world of difference. Stressing out about what needs to be done will not get it done any sooner. In fact often while stressing out we end up making mistakes that can ultimately slow us down. Be patient with yourself, be patient with your situations. When you are doing everything you know you can do, than leave it at that.

So while what would make your life a little better, is a very personal question. There are certain things that we can all do, to make our life better where we are. You can always examine your needs. You can always set goals. Your can always learn more about yourself, and in so doing become more honest. You can always choose to be happy right where you are at. These things when practiced will make your life a little better. What do you do that makes your life better?

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