CHAPTER SIX
PRINCIPLES TO FOLLOW IN GETTING MORE OUT OF LIFE
The objective “to get more out of life” isn’t always as straightforward a quest. Personally, I’ve had my struggles coming through life. Like everyone who has desired more, I was fraught with so big a challenge. Life has so much to offer but can I get the best of it? This question often probes my mind’s imagination.
The fact is and remains that to get more out of life will require painstaking sacrifice. Life as you are aware already may be pretty hard sometimes that you query yourself why you should get on the wrong side of it. Nonetheless, the challenging situation of life can take a turn by your actions.
Here are principles that will guide you. It has guided many to getting more and if you apply it, you too will be taking home the goodies.
- Embrace the unconventional: those who get what they want from life are those who choose to step out from the bandwagon. They refuse the crowd and they dare to stand alone. The crowd is systematic, planned and conventional. If you want more, you’ve got to step out and act away from the crowd mentality. Try something unconventionally. You can afford to break rules. Rules are meant to keep the crowd in check. If you step out solo, you will need your own rules. Truth is, those who have done exceptionally things have always had the crowd to contend with. They step out against the crowd with their own order. The crowd would have thought, “What the hack this guy’s doing?” they do things themselves are baffled about. The unconventional creates possibilities and creates new inventions in its wake. If you truly want to get more from life, just dare to think differently.
- Create useful challenges : life is about challenges and the ability to get over them. Either life fraught you with its challenges or you create yours. The conventional though is “we will see what life presents.” The guy who wants more says “I have to face this new challenge.” If you don’t create a challenge for yourself, life will create one for you. Life wants everyone busy. If it knows you don’t have what’s keeping your mind busy, it helps you create one. Rather than leave life to create your challenges, take it off life. Life welcomes the competition to create challenges. That’s almost the only way you can get more. So feed life with challenges by aiming for something that you acknowledge could be enormous but which you really need. Start a project you admire so much, aim towards doing it to a high standard. The challenges will come because you’ve created it (the high standard) but then you have to push against it.
- Recognize and eliminate self- limitations: you are your own limitations. I’m not saying that there are no other encumbrances. When once you recognize that you are the problem, others disappear. Self-limitation could mean a great disaster for its sufferer. There are things around you that limit you. It could be education, dressing, eating habit, attitude etc. This limitations are always there. However, if you will get more, you have to break these limitations. First of all, you will have to recognize what delimits you. You can’t fight what you lack knowledge about. Listen to what people complain off about you. Recognize those things that cause you to feel inferior amongst your peers. Once you recognize your delimiters, go about eliminating them. This will require taking frantic bold steps. It could mean taking classes to develop your grammar, exercising more often, improving your fashion sense by seeking help from fashion minded persons, improving your interpersonal relationship etc. The absolute goal is to break the limitations and you can if your try.
- Keep one foot in the future and one in the present: the only time we have is now. You can’t do anything about the past. The future is also waiting. The most you can do is maximize the benefits of the present and plan for the future. What we do now has a strong effect on what the future will supply. The want more life is a future desire. It’s something you are walking towards from now. You can’t anticipate the future without a present ground work to help create that future. As much as possible, try not to take your steps backwards. Remember the past is gone. Let your thoughts be forward looking at better opportunities and choices.
- Meet more people: people are the angels through which the more you need can be obtained. The more people you know, the more opportunities there are that you can get. This is because opportunities don’t fall from the sky, they come through people like you. Opportunities walk. The better job is one person away, the better house is one person away. Everything you need has one person tagged round it. It’s how you go about finding that person that matters. You may not be able to target that one person you really need to get more of what you want but by getting to meet people, you may just somehow hit the rock that spills oil. Focus on meeting as many people as possible instead of trying to find the right person. Anyone can introduce you to an idea or opportunity that can dramatically change your life.
- Never settle for anything: those who get more never settle for anything. Anything never goes. They push for something, the only thing that will give them satisfaction. You have to build the mentality of standing for something else you will settle for anything. When you know there is something astake worth pushing your head, you are inspired to drive for it. Accepting anything is like lowering standard. When you lower standards, you accept less than what had originally being bargained. Set your standards high. Let others struggle towards your high mark. You will certainly be getting the kind of results you want
Getting from life is about you taking decisive action. You are the one want to get more so you have to do what you have to do to get more. Don’t for others to act before you act. Start now with what you have.
