10 Ideas to Change Your Life.
Evolve Your Life
How to be more than they said you could be.
Growing up, I wasn’t given much of a chance, my mother was mentally ill and I never met my father. My mom and I were homeless off and on and if it weren’t for my aunt and uncle taking me in after my mother tried to take my life at 10 years old, I am not sure I would be here today.
However, this isn’t a sob story, this is a story about triumph, about taking the opportunity to be your own hero and turn your life around. I shouldn’t be as successful as I am, now, I am not rich, I am not famous, but I have achieved success beyond what I had ever imagined growing up. I am a software engineer, I have a beautiful wife and son, a roof over my head and, food in my belly. I should be a statistic, on drugs working a low wage, unskilled job.
I want to share with you what worked for me on beating adversity, I don’t make the claim that this is the end all be all, I am not saying this is the best advice or the only advice, this is what worked in my personal journey to become better.
Here are my top ten tips on evolving your life.
“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” — Abraham Lincoln
- Stay positive: Through it all, I always have tried to keep a positive attitude, sometimes, it might be the only thing you have control over. I remember living out of my truck a few times in my 20s and feeling down. But I tried to keep my vision clear and my attitude good. A bad attitude never helps any situation, it makes good situations bad and bad situations worse.
- Be your own hero: Friends often times come and go, they can be great support but everyone has their issues and most people are just trying to keep their own heads above water. Most of the time, no one is going to dig you out of your hole, it will be up to you to get that job, to get in shape, to turn your finances around. Whatever it is that you are trying to achieve, don’t wait on others to do it for you. Be your own hero.
- Write your goals down: It has been proven that you are more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down. When I worked in the fitness business we had positive affirmations written down on index cards and we would say them 5–10 times a day. At the time I thought it was a bit goofy, however, I think there is power in putting your goals into written and even spoken word. Today, I keep a whiteboard at home, I have goals that are written down for the week for the month, the year, and 5–10 years. It feels good to be able to cross a goal off your list.
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help: This doesn’t conflict with point number 2. Be your own hero but utilize your support system. Friends and family will be willing to help you out if you are looking to improve yourself and do better. Be it a referral for a job, a ride to work, an outfit for an interview, or just moral support. A hand-up is not a handout.
- Be the hardest worker in the room: There is no substitute for hard work. I may not be the smartest guy in a room but I will always be the hardest worker. While they are sleeping I am beating on my craft. While they are enjoying beers and wings, I am in the gym, while they are watching TV, I am studying for that test. Whatever disadvantages life gives you, you can make up for a lot of it just by being gritty and working hard.
- Read: Not a ton to expand on this one as it is pretty self-explanatory. A world of information is at your fingertips but only if you ask. I read about a book a week, they aren’t always self-help books or books on programming, sometimes they are fiction but I think it is important to be a voracious reader. I really enjoy reading articles on Medium, there are a lot of brilliant writers on this platform.
- Don’t neglect your body: Taking care of your body means something, it is an exercise in self-discipline to eat well, to train through physical exhaustion. Everything is connected, if you take care of your body your mind will work better too.
- Learn to embrace struggle: Hard times make us better, they make us resilient and appreciate the good times. Often times we find out who we really are in difficult circumstances. James Lane Allen said “Adversity does not build character it reveals it”. If you want to know who you are and be better, embrace the suck.
- Remain humble: It is easy to be humble when the chips are down, but when we start to find success it is also important to remain humble. Having confidence is good and can help lead to success, but we should never get so high on ourselves that we place ourselves above others.
- Take Action: The safe route often is mired in stagnation and mediocrity. All the planning, reading, and positive attitude are great, but without action, without definitive direction, it is useless in shaping the trajectory of your life. You must take action, sometimes it may feel like a gamble and you might even stumble in your efforts but every journey begins with a single step. People succeed because they applied to that job, they took that class and took the risk.
There are so many things you can do to improve your life, these are just the top ten I have highlighted that were effective in my life transformation. While I am nowhere near done, I can say that I am happy with how far I have come. Please feel free to leave your tips for success in the comments. I am excited to see your journey and hope these tips help.
