We all have a vision of what our life could be. Who doesn’t like to imagine the life they could be living if the world was not working against them? We see the perfect rendition of the way things are supposed to be, and we dream. The irony is that the dream of a perfect life is all in our head, and is sitting right beside the solution to moving your life in the direction of your dream existence.
We’re often warned about “getting what we want.” How many times have you gotten what you wanted, and then found that you didn’t want it anymore? Most things are not as great as they seem, and our current existence is usually not as bad as we think it is. There’s nothing wrong with looking for something better in life. It’s only important to remember that the journey toward your goals and the lessons you will learn in search of that mountain top will often bring you more satisfaction than reaching the goal.
In a sense, the goal is nothing more than an endpoint by which you plot your journey. Without goals, your journey turns into nothing more than a wander, and you never know where you’ll end up. Living life without goals is like playing Russian roulette with your life. It might be an exciting way to live, but the likelihood of things going bad certainly increases with each thoughtless pull of the trigger.
So, when is a better time than today to start to plot your course for your perfect life? Remembering that your perfect life is not a fantasy without limits, but rather a rendition of your situation that’s just beyond what you could ever dream for yourself. Reaching just a bit beyond your limits will help push you to do your best.
Of course, the important thing to remember is that once you’ve charted your course and made a plan, the horizon will change. In order to maximize your chances at reaching your goal, you’ll have to alter your plans accordingly. Planning is just the preparation needed to react to the changes that come at us on a daily basis. Once you stop planning, you start to wander.
What can you do today to take a step toward your perfect life? You’ll never change your life all at once. It’s too big of a bite. One little change each day can make a huge difference over time. When was the last time you made a positive change in your life for seven days in a row? Most of us can’t remember the last time we put two days of change together back to back. “Insanity” is often defined as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Why do so many of us live our lives the same way every day and expect that somehow things will be different tomorrow?
Change is sometimes hard. It can make life easier, but taking an affirmative move today to change from our normal routine can put us into a zone of discomfort and even be a little scary. There’s nothing wrong with being uncomfortable or being afraid, there’s only something wrong with not trying to make your life better. The time you waste today is time you could spend making your life better in some way. That’s time you don’t have to waste. Assuming I’m correct about you not having time to waste, why not start today?
No matter what you do today, a year from now, you’ll wish you’d done more. Why not take it easy on your future self and step up to the challenge? Make a change for the future today. Planning ahead is good for everybody, especially those of us way up in the CHEAP SEATS!
Bill James is a co-founder of the James Law Firm with offices in Little Rock, Conway and Fayetteville, Arkansas. His primary area of practice is criminal defense. He can be contacted at Bill@JamesFirm.com