“If I have correct goals and I keep pursuing them the best way I know how, everything falls into line. If I do the right thing, I am going to succeed” – Dan Dierdorf.
By nature, human beings want life to be easy. Most of us feel envious when we see friends driving beautiful, fancy cars and living seemingly comfortable lives.
How we long to arrive at the destination, the so-called“easy or soft life”, without hard work.
The lazier we become, the further away we drift from the good life. Yes, we can all achieve what we want, and I believe that is what God intended for us all. But achieving your heart’s desires requires taking bold, right steps and decisions that demand a mindset change.
Personal development and self-growth require a change in your mind and belief systems. To achieve your goals, your attitude and mindset must be in sync.
This could be a great start for setting your year’s objectives and goals. The key thing is to start somewhere. Start now, and plan to succeed at whatever you intend to do. I believe that everything worthwhile is worth your effort.
If everything in life were easy to achieve or get, life would be very boring. We were designed to work, both physically and mentally, and that is what makes life worth living.
I have discovered that nature is neutral. God has blessed us with the same environment; we all have equal access to the environment.
No one on this earth can claim to have more or less than 24 hours a day; I have never heard of anyone who has more or less air.
We all experience the same conditions at a given time. We all tap into the same universal resources. We are all products of the same universe. We were all created in God’s image.
The difference, however, is how efficiently and effectively we use these abundant resources that God has given us.
The question one may ask is, how come life seems easy for some people? Well, I believe nothing comes as easily as it seems, and let me say this: life is never easy.
All good things come at a cost. You must be willing to pay the price before you begin to reap and enjoy the rewards. I know that to live a happy and successful life, you must be willing to pay the price and disciplined enough to delay gratification.
Most of us want to live in the now, not the future. We do not want to delay gratification. We spend every coin we earn as if there is no tomorrow.
Even the so-called easy life is not as easy as it seems. It may look easy from the outside, but it is not what it seems.
I remember my early working days, when we used to envy our friends who worked for bigger and “better” corporate organisations.
We all would be saying, “If only I worked for that organisation, life would be easy”. Yet the people working for the same organisations would be looking elsewhere.
Condition Your Mind to Start Working
Everything good is worth working for. It feels very nice to work for something and enjoy the benefits.
It gives me great pleasure when I achieve a target. I feel joy, and my mind is motivated to work even harder. It is, therefore, very important to set achievable goals so you keep a positive mental attitude.
However, failure should not be an obstacle; it should be viewed as a challenge to overcome. It should be a learning process.
Every day of our lives, we constantly push ourselves to achieve targets. You may not realise it, but every day of your life you are achieving a target; this could either be positive or negative; the choice is yours.
You need to prepare your mind for success. Preparing your mind for success is important, as it will also help you grow with your success.
This will require deliberate steps to condition your mind. If need be, you may have to change your friends or get out of some bad relationships. Yes, I mean change your friends.
Not all relationships are actually beneficial; some can be very detrimental. You may also need to move to a new location.
Over time, I’ve had to make some drastic changes to my lifestyle. I have had to reduce my inner circle. This has helped me a great deal.
I am more focused on what I do. Believe me, some relationships can distract your progress; the sooner you identify them and make the necessary change, the better.
It may be difficult for you to make drastic changes right now, but if you are serious about shaping your future, find a way to adjust. Don’t let friendship hinder your progress.
Your mind plays a key role in determining your overall progress in life. What you feed your mind daily matters. The Bible says, “For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”
If you hang around people with a positive mental attitude, you will most certainly have a positive attitude; the opposite is also true.
Everything that you do or want to do in life begins in your mind. Your mind is, therefore, the workshop or the engine room for everything.
Do you realise that everything man makes was first conceived in the mind? This is how important your mind is.
Besides hanging around with positive-minded people, you can also start reading books and listening to audiotapes that will positively impact your mind.
Make a deliberate habit of changing your mind, and take action every day. Every small step you take counts towards your destiny.
There is No Easy Route
Once you have started pursuing your goals, learn to be patient with yourself. You will keep on failing and falling. When you fall, you must get up. When you fail, it is time to learn a new skill.
Every new skill or habit takes time to execute with minimal effort. Keep learning from your mistakes and be open-minded to make the necessary changes.
Most of the younger generation are in the habit of cutting corners, especially when it comes to financial freedom. They want to start climbing the tree from the top instead of learning the ropes.
Believe me, it is not worth it. I haven’t found an easy route to success that lasts. Ever since I started doing what I love most, it hasn’t been easy.
Yes, I enjoy it, but the journey hasn’t been easy. I have enjoyed both dry moments and good ones. What keeps me going is that I enjoy writing and believe these articles help someone.
I am still very much a work in progress, but I am impressed with my progress so far. The more I write, the more satisfaction I get.
From my studies and personal experience with self-growth and improvement, I have learned that cutting corners only yields short-lived happiness.
If you want long-lasting happiness, resolve to do the right things. You will have peace of mind for the rest of your life. The small things that I have achieved so far through hard work make me feel over the moon.
They may be small, but they actually count a lot to me. After all, success is the sum of the small things we accomplish every day.
I am not in any competition or race with anybody, so I will move at my own pace.
If something is worth its salt, then it is worth your sweat. Everything is always difficult the first time.
Conclusion
Everything in life is hard before it’s easy. They say that it takes 21 days to develop a new habit. If habits can be learned, then they can be unlearned.
You can use this theory to replace unproductive habits with ones that help you grow as an individual.
The Bible says “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” – Philippians 4:7.
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” – Proverbs.
Because our minds are critical to our personal development and self-improvement, it is important to learn to guard your mind and heart.