Live Your Life to The Full
Live Life
There are many things that amaze in Life, the caterpillar that turns into a butterfly, a shooting star streaming across the dark sky, the endless blue sea... The one thing that seems to take centre stage for me is Time. Everything, nomatter how grand they may be are not as overpowering as time. Ever moving, ever in control, everything revolves around it: our work, personal lives, nothing escapes its grasp.
We are all given the same time in a day and year to make something out of it. Time moves fast, if we are not deliberate about how we spend ours we are likely to waste it. Here are 3 things you can look out for to ensure this year won't just slip away as does water in our hands...slow and sure.
1. Goals
No masterpiece is ever created without a plan. Before the effort is expended and the money invested, a blueprint is crafted first. Not because of lack of prowess, artistry or finance but to ensure their effective deployment. The most magnificent building was at first a thought, then a plan drawn to scale upon a paper. Great things are planned things, if we are to create lasting monumental works, we should be intentional about our actions, what we want to do and where we wish to end up. If you don't have a destination, any road will take you there. Plan your work and work your plans.
By the same token, make it a point to have a plan for the month, week, and day. This is not at all easy, but as is the law with everything- practice makes perfect. You can't master it until you do it over and over and you can't do it over and over unless you are willing to pay the price. Some days you may forget, keep at it! Until you master this one thing your days will drift away from your grasp without you having fully utilised them.Plan your day, Seize the day!
2. The Pareto Principle
The Pareto principle is one that has made waves for decades upon decades. If understood and applied, it may radically change your life. In 1906, Pareto, an Italian economist found out that only 20% of his country's population owned 80% of the resources. After that other scholars found out the same ratio in other areas of life and eventually came up with the principle of "The Vital few and trivial many." which was later named after Pareto. Here, it was discovered that 20% of work done produces 80% of the results. In any field of endeavour, this has been proven to be true. Only 20% of our actions produce 80% of our results, consequently leaving the remaining 80% of the work to produce only 20% of results.
It revolutionises and cements the simple overlooked idea of prioritising our actions. It calls us to strike only where we inflict the most damage, to infuse ourselves in that small part that produces the bulk of results. It is astounding to see how haphazard we live and act, all the while not doing the "Vital few tasks that will create the greater chunk of our success and being probably stuck on the trivial many things that pays the least dividends in terms of results.
Sit down today, look at your plans, figure out which tasks have the highest return. Even if they are the hardest, you're better off expending your energies on it, for by so doing you are guaranteed of a favourable result. Never let your time be wasted on trivial issues, be occupied with the highest. Time waits for no man, always use it to achieve the best you can- for the days will come when you'll look back and curse yourself for plundering it on worthless pursuits. Prioritise your actions and improve your life.
3. Excuses.
We all have them, and probably love them. They save us from personal guilt. They cushion us from our conscience and validates our actions and inaction. Excuses calm us when we have messed up. They are those small silent thoughts that say, "It wasn't your fault anyway", or something like "What could you have done, he was to blame...not me."
Excuses point fingers. Excuses deny responsibility. Excuses take from us the power to change our situations. It makes us victims and whiners. We end up accusing others, the system or whatever we can instead of taking charge of our lives and make it into what we want to see. Everytime we block ourselves from solving problems, we are killing our creativity and ingenuity. Running away from the responsibility of our actions will keep us stagnated. They will remain as they are until we act, until we face our challenges and stop scheming who and what to blame for our misery.
Promise yourself that you will not shy away from your responsibilities. Always remember that the solace we take in excuses always comes back to us in the misery of non achievement. If you want it, by all means go for it. Entertain no words that will stop you from achieving it nomatter how sweet they sound. Today, cast away all your excuses, take responsibilty for your life and begin to run your race.
To a great year and life...
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