"To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all." -- Oscar Wilde
Life is hard, and there are challenges every day that make us want to curl up under the covers. There are bills that have to be paid, children to be taken care of, friends to hang out with, responsibilities at work, and these are just a few parts of someone's life. Life is chaotic and at times feels like it doesn't stop.
Most of us get stuck in routines. It can be a schedule on the fridge or something we subconsciously live out. We do the same thing day in and day out, and it feels "normal." There's a pinging somewhere in us that says, "Is this what you want for your life?" We hear the little voice, and because of how busy life is, we suppress it.
Oscar Wilde was right -- it's rare to "live." "Living" will not mean the same thing for everyone reading this. Some may want to be a parent; others may want to travel the world experiencing new cultures. Whatever "truly living" means to you, it's time to stop suppressing that little voice. Life is short, and there's no guarantee of a tomorrow, today is the right time to start a journey that you'll look back on later in life and smile about.
To get there -- to get to your "dream life" or whatever truly living means to you -- it starts with overcoming the hurdles that have or may be holding you back. You can overcome these five hurdles; it starts with making a choice: give up or keeping moving forward no matter what? I hope you choose the latter.
1. Lingering Self-Limiting Beliefs
Each of us struggles with doubt and fear. There are things we tell our self that keeps us from even thinking about what we want from our life. These self-limiting beliefs convince us that what we want to do in life is too hard or too crazy. Stop believing these beliefs and go for your dreams anyway. This is YOUR life, and you only get one of them. Make it count.
2. Listening to Negative People
Sadly in life, people who aren't happy with their life surround us. They have made it their mission to make everyone around them unhappy as well. Negative people will try to convince you that you'll fail and that you shouldn't even try. Their attitude and words are toxic and should be avoided if you're making to make big changes in your life. They can't see past their anger, but you can if you choose to purge them from your life.
3. Bad Habits
Forming good habits is the key to lasting change that leads to a life of truly living. Bad habits will keep you from having the mindset and taking the necessary steps to making changes in your life. It can be habits related to your health or mind, but the bad ones will keep you stuck.
4. Information Overload
When you want to make a big change, you start the journey with researching what you want to do. We have amazing access to knowledge, and it's possible to research anything you want to do in life. A problem can arise when all you do is research. You tell yourself you want to learn more before you act, and it keeps you from acting for years. You experience information overload and become paralyzed because you're not sure what to do first. The best thing you can do is learn and then implement. Don't learn something new until you've implemented the last bit of research. Taking action is the key to truly living.
5. Fear of Failure
The fear of failure is natural and something everyone struggles with. We don't want to look bad, and we have a hard time hearing NO. The thing to understand is that failure is an important part of life because it teaches us valuable life lessons. If you look at any successful person, they'll tell you they embraced failure because it meant they were taking action. Change your perspective on failure and view it as an important part of growing.
Once I conquered these hurdles, I radically changed my life. I lost 170 pounds, quit a job I hated and moved our family to Maui, Hawaii in a four-year period. I wake up every day doing what I love and truly living my dream life.
I didn't get any lucky breaks or win the lottery. I committed to doing whatever it took to overcome a life of existing. You can do this, too. It won't be easy, but it will be worth it to live instead of existing. If you start today, you're one more day closer. Focus on taking this journey to change one day at a time.
What big changes do you want to make in your life?
Photo Credit: Flickr/ Ian
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