Image by: Hans
By Dave Andrews

Today, I want to share with you one little secret of mine. When I was in my freshman year of college I struggled with one of my subjects, Philosophy 1. It’s basically an introduction to the course to gain insights into questions about knowledge, reason and meaning. I hated it, and to me it was the most boring class in the world! And what made it worse was that I ended up with a very strict professor who also had a reputation for being weird.

My little secret was that I failed the subject so I had to retake it. It was the only course I failed within my entire academic record. I didn’t finish it and dropped it right after midterms.

However, there was one thing that my professor mentioned in one of her lectures that I couldn’t forget. She said, “There’s no right or wrong. There are only consequences.” I was only 17 at the time and I found the statement to be nonsense and just plain ridiculous.

But now that I’m older, I wished I had paid enough attention to those words so just maybe I could have made more sensible decisions and created more progress in my life.

In line with that, I came up with some steps that you can take to improve your knowledge of life, open your eyes to see what’s truly important and help you build your life around it.

Change Your Outlook for the Better

By simply keeping a positive mindset, you can put yourself in a better position and eliminate stress that is restricting you from achieving your full potential.

You can choose to shift from judging your life to actually living it by keeping your mind uncontaminated in a negative world.

Writer Matt Duczeminski strongly recommends doing these things:

• Accept that you simply cannot control everything
• Actively look for good things that are happening around you
• Be productive with your time by doing activities that promote self-improvement
• Be with people who build you up and keeps you focused on being the best that you can be
• Realize how much there is in your life that you have to be thankful for

Take Responsibility of Your Own Life

Many people are so allergic to and intimidated by the word “responsibility” whenever they encounter it. But no matter how much you hate it, it doesn’t change the fact that it is one of the most crucial elements for your own personal growth and freedom.

Taking responsibility of your own life is all about relying on yourself, accepting the consequences of your actions and learning from it. It also means utilizing your ability to motivate yourself so that you can take the initiative and get things done on your own.

In the piece “Become a Self-Starter: What the US Marines Can Teach You About the Skill of Motivation,” writers Brett and Kate McKay explains how lack of initiative can make you paralyzed.

When you don’t make use of your ability to motivate yourself, you will become incapable of reaching your dreams and goals. You will always tend to rely on others to tell you what to do and to guide you in your life. Hence, you become incapacitated to make decisions for yourself and unable to be on your own.

So, cultivate a sense of autonomy and believe that you have the ability to make things happen.

Be Careful Who You Let Into Your Circle

Look for relationships that will bring you joy and inspire you to become a better person. Be with the type of people who will cheer you up when you’re down, who will celebrate with you and be genuinely happy for you when something good happens in your life. And by all means, avoid unhealthy relationships that are contaminated with jealousy, envy and competition.

To help you improve your new relationships, writer Taryn Brooke suggests avowing these 6 dating mistakes.

Add Value to Your Life by Becoming an Inspiration to Others

Aside from aspiring to do satisfying work, you can set a positive example for others by staying fit, taking care of yourself and hustling hard towards a better life. Motivate others not only through preaching but by backing it up with action. In short, walk the talk.

If you want to inspire others and encourage them to live a healthy lifestyle, then you should make sure that all these health issues are in check or else you won’t be a credible mentor.

Guys, these tips that I shared with you today will be useless if you don’t take action. The ability to build your life, create wonders, and shape your future is in your hands. So, you better start working on these golden rules to fulfill even your wildest dreams.