How can you remain positive and enthusiastic about life despite the challenges that are presenting? Many people are damaged from their life journey so far, as well as from the turmoil they see happening ‘out there’ in the world. The key to remaining positive is to strengthen your inner being so that you can live a self-directed life with purpose and meaning.
Let’s explore.
Living At Cause Or At Effect
You have two choices when it comes to how to live your life and how you view the world. Your choice determines your success at the game of life, and how resilient you are.
- Firstly, you can live ‘at cause, which is living a self-directed life with a purpose and vision, one that is meaningful and fulfilling for you.
- Secondly, you can live ‘at effect’, where you drift through life at the mercy of external forces, and the expectations or demands of other people.
I suggest that living ‘at cause’ is the better choice and I will share practical tools and concepts to help you with this. These tools have worked for thousands of people around the world, so I am confident that they will help you too.
Where To Focus Your Attention
There are almost 8 billion people on this amazing planet Earth. All of them are going for what they want in life. Some play a win-win game, others play win-lose and many play hard ball. Do the activities of others causes turbulence and challenges for you? It is quite possible. Could you view some of their activities as negative? Absolutely.
As a metaphor, imagine that the activities of other people are creating stormy waters. If you feel seasick because of the rough waters, where should you look? At the waves – or the bottom of the boat? No, that will make you feel worse.
Look at the horizon – the stable data point.
Your Life Horizon
Now imagine what you want to see on your life horizon – what do you want to achieve, with whom, where and why? You need a vision of what your ideal life looks like.
Here are some strategies and activities to help you.
The Lagoon And The Outer Reef
Imagine a coral reef. In the lagoon of a reef, the water is calm but the coral is dead. The vibrant and colourful coral is on the outer reef where the waters are rough. Are you going to stay inside the lagoon or sail out into the rough water? If you want an exciting and fulfilling life, you must go out into the rough water.
Many people decide to play it safe and stay in the lagoon. They live life ‘at effect’. They do what their family, friends, culture and society say they ‘should’ do. Living life this way though will not keep you focused, upbeat and positive when life is challenging, or give you deep feelings of fulfilment. What do you choose?
Purpose
What is your life game, your purpose and mission in life?
Imagine that money is no object – what would you do with your life? What is your passion? In my experience of doing this exercise with thousands of people around the world, when money is out of the way, most have a desire to help other people or help the planet – or both.
Spend time thinking about this – your inner source of life passion and positivity. What you came here to do.
Create A Life Vision
The next step is to draw a graphical vision of your life (a picture is worth a thousand words) and place it somewhere that you can see it every day. Whenever the vibe ‘out there’ seems negative – as it will at times – look at your graphical vision, your stable data point and it will help you to recalibrate.
Top 5 Tips
Staying positive and focused on your life vision, especially in challenging times, takes grit. It takes physical, emotional and mental strength – and a strong spirit. To help strengthen you for the game of life, I encourage you to:
- Maintain your physical health and fitness
- Meditate for mind fitness.
- Manage and process negative emotions.
- Learn to tap the power of intuition – your inner satnav to keep you on the right path.
- Be persistent – never give up.
And go for it!
About The Author
David Powell is an international life skills mentor, author, and executive facilitator. He is the founder of The Golden Thread and the Life Journey Skills program.
Born in the UK, David gained a first-class honours degree in chemical engineering from Edinburgh University and then worked in the resources and IT industries for 24 years. Realizing that his passion lay in empowering people, he became a business skills trainer, facilitator, and mentor. Over almost three decades, David has helped individuals and teams in hundreds of organisations, across thirty countries and five continents to improve their lives and business performance.
After finishing university, David spent a year driving a Land Rover overland from the UK to Australia and became fascinated with the different belief systems, religions and cultures that he encountered. These travels were the genesis for his lifelong research into history, religion, gnostic wisdom and psychology to discover how to best empower people. The result is his unique ability to synthesise the latest scientific thinking and the ancient wisdom that sits behind all religions to address to inspire the whole person – body, mind, emotions and spirit.
In his online Life Journey Skills course, David teaches essential life skills that empower people to thrive at life, relationships, career and business.