8 tips on how to find Direction in Life and enjoy the journey

If you would like to discover the path in life that will make you feel happiest and most fulfilled, following in the steps of those who’ve achieved this, is a sure recipe for success.

People who are both happy and successful, adopt certain habits and principles which form the bedrock for their achievements.

The Habits of Happy Successful People

1. Discover Your Passion and Live it: Some people are born lucky and know from an early age exactly what they want to do with their lives. For most of us, this is not the case. The good news is, no matter how old you are, with the right approach you can turn your life into one that really makes you happy. When you are on the path that gives you purpose and meaning, happiness is an automatic by product.
2. Don’t Drown Your Instinct with Negativity: They key to finding your passion is to listen to your inner spirit, instinct or voice (whatever you wish to call it). This is the part of you that often goes “oh I’d love to do that” or “I’m curious about this”. Many of us are used to putting this part of ourselves down by saying to ourself “but… it’s too late, I’m too old, it would be too difficult, I’m being silly, it would be too scary” etc. Listening to your “instinct/spirit” will lead you towards what will really give you satisfaction and fulfilment.Here are some strategies you can adopt to unlock your potential and support your progress:

List Your Values: Make a list of personal values. Values are the ideals you believe in and when you live by these ideals, you experience a sense of happiness and peacefulness inside. For example, honesty, adventure, creativity etc. Use these as your tuning fork to help keep you aligned with what really matters to you.

Start Dreaming/Imagining/Exploring: Allow yourself to dream about the things you would love to do. Write down a list of all the things you like. Create a scrap book full of words and images about things that grab your attention. As you explore the things that interest you, notice which ones get you excited or wanting to find out more. This signals that these are areas to focus on.

Start Experimenting: Find ways to connect more with the areas that interest you e.g. read books by people who have done what you want to do, check out websites and blogs and see what steps they took to get there.

Develop Habits of Success

1. Take Small Steps Forward: As you take small steps in the direction of the areas that interest you, you start to build a firm ground of experience. If you try to take steps that are too big, too soon, the “but” habit can start kicking in: “but…. it’s too hard, too late etc…” and you can find yourself pulling away from what you want and back to what the “but” habit considers “safety” which means staying stuck where you are. Great change is built upon small steps, take them seriously and give respectful gratitude to yourself for each one taken.
2. Practice Positivity: Considerable research demonstrates that positive thinking and visualisations powerfully strengthen personal success. You need to constantly encourage yourself along the way. First thing in the morning and last thing at night visualize yourself having achieved the outcome you want and get your feelings aligned with your visualisation. Practice feeling happy and satisfied as you visualise yourself doing what you want.
3. Never Give Up: People who achieve what they want in life, simply refuse to give up when things are difficult. They all report that, when things became most difficult and success seemed hopeless, their refusal to give up meant, success arrived shortly thereafter. So even if you feel really stuck at the starting point of your journey, or if on the road success seem out of reach, don’t give up! Use positive thinking to support you and remind yourself the outcome you want is happening right now and it will happen, just not always the way we expect it to, so keep an open mind.
4. Have Positive Support: There will always be people who will tell you that, what you want can’t be achieved or is very risky etc. If successful people believed those who doubt we would not have electricity, computers and many of the incredible wonders of this century. Surround yourself with people who give you praise and support. If those around you are not supportive keep your ideas to yourself, work on them and seek out like minded people who will be able to encourage and support you on your way.
5. Problems are Opportunities for Learning: When you meet a challenge, always remember that problems are an opportunity for learning. Thomas Eddison experienced 10,000 failures before he discovered how to create the light bulb. Before his discovery he stated “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
6. Practice Gratitude: Successful, fulfilled people consistently practice gratitude for all they receive in life. Make it part of your daily practice to be grateful for 10 things each day. Give thanks for your health, your eyesight, a person who helped you etc. – keep it simple and keep it up. Gratitude practice draws more good things into your life.

Feeling Stuck?

Sometimes when we are trying to make changes in our lives, despite all our efforts we seem to get stuck and the changes we would like to achieve continue to be out of reach. At times like this an experienced career coach or career counsellor can help you out of the stuckness, so you can regain your momentum, armed with new strategies that help you remove any future blocks and move confidently towards your goals. To learn more about how we can help you at KlearMinds click: Life Coaching or career coaching.

Wishing you the best of success
Go for it
Happiness & Fulfilment is there for you!

*”Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net”