Just jump into life. Decide the life you want to live, get some accountability, and structure your life in a way that has you finally excited to jump out of bed every morning!
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Complacency and comfortable misery might sum up this entire article, but there’s much more to it than that.
But why did I live in a space of comfortable misery for nearly a decade?
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I’ve had some down periods in my life where things were settling, and I had no real reason for challenging me; so it seemed. I know as a man that adventure and the chance to conquer defeat is ingrained in me, but I was caught in a groove of endless repetition living paycheck to paycheck.
For me, staying in a space of comfortable misery can only last so long. You cannot get me to a space of predictability where everything I’m doing is so monotonous, and nothing excites me. I will go nuts.
But why did I live in a space of comfortable misery for nearly a decade? Why was I living out of the expectations of others and not out of my dreams? Why did I put my dreams on hold?
It would seem this is what was going on; like I wasn’t living who I truly was. It’s as though I was living too small, but deep down something was boiling. Something wanted to come out; there was pressure building, and it was only a matter of time before the real me said, “Enough! I am not what the world says I am; I am who I decide to be and the life I decide to create!”
I can recount some behaviors that were evidence of me living too small. When you look at me now, you would never think that I was that kind of person, but I admit I’ve had my down times.
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Here are seven clues that might indicate you have a problem. And yes, it’s a problem if it robs you of your dreams and your freedom.
1. You prefer to stay in bed in the mornings.
Every day should be an adventure and every morning should find you jumping out of bed with excitement. If you find yourself prolonging your morning to wake up your days probably aren’t exciting.
2. Sofa, beer, and television sound like peace.
When you are spent and have nothing to look forward to, to do nothing and be served by whatever can numb your life is a vacation that will steal many years from you.
3. You pay more attention to the negative news than you do your personal development.
The world wants to pump us with negativity through all kinds of media, and if you’re hearing nothing but bad things there’s a good sign you’re letting the environment own you and not the other way around.
4. Nothing you do scares you; there’s no adventure.
Fear is usually an indicator that we are in the presence of great growth, so not jumping into life with that attitude you are hiding and never really taking a chance on how awesome you can be.
5. You do things because you don’t mind doing it.
Don’t do things because you don’t mind. Do things because you love doing it, and it makes you come alive.
6. You slack at taking care of your health.
You can look at this list and see what kind of unhealthy lifestyle this influences. If you don’t exercise or eat right, you are probably not living to your full potential, and you are probably starting to see those results in places like around your waste.
7. Your grass has too many weeds, and your car hasn’t had an oil change in months.
I was caught up in a broken record, and nothing seemed to work, so things were suffering as I couldn’t invest the time and energy that I wanted to into them. My life was just “on repeat” and nothing was happening.
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The layoff has both been the worst and best thing that has ever happened to me.
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It took a big a layoff for me to start adventuring on my own full time. The layoff has both been the worst and best thing that has ever happened to me, as it created struggles in my life I wasn’t used to. But yet it forced me to grow through those challenges and made me who I am today as a business man, a coach, a dad, and overall a better human being.
If this list is you, just know it’s not too late. You don’t have to wait for a layoff, or a life of heartache and struggle to live big; to be filled with life.
Just jump into it. Decide the life you want to live, get some accountability, and find a coach who can help you structure it all in a way that has you finally excited to jump out of bed every morning!
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Photo: Flickr/ Thompson Rivers University