If you feel lost and especially frustrated that your life is not progressing the way you want it to, I have one powerful tip that will help you break free from that frustration, a way to wake up each morning with excitement and purpose. It’s something that has transformed my life, and I’m eager to share it with you.
It sounds simple and straightforward, but I tell you, it works like magic.
Start a project. Have a game plan. Stay in your lane. Enjoy the journey and relish in the person you are becoming.
Personally, I am always in the middle of one project or another. And the mere thought and process of manifesting myself in the world through my work fills me with so much joy and belonging. When I make progress in my projects, no matter how small, it builds my confidence. I am a different person each day because I am advancing, as is my project.
I am sure you must be thinking, “How do I know what projects to take on in my life?” I have the answer for you.
A project, in dictionary meaning, more often than not, has a start date, an end date, and a goal. The project you choose should have all of these, but for your goal to fuel you with excitement, it should specifically enrich your life in all areas.
For me, I have broken down my life into the following areas, and I try to have projects and goals in each area at any given point in time. This helps ensure that I am moving the needle only in the things that are important to me.
Career – This is what we do for money. Some of us are stuck in jobs we hate, while others are fortunate enough to be doing something we love and getting paid for it. The focus here is that whether we like what we do or not, it keeps the lights on, and so we want to strive to do it the best way we can or preferably be able to change our career. Preparing and taking a certification that could advance your career or help you make the switch could be the exact project you need to get you excited about your job. In my tech field, I have made it a point to take one big certification yearly or learn something in a new domain. It has made me more valuable and more confident in my field.
Relationships – One of the greatest regrets of people towards the end of their days is that they wish they had spent more time with loved ones. In this area, you could plan a trip to a nice destination or even a recurring evening dinner or get-together with the important people in your life.
Health – “You have 1,000 problems until you have a major health issue, and then you have only 1 problem.” It is easier to be happy when your body looks and works right. It is our most valuable possession, but unfortunately, more often than not, we only get to acknowledge its importance when it is too late. I always have health goals ranging from keeping my weight, sugar, and cholesterol down to ensuring that I am getting 7+ hours of sleep each night and hitting the gym. I can tell you it is a hard journey to be on, but whenever I manage to stick to my plan, the reward is out of this world.
Finance – The greatest dividend of being financially independent is the freedom it gives us to control our time. In other words, money buys freedom. A financial project could be saving for retirement, or anything else that is meaningful, like a house, or a car. Watching your savings grow as you make sacrifices is incredibly rewarding. For me, I am all about achieving long-term financial independence because it provides us with the freedom to control our time. And the ultimate goal is to get to a point in my life where I am never required to work.
Mindset – Your resilience and your ability to excel in the midst of uncertainties in this life lie in the strength of your mind, which influences the way you see and approach life. It could be the difference between you being happy and miserable. One thing I have done in the last decade that has grown my mindset immensely and has almost made me unbreakable in a world full of uncertainties is reading. My preference has been non-fictional inspirational, self-improvement, biographies/autobiographies, and psychology books. These types of books help me experience the world through the eyes of people who have come before me. It is like having ancestors as mentors. Through books, I can get advice and guidance from some of the greatest people who have ever walked the earth. In one of my newsletters, I will make a list of some of the best books that have made the most impact on my life.
Skills – No one can ever take your skills away from you. Building your skills in a particular field, be it art, music, photography, programming, etc., affords you an opportunity to manifest yourself in the world and own your space. This has been known to be a great source of happiness and fulfilment. I sometimes tell people that if you drop me anywhere in the free world, I will be able to make a living because of all the skills I have acquired over the decades. Besides my career in tech, I have been a professional seamstress, writer, and photographer, and now I have been honing my digital marketing and content creation skills so I can grow my blog. It has been fun, I tell you. And for everything new I learn, it gets me pumped each time.
Purpose Project – Any project you feel the need to start to help you reach your self-actualization. For me, this blog/newsletter—‘Racing for Bliss’—is my purpose project. My goal is simple: to reach as many people as possible to show and inspire them to live a more successful and fulfilled life. Yours could be building a community of like-minded individuals to help foster an agenda close to your heart.
Pick one project and let it fill your days with excitement. Let it fuel you to own your space in the world, and trust me, you will be the better for it.
Reflection/ Try this today
- What projects have you always wanted to get started on?
- What is standing in your way?
- How will you feel in 5 years if you look back on your life and never got this project started?
- What would your life look like in 5 years if you started and completed this project?
