Are you living your own life? Or are you living someone else’s life?
The questions above might seem simple, but they are important. After all, one of the most common lifetime regrets is “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.”
Many people just follow the crowd, though. They just follow the “safe” path. You are unique, one-of-a-kind, but it’s not easy to live your own life.
So how can you live your own life? Here are some tips.
1. Know Yourself
First of all, you need to know yourself. You need to know your personal strengths and causes. This helps you know the kind of life that you are supposed to live. If you don’t know what makes you unique, you wouldn’t know the kind of life that is yours.
2. Determine Your Priorities
Next, you should determine your priorities. What is most important to you? What do you value above anything else? Knowing your priorities helps you make decisions. Otherwise, you might just follow the crowd.
In my case, two of my priorities are balance and freedom. I use them to assess opportunities that come my way. If an opportunity doesn’t meet these criteria, I would reject it, even if it seems attractive.
3. Get Rid of Debt
Debt is a snare that could prevent you from living your own life. It limits your options and may force you to do things that you don’t like. For example, you might need to take a job that violates your priorities because you need the money.
That’s why I believe that being debt-free is essential. It gives you the freedom to live life your way. But being debt-free requires you to learn to be content and not to love stuff.
4. Build a Financial Cushion
In addition to getting rid of debt, you should build a financial cushion. Why? Because life could throw things at you that put you off balance. Your cushion helps you absorb these things.
5. Be Around Positive People
Community is essential because that’s where you can find people who support you. So surround yourself with positive people and be a positive person yourself.
6. Take One Step at a Time
Going after your ideal life might seem overwhelming, but you just need to take one step at a time. As long as you keep moving in the right direction, you will get there.
7. Review Your Life
Along the way, you should be careful not to get distracted. Review your life every now and then. Do you still follow your priorities? What about your debt and cushion?
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The tips above can help you live your own life. Life is too short to live someone else’s life, so do whatever it takes to live yours.
