Living by simply reacting to everything that happens around you could be considered as “living by default” or “living on luck.” Living a life of reaction is stressful and dissatisfying. People who choose to live this way only have access to random events. They’re primarily driven by pain and avoid creating their own opportunities.
On the other hand, creating your life is more assertive, satisfying, and controllable!
Consider these ideas to create your life instead of reacting to it:
1. You’ll know you’re reacting if the quality of your life fluctuates between poor and tolerable. This is the telltale sign of reacting.
- You’ll leap into action when your comfort falls below a certain standard. You’ll work hard to bring it back up to a tolerable status. Then you’ll relax again, only taking further action when the situation becomes dire once more.
2. Failing to choose a direction for your life is choosing to fail. Without a chosen endpoint, there is no intention. Without intention, you’ll get whatever happens to come your way. People with wonderful lives didn’t get there on accident. Be brave enough to choose a path and stick with it.
3. Discover the power of visualization. Visualization is powerful on multiple levels:
- Visualization forces you to determine what you want. You must make a choice before you visualize anything.
- Visualization keeps your objective fresh in your mind. It serves as a reminder of what’s important to you. This reminder will help you to spot related opportunities when they present themselves.
- Visualization makes your objective believable. Imagining success over and over trains your brain to believe that it’s possible. You only need to spend five minutes each day visualizing your desired outcome. Everyone has five minutes to spare.
4. Know the difference between action and reaction. With action, you’re moving toward a chosen reality. When you’re reacting, you’re being stimulated by the current reality. Reaction seeks to bring the situation back to “normal”. Action is taken with the intention of creating a new reality.
5. What could be more fulfilling than creating a life that inspires and excites you? Reacting to life consists of solving one problem after another. Who wants to spend a life doing little more than dealing with unnecessary challenges or passively waiting for the next issue to appear? Living this way invites stress and uncertainty. Create the life you want, instead!
6. It won’t happen automatically. There’s been too much emphasis lately on the idea of allowing the universe to deliver the results you desire while you wait patiently on the couch. Maybe you know someone who woke up one morning to a brand new Porsche in their driveway, but it’s unlikely.
- When you’re clear on what you want, you’ll have the opportunity to take inspired action to get it. You’ll notice opportunities to be successful and make the most of them.
7. Respond to challenges rather than reacting to them. Instead of just reacting to the issue at hand, avoid future reoccurrences. Most of the challenges you have today are the same ones you’ve faced numerous times in the past. Create a solution and a plan for prevention. Making the same mistake repeatedly is silly and unnecessary.
Decide today to choose the type of life you’d like to enjoy. Remind yourself of your choice by visualizing it regularly. Take advantage of the opportunities that you notice. Avoid living by default and create the life you desire and deserve!
