Successfully Navigating Life
“Adventure is worthwhile.” -Amelia Earhart
I was talking with a friend recently about navigating life successfully. She said that life would never be fair. I agreed and suggested that fate was actually fairly indifferent. That may strike you as being a bad thing; I think it is actually a good one. If fate were balanced one way or the other, we might find ourselves in trouble. Because fate is disinterested, the difference between enjoying life and suffering through it is entirely up to you. Success tip number one: Your experience of life is just as you perceive it.
Think about how freeing this is. Rather than having to rely on some mysterious outside influence, you have the ability to change your own fate. Your experience of the world is located primarily in your own mind. What you focus upon determines your reality. This is true whether you realize it or not. At this moment millions of things are happening in the world around you. To make sense of so much information, you must filter it. You must decide what you’re going to focus on…and this makes up your reality. Success tip number two: Since your experience of life is what you perceive, it is up to you to define that experience.
Change is an inevitable part of everyone’s existence. Some folks think this is fine and they flow with the ongoing changes while adapting to new ideas, situations and opportunities provided. Other folks think this is awful and defy the inescapable changes while resisting new ideas, situations and opportunities. Both types of people grow, although the first group enjoys the process much more. Success tip number three: Define your experience of life to ride the waves of change rather than drown in challenges.
I have recently been reading the correspondences between Random House co-founders Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer during World War II. Each man responded differently when the war began. Bennett stayed in New York and managed the company while Donald chose to join the army. Both men dealt with the challenges expected from a nation fully committed to war. One of them had to fight fires caused by wartime shortages and a reduced staff; the other traveled around the US and Europe and got involved with war planning. Success tip number four: Riding the waves of change will allow you to embrace new adventures.
When I was in Honduras a few months ago, I visited a girl’s orphanage where they spoke very little English. During the visit, some of the girls insisted that I explain the English words for items in their English/Spanish picture book. Then they started teaching me the Spanish words. At the end of the evening, they made me promise to learn more Spanish for my next visit. As a result, I have been listening to Spanish tapes and have enrolled in college Spanish class. I had always resisted taking foreign languages, but this event changed my whole perspective. Now I want to learn it! Who knows what opportunities I’ll have once I learn the second most popular language in the world? (Note: English is the third most popular language; Chinese is the first.) Success tip number five: accepting “change adventures” produces exciting new opportunities!
As you embrace opportunities new avenues of growth open along with new challenges. You may think challenges are something to be avoided. In the conversation with my friend that I mentioned at the beginning of this article, she noted that growth sometimes hurt. While this is true, you’re going to encounter growth challenges whether you want to or not. A wonderful aspect of embracing change and taking control is that you get to have a hand in selecting challenges. Success tip number six: challenge is the doorway to growth; accepting responsibility for this allows you to guide the direction of your future success.
Have a great month!
