5 Reasons Why You Aren’t Living Your Best Life

While I recognize that I don’t have all of the answers and I make plenty of mistakes, I understand that when I’m working at my very best I’m practicing certain behaviors that result in positivity. The same is true for the opposite. After years of working in the counseling sector, I’ve found that these five things are major contributing factors in whether or not someone is truly successful.

1. You’re not effectively controlling the things you can control. Of course you won’t get to determine the weather or whether or not you’ll get stopped at every green light, but you can decide on something as simple as what you put in your body on a daily basis. You have the ability to take ownership over yourself including your thinking processes and emotions. Whatever you can control, begin doing so consistently and with precision. Many times when you’ve done everything you can, it makes it a little easier to accept the things that are beyond your control.
2. You don’t speak the language of success. It is often said that prior to many successful people becoming successful, they spoke to themselves as if they had already reached their goals before it ever manifested in their reality. Many of us find ourselves speaking in a defeated manner or attempting to validate why we aren’t aggressively pursuing our dreams and/or completing our goals. The more you hear and say something, the more you will believe it. The more you believe something the more you will begin to see it. Each of these things eventually pushes you to begin to work harder at whatever you’re believing (this works for the negative and the positive).
3. You aren’t valuing your time appropriately. Once a day is completed, you will NEVER see that day again. Did you waste any of your time or even worse someone else’s? The truth of the matter is that it is easier to make excuses than doing the work. I get that things come up that need to be addressed, but often we give priority and urgency to those things versus our own goals and aspirations. Everyday you wake up is a day to work towards your goals. The amount of time will vary, but if you aren’t doing the work you don’t want it badly enough. Take ownership of your time.
4. Choice. Living your best life speaks more about mental capacity than actual reality. If you want to enjoy life, then do it. It doesn’t have to be when you have the house you want, or get a new job, or even the right relationship. Yes you are experiencing life (the good, the bad, the ugly), but life has many hidden gems that can be encountered daily.
5. You aren’t producing greatness thus you aren’t getting greatness in return. Whatever you offer life, you get back. An orange tree yields oranges because it is the product of an orange seed. If you desire to see something in return, you must first be able to offer that as a “seed”. What do you do on a daily basis that demonstrates greatness and/or excellence? The effort you put will determine your results.