In life we will all experience ups and downs, happiness and despair and opportunity and hopelessness. And at some point we’ll get stuck. Paralyzed by uncertainty that lies in front of us, we stop moving forward. We plan, analyze and try to predict. But we get nowhere because the future seems so complicated and uncertain. Stressed and anxious about an unpredictable and disorderly future, we stop growing and fall down a spiral of worry and hopelessness.
It is right then that I believe what really matters is that we keep moving forward. That we accept that life is not perfect and stop our overthinking simply move forward. It is a forwardly motion that creates positive energy within us leading us down a path we never expected that will make us feel better and help us realize our fullest potential.
I believe that within each of us lies great potential to make a positive contribution to the work we do and in the lives of those we love. Getting unstuck and learning to move forward is one of the most important aspects of living a full life.
These are four lessons that I learned to help me move forward in life:
1. You cannot control the chaos. You can only control yourself.
Resist trying to control everything that comes at you. Instead, just control yourself.
Your thoughts, your words and your actions are the only control that you really have. Focus your effort, your passion and your thoughts at controlling yourself and the actions you take.
2. It doesn’t matter where you came from. It matters where you’re going.
Don’t let your past hold you back. It doesn’t matter where you came from, what education you have or who your friends are. It doesn’t matter if you’ve failed in the past. What matters most is where you are going. What purpose you are pursuing. And whose life you are trying to change. Having a clear purpose of where you want to go in life can help pull you forward through anything.
3. Worrying about the future will get you nowhere
Spending so much of our time overthinking, over planning and trying to predict the future can often be a waste of time. The future doesn’t matter. Today does. The complexities of life make our predictions useless. Things change so fast that no matter how smart we are, we cannot accurately predict what will happen tomorrow. Redirect that energy into doing something in the here and now.
4. Possibilities begin with forward motion
The real possibilities of life are not necessarily found in thinking about a dream but working on your dream every single day, no matter how small of a step that might be. It is in energy devoted to your dream, your love, your craft and what mark you want to leave on the world. No amount of preparation or smarts can replace thoughtful action taken each day to live your life to the fullest.
Thank you for forwarding your trust in Life! Chaos always contains a new order of being! Kersti Gloersen & Lennart Loov
Delighted to hear from you. Thank you for writing, Kersti and Lennart.
-Bob Miglani
Your inspiration helped. in gratitude
Thank you, Heather. Best wishes.
-Bob
An interesting article, although I don’t share the subjectivism that underlies the recommendation “You cannot control the chaos.” In fact, there are plenty of things that you can control, such as where you live, where you work, whom you marry, what do you do in your spare time, how you invest your savings, and so on. I think that taking control of your own life is the first step for improving your future.
John,
I understand your point of view. In fact, what I say is that you cannot control the chaos out there, but you can control the chaos, ‘in here’. We can control where we live but cannot control our neighbors. We can control the seat we sit on in the plane but we cannot control the person sitting next to us or if the plane will be late.
For me, learning to focus on the things that I could control – my thoughts, my actions…these ought to be the things I should spend my energy on.
And I agree with your statement that taking control of our lives is the only way to improve the future.
Best,
Bob
Exactly what I needed to read this morning. I was starting down the spiral. I’ve now changed gears and am moving forward. Fabulous timing! Thank you.
Jacqueline,
Thank you and best wishes for moving forward!
Bob