7 Things I Constantly Remind Myself Of

Real happiness comes from the journey, not the arrival

And upon arrival, what brings the most laughter are the reflections on the journey. So I can just as well enjoy the journey and make the most of it while I’m on it.

Don’t be a donkey

Many are the wishes and dreams of humans but he is not allowed to do all those things. Focusing on one thing per time has a way of abundantly rewarding him.

Don’t stop when you have failed

I actually call that “not stopping“. It’s a simple idea that even when what you’ve planned on doesn’t work, and you have failed on your schedule, don’t stop at making other attempts.

You planned to write every Thursday of the week in a month and you missed your second schedule. Don’t stop, just write on the following day. The act is more important than when the act is done. The world will reward you for doing before it considers when you do it.

It’s my responsibility

Yes, “many are the thoughts in the heart of a man but it is the will of God that will prevail”. Still, I remind myself that my life is my responsibility and it will become whatever I make out of it. If you like, believe something else like some forces beyond you is pushing you. The result of such life is that you don’t get past some level in life.

Taking responsibility for one’s life is a super power.

I don’t know what tomorrow holds

And it doesn’t matter how much I may try to predict tomorrow, it will always come with surprises. What I can do at best is to expose myself to more surprises so that I may have options.

Having the option to choose among different surprises is the only advantage I or you will ever have.

I can only be me

I will surely have a lot of things to admire in you and others. However, if I make any attempt to be like any or everyone else, I’d end up with a miserable life. Our conditions are different and so are our journeys.

Given enough time, things even out

If you are driven today with the fear of what people will say, you will learn that they are either not saying anything at all or they won’t say it for more than some time. With time, everyone moves on and I am the one to live with the consequences of my decisions. I can as well just never consider what people will say in my decision and just focus on regret minimization and happiness maximization.