Day #255: More Time Living

Living; it is more than just doing the same old. As human beings, it’s natural to constantly want control of things — in relationships, the workplace and with regard to matters of life in general. You can’t plan for life. I don’t care what anyone tells you. You can be the most diligent, prepared, disciplined person on the face of the planet, and things will still go wrong. At the end of the day, the only thing you can control 100 percent of the time is your own attitude. The only thing you can control is your reaction. And your attitude will determine how you react to all of the situations and people around you — so, by controlling that, you’ll inadvertently be putting yourself in a position of authority.

You can’t expect anything in life.

You just can’t. When you start to expect specific outcomes, you’re only setting yourself up to be let down. Instead of anticipating your destinations and taking them for granted, focus on the journey. Smile, remain positive and construct multiple plans. When one doesn’t work out, fall back on your ambition first, and then figure out your next course of action. I am not saying to not set expectations, but rather keep them lower (giving you a buffer) and do not put all your eggs in one basket… laying it down for a single expectation. Now, I understand higher risk = higher reward, but risks can be calculated, expectations become too precise and slip away from how you define a risk. Life’s a trip through uncharted waters — it doesn’t follow any certain course.

Striving for control will lead to limiting comfort zones.

While you might think control of life will leave you with a sense of security, it’s not always for the better. In many cases, a sense of control is reached by becoming a creature of habit. If you ever feel fully in control of your life, you’re probably not living it to the fullest. Shake things up. They say life begins once you leave your comfort zone, so that means life begins once you start to give up control. If you wish to maintain a sense of control., but also grow exponentially at the same time and move outside of your comfort zone. Then all you need to do is challenge yourself and take on something new. As long as it puts you outside of your comfort zone, then add this into your routine. Once your routine is once again handled, controlled and relaxed, you know you can grow again.

An attitude will take you further than control can.

You can have the perfect, most “foolproof” plan devised for the rest of your life, and it won’t guarantee you anything. Life has a habit of throwing us curveballs, and when it does, we’ll likely be forced to head back to the drawing board and figure something else out. And it’s not always with negative things, either. When you set your heart on one thing, you limit yourself to the other alternatives. Likewise, you can’t control opportunities. They come around without any rhyme or reason — the only thing you can control is how receptive you’ll be when they do. An attitude will take you a lot further than a sense of comfort, or control, will — as that comfort will only last until something unexpected occurs. See, attitudes aren’t situationally dependent. By aiming your attention to your attitude, you’ll set the tone for how you handle the unexpected.

Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude. – Thomas Jefferson

If you can spend more time on reacting and responding with the right attitude when the unexpected occurs, you will spend less time worrying about what can go wrong and how to live accordingly. Furthermore, if you control your attitude, you control your reaction and ultimately you will spend more time living.

Blog inspired by lifehack.org

Photo Credit: Instagram @_clfurlong_ | Location: Angkor Wat, Cambodia