We all have a different idea of excellence in life, because each is an individual with a unique experience. These experiences have influenced your vision of yourself and the world, your goals and your definition of success. Excelling in life does not always mean that everything will go as planned, that you will never know failure and will make all your dreams come true. Develop a realistic idea of what it means to you to excel in life. Create creative, flexible goals and a strong sense of awareness and security. It is also important to understand that being successful means doing your best.
Steps
Part 1 of 4: Deciding How You Would Like to Excel
Step 1. Make a list of personal ideals and values
Think about the principles, values, and moral attributes that are important to you. This can include being a good friend or having good health. It is about your vision of an excellent life. They are different from goals, because the latter are concrete actions that you can carry out.
Step 2. Make a list of all the ways you can excel in life
The first step is to understand what it means to you to excel, what your values are and the kind of life you want to lead. It can take time to answer all of these questions and decide what excelling in life really means to you. Try to create the broadest definition possible: short-term, long-term, big dreams and small successes.
- Purchase a diary or notebook to dedicate solely to your new outlook on life and what you plan to do to achieve it. Start with a list of all the ways you can excel, even the unrealistic ones. Write your greatest aspirations down to the simplest actions, like washing the dishes every day.
- You may find that your definition of excellence in life can start with small daily changes, be it your personal health, finances, career, family, love life, personality traits, becoming kinder or cultivating your own. friendships.
Step 3. Create a list of goals
Read the list of ways you can excel, then consider the list of values and ideals. Start figuring out how to align them. Which goals respect your vision of life and the kind of person you want to become? Group the ways you want to excel into categories, such as career goals, hobbies, health, family, and friendships goals.
Divide the items into long and short term goals. You may have a dream of being able to lift 120 kg, become a journalist or do the dishes every night
Step 4. Prioritize your goals
Now that you've started to clarify what excelling means for you, start prioritizing goals. Which of those in the long run would give you the impression of excelling in life? Which ones can you start achieving each day to feel like you are heading in a positive direction?
- To excel in life, it may be enough to interact with people kindly, become more organized, consider changes as an alternative career, or commit to spending more time with friends and family.
- The most important piece of advice for defining what it means to excel in life for you is to find out how to best express your true personality and what kind of life you want to have.
Step 5. Find models to follow
Your journal will become your personal source of inspiration and motivation. You may know people who inspire you because of their behavior, their strength and perseverance. Find a picture of them or something that reminds you of them and paste it in your journal. Be inspired by your models and remember what you want to become.
You can also consider famous people, such as musicians or athletes, who inspire you with their history, their actions, or whom you admire. For example, the Dalai Lama has been a symbol of peace for decades, despite the hardships he has faced. You don't have to become the Dalai Lama to remember his strength and attitude. This reminder can help you stay focused on the kind of person you want to become and the life you want to have. Think of those figures as sources of inspiration
Part 2 of 4: Pursuing Your Goals
Step 1. Adopt a flexible mindset about your goals
Let your ideas of excellence evolve with you. Turning your life into an excellent experience takes a lot of tries. You may think you want to achieve something, such as a prominent career as a lawyer, working 80 hours a week. But what will happen when you decide to have a family? Your values may change and your goals will vary accordingly.
For example, you may have always wanted to become a veterinarian. However, once you researched the necessary academic qualifications and medical skills, you found that you didn't want to work with animals that way. Using your journal, start exploring other careers in which you are in contact with animals. You could grow organic feed, work in a shelter, become a trainer, or host animals in your home. Learning to excel in life means really knowing yourself and being willing to reach your goals in a flexible way
Step 2. Periodically reevaluate your plan
Don't be afraid to make changes that align your projects with your definition of excellence. However, one of the most important aspects of having a rewarding life is resilience.
You may want to organize a movie night for the whole family, but you haven't been able to agree on the choice of film or some people have other commitments. For that day, you haven't reached your goal. You could change your plan by asking your relatives what they would like to do to spend more time with you. Or you could organize individual and non-group activities. Do not give up. On the contrary, reinvent, redesign and always start from scratch. Be resilient and focused on the finish
Step 3. Don't underestimate the little things
Make a list of little things you can excel at every day. This will help you feel like you are moving towards excellence. Eventually, you will need to be able to appreciate yourself enough to know that you deserve a rewarding life. In addition to career, money, family, YOU are there too!
Excelling in life can mean trying to laugh more, trying to be kinder in daily interactions, starting a realistic training program, eating better, or taking painting, golf, or dance classes. When you lead a life that feels authentic to you, you have achieved excellence. It may not take much
Step 4. Continue adding items to the list of ways to excel
Using your diary, keep expanding the list. Life is a journey and there are always new spaces to explore. You will continue to evolve and your definition of excellence will change, so take a flexible approach and listen to your intuition. Know the goals you are trying to achieve and don't be afraid to change direction if new ideas or thoughts occur to you.
Step 5. Create reminders of your goals
Remember the goals you want to achieve and the behavior you want to keep. Create posters or memos to hang in the office or at home.
Start a collection of motivational quotes on cards to keep with you. Collect quotes from the internet, books, movies and from your friends. They can be helpful when you feel discouraged or frustrated. For example, the quote "Courage is the rarest talent" can help you remember that leading a rewarding life is difficult, but very courageous
Part 3 of 4: Developing Self-Esteem and Confidence
Step 1. Write down your positive qualities
To excel in life, you have to desire it. You need to develop discipline, perseverance, resilience and ambition. The easiest way to develop these qualities is to learn to appreciate yourself for your skills, for courage, for valor, and to value your existence. Make positive affirmations by writing down all the qualities you think you have. Add as many items to the list as possible.
Review the list every morning when you wake up. If you create your life, then in order to become mentally and emotionally ready to commit yourself to excel, you must fuel your confidence until you believe in yourself. Celebrate yourself for the simple act of wishing for an excellent life
Step 2. Change your perspective on the negative issues in your life
You may have received negative messages in the past, from your childhood, social experiences or the society you live in. These messages can be much more ingrained than you think.
- Write down all the negative things that have been said to you or that you think about yourself. Think about that list for a while and start rephrasing the negative themes you notice. For example, we all make mistakes. Do you still feel guilt and shame for your mistakes? Did someone tell you that you were stupid or that you were worthless when you were little? Are you still tied to that thought in some way and do you allow yourself to be influenced?
- To excel in life, you need to start eliminating those negative messages and replacing them with positive ones. An example of this common mistake for many people is negative self-affirmations. Imagine you just accidentally dropped your keys. What's your first thought? Maybe you think "I'm so stupid I can't even hold the keys". If you are careful, you may find that you are being overly hard on yourself over the course of your days. In the race for excellence, you are the manager, the team and the captain. You need to start treating yourself as someone who deserves the excellent life you are building.
Step 3. Empower yourself
One of the main factors in making lasting and positive changes in your life is seeing yourself as a person who can bring about change. Take responsibility for who you are, what you do and your choices. Embrace the power of choice in your life and try to understand that you make decisions every day.
- Remove the word "impossible" from the dictionary. This term stops creativity and makes you feel stuck. However, it only serves to replace the real meaning of things. For example, you might say "It's impossible to speak French", while what you mean is "I can't speak French". When you say that something is impossible, you imply that there is no solution. If you say you can't do something, acknowledge that you have the ability to change the way you act or think.
- For example, you get up and go to work every day, but you HAVE to do it? Absolutely not. You can choose to stay in bed and lose your job. Choices have consequences, but it is very important to understand that you have the power not to be constrained by the things you feel blocked by. Will you decide to go to work? Yes, because you don't want to face the consequence of losing your job. It is still a choice. You generate the change and make decisions every day. Empower yourself by fully accepting the power you have.
Step 4. Maintain a positive outlook
Is the glass half full or half empty? Or is it just a glass with some water in it? Creating a life where you feel like you're excelling depends a lot on your perspective. Along with creativity, resilience and determination, your perspective on life and reality is crucial to giving you the impression that you are on the right path to mastering your life.
- Write examples of recent moments that let you down, then write how you felt. For example, maybe your baker business isn't doing very well. Is this a defeat for you? Does it mean that the universe is angry with you and that you will never be happy? Read the sentences you wrote. They could be absolute statements, like "I'll never get what I want. Nothing ever suits me."
- Try rephrasing those statements and internalizing a new point of view. For example, instead of thinking you've failed, try saying to yourself "There has to be another way of doing business, something different I can try, a different marketing strategy or maybe I need to explore a new business model."
- Try to notice if you get depressed without trying new points of view. To excel in life, you must consider it as an experience in which you will certainly achieve excellence, thanks to the infinite possibilities that await you and the healthy desire to explore them.
Step 5. Remember that you are doing your best
It is important to be kind to yourself and not too harsh. To build resilience, self-esteem, and awareness, you need to accept that things may not work out. To keep the flame of determination alight as you strive for excellence, you need to have a healthy mindset, one that pushes you to do the best according to the circumstances in which you find yourself.
- Always do your best regardless of the outcome. This way you will experience less stress and focus on the things you can control. This will help you feel more empowered, able to change your life and get rid of worries about the unpredictable elements. You did your best and that means excelling.
- Imagine your bakery is not a sustainable business. You've tried everything, made creative changes, and put your best effort into selling your bread. Even if you consider your path a failure, you have done your best and this is a success. You have learned a lot, using all your skills and qualities, another success. Have you tried something different, yet another success.
- Knowing that you have given your best and considering it a great result instead of thinking about the outcome allows you to keep trying new paths and trying to make the life you want.
Step 6. Appreciate the circumstances
Doing our best has a different meaning for each of us, based on the day, the situation and the context. If you are sick and have not completed a project according to your expectations, consider your state of health. You still finished the project and given your indisposition, you did your best. You couldn't get more and giving your all is always a reason to be proud of yourself.
Step 7. Keep a record of your successes
Write every day in a journal what were the best actions you completed. Have you had a difficult day at work where you felt misunderstood or blamed for something that went wrong? It's easy to feel embarrassed and ashamed, instead you should ask yourself, honestly, did I do my best? Write down everything you did well and the things you could have faced differently.
Part 4 of 4: Finding Support
Step 1. Surround yourself with positive people
Seek the support and encouragement of friends and family. Evaluate your personal relationships and see if they make your life better or worse. Respect yourself, remembering that you deserve to have healthy and supportive people around you. Excelling in life is a rather ambitious goal and to succeed you cannot ignore social interactions.
Step 2. Develop relationships with loved ones
To excel in life you need relationships that work and in which there is mutual support. Think about becoming a better friend, partner, or parent. Think about why people who love and care for you really matter to you.
It may be helpful to write down what you think about those people. Write down the help they gave you. Include your ideas on how to help and support them. This can lead you to identify concrete ways to strengthen your relationship
Step 3. Contribute to the community
Becoming a complete, balanced and aware person who excels in life also means doing your part in the community. Tune in to your empathy and compassion. Learn to show these qualities to others. Not only will you make a difference for those in need of help, but you will also benefit from it, thanks to increased self-esteem and learning about the world. Plus, you'll feel proactive and powerful.
