Life's Simple Rules

"You must become the producer, director and actor in the unfolding story of your life." - Dr. Wayne Dyer

I think most of us have an idea of how we would like our lives to be. The type of people we would like to become. The things we would like to have, achieve, and accomplish in our lifetime.

Then life happens. We get caught up in where we are right now. We become inundated in the craziness of our day-to-day activities. And so, we let the rollercoaster of emotions and feelings take over. Life becomes complicated and begins to beat us down. We give in, and we give up. We find ourselves letting life happen instead of creating it the way we want it.

We must realize that this IS life. If we get caught up in it and lose focus, it will continue to be complicated. There will always be daily challenges. We will be consistently experiencing and battling change. These things will create difficulties and cause us to have doubt, bitterness, unhappiness, fear, sadness, and possibly low self-esteem; If we let them.

However, this is what we need to overcome. We need to believe we can and will do it. We need to open our eyes and see what we already know is right there in front of us. This is what life is about, and we can do something about it. Life doesn't happen TO us; it happens FOR us. Life isn't just about what happens; it's about what we take from it, what we learn from it, and who we become because of it. Most importantly, it is about what we do about it.

We can use our past experiences to live happier lives and help others live happier lives as well. Small achievable steps that can set your life in motion. We must have the mentality that "I can do it, and I can do it now."

Life's rules are relatively simple, just not always easy to implement. If we remember to live by them daily, we will live a happier life regardless of what is going on around us. Here is a list of some of what I consider to be "Life's Simple Rules:"

• We must believe that life is great and learn to live it to its fullest! 
• We must count our blessings and carry an attitude of gratitude and thankfulness in everything we do. 
• We must learn to appreciate the things around us and find joy in the little things. 
• We must remember that life happens for us, not to us.
• We must release the past, except for what we have learned from it.
• We must remember that everything happens for a reason and had served its purpose.
• We must learn that it isn't about what happens; it's about how you respond to what happens.
• We must take 100% responsibility for our life, for our thoughts, our choices, and our actions. 
• We must understand that we are who we are today because of the choices and actions we have made up to this point.
• We must love deeply, forgive quickly, take chances frequently, and give freely, with no regrets.  
• We must know that there is something to be cherished or to be learned from everything that happens.
• We must maintain a positive attitude and learn to find the positive in everything. 
• We must focus on what we can control, not on what we cannot. 
• We must believe in ourselves and in our dreams and dare to dream big. 
• We must know that if we desire more, we must do something about it. 
• We must step out of our comfort zone, take smart risks and challenge ourselves to achieve extraordinary things.
• We must realize that life's regrets aren't usually about what we did; it's usually about what we didn't dare to do. 
• We must set goals and take teeny-tiny, daily action steps toward achieving our goals. 
• We must embrace change, face our fears head-on, and always take action anyway. 
• We must not be afraid to fail, as failure is necessary to achieve success. 
• We must try, try harder, and try again.
• We must not give up; we must not give in.
• We must always give it our all and give it our best.
• We must seek opportunities to practice intentional acts of kindness daily. 
• We must learn to be courteous, respectful, patient, and share with others. 
• We must do our part to leave things better than we found it, always. 
• We must make time for the important people in our lives.
• We must laugh with others as much as we can. 
• We must smile often and learn to have fun and not take ourselves too seriously.
• We must do what we love and love what we do. 
• We must do more of what makes us feel good and stop doing things that don't benefit us.  
• We must listen to music that moves us, and sing and dance as often as we can. 
• We must take care of ourselves and our bodies.
• We must be ourselves, know ourselves, believe in ourselves, and be kind to ourselves.
• We must look to continuously improve ourselves in some way, shape, or form daily. 
• We must learn to live in the present and cherish each moment. 
• We must prepare for the future but not worry about what may unfold.
• We must understand that life is far too valuable and too short to be anything but happy, so we must make the most of it.  
• We must learn to live every day with purpose and on purpose. 
• We must strive to make the rest of our lives the best of our lives. 
• We must live the life we deserve because aren't we worth it?

Don't wait; start now. Make today great! 

Curtis

"The life you have left is a gift. Cherish it. Enjoy it now, to the fullest. Do what matters, now." - Leo Babauta