We’ve all probably gone through a point in life when some of the things we possess and the people we are now were nothing but just dreams – dream job, career, car, house, personality, and family…you name it. It is good to dream. It gives our lives direction, sets the pace for us, and also gives us a reason to wake up every day and make choices as to what makes it to our daily schedule. You are here now, you have worked hard for everything and you have what you once dreamt of. Now what?
Some believe that they have not achieved much in life and they wonder if things will ever get better for them. They have tried to study, tried to start families and have tried to find jobs, but regardless of their efforts, nothing seems to work. Often times, people tend to give up their big dreams and choose to play small when things do not go their way. The question is; how much do you gain or lose by giving up? What is the long-term plan as you settle for playing small?
It is important to keep in mind that life changes and very fast. We need to ask ourselves if we are likely to be happy with who we are now in the following years. If all that mattered to you was to have a degree, ask yourself if it is still going to be useful in the years to come. Sometimes the business world and the value of the career you wanted so badly can change while you are still doing your studies. What would be your way forward? When things do not seem to work the way you had planned, how can you still make it possible to reach your goal?
Getting what you have always wanted should not be your destination. Failing to have things go your way shouldn’t the end of the road to the life you have always dreamed of. You will need to make changes in your life and plans by introducing new methods and ideas to maintain and improve what you have achieved, find another way to reaching your goals, and also to stay relevant. Here are some areas of our lives we need to continuously develop.
1. Career – as mentioned previously, the business world is dynamic. This requires continuous development to be able to keep up with the changes. We need to develop our skills or learn new ones and gain more knowledge through researching, attending seminars, taking up short courses, learning from our mentors et cetera. Failure to keep developing can put our careers at risk. People are being laid off from work while for some new opportunities come up daily. Would you survive in highly competitive industries? What are your chances of being picked from a group of other skilled workers?
2. Business – The business world is highly competitive in nature. Therefore, it is crucial that you keep your customers satisfied through delivering according to expectations as well as introducing new trends in your line of work to avoid losing customers to new players. Pay attention to innovative ideas from employees, introduce new products and services, pay attention to the customers' wish list, and market your company well.
3. Pursuing goals – pursuing goals requires us to keep growing. As mentioned previously, sometimes we fail so many times and end up settling for less than we had planned. Even if life leads us that direction, we still need to take baby steps towards our initial goal. If we learn to manage well the little we have, it can grow into something bigger than what we had in mind. Even where we have succeeded without a struggle, we should keep growing and not wait for life to force us to move.
4. Personality – one of the most important parts of a human being is their personality. You should strive to have the personality that matches the life you want be it in the professional or social environment. To continuously develop your personality, it is important to learn from your mistakes and grow from them. However, we should not wait until we make mistakes in order to develop our personalities. Self-checks can help us identify what we or others do not like about our characters and make changes where necessary.
5. Family and relationships – families and relationships need as much attention as we give to other aspects of our lives. We should always check if our spouses or partners and children are happy. As things change around us, things change for our loved ones too. As a result, we need to keep developing our relationships with them and find new ways to help strengthen the bond. Children grow and each of them has a different personality. Relationships with spouses or partners change with time. We need to stay conscious of these changes and adapt to them to keeps all these relationships healthy. Keep developing yourself and be the same person you want your loved ones to be to you. Learn more about relationships and ways to develop them. You should know what your loved ones want and meet them halfway.
Peace, Love & Prosperity!
Mario Sousa
Heart-Centered Leadership
My team and I are on a mission to lead other like-minded, heart-centered leaders that are ready to make a bigger impact in their personal lives, their communities and around the world. Please review the information below and reach out to me personally with any questions you might have. The future looks extremely bright, if you see what I see, let's work together.