Dear Nairalander,
Even though we can never know for sure what
the right direction is, we should spend time
reflecting upon our direction, trying to
understand ourselves and what we want out of
this life of ours.
Perhaps we should even dear asking ourselves
the question of questions:
What are the most important things in life?
The four most important things in life are….
1) Take care of your health
“Health is life. Care for it as you would care for
your newborn child.”
Poor health will both reduce the time you have in
this world and your capability to live the life you
want to live. Therefore, if we want to live for a
long time with a mind and body that can take us
where we want, we must take care of our health.
I’m not saying life can’t be good if we’re sick,
disabled or have other health challenges. I’m
saying that people would like to feel capable of
living the way they value and to live for a long
time. Health, consequently, is absolutely
fundamental.
Unfortunately, most of us only realize the
importance of health when its gone. That’s a
great shame. The good thing is that we’re
capable of influencing our health and it’s easier
than most people think.
2) Invest in your relationships
“Spend quality time with the people you love and
the relationships will grow stronger. Don’t, and
they’ll slowly fade away.”
When talking about life we’re used to hearing
ourselves and others say that the most important
thing in life is family and friends. It’s hard to
disagree and the evidence supporting this is
overwhelming. What’s not as fully understood or
discussed however is the importance investing in
relationships have for their ability to flourish
and grow. To be frank; many of us have little
knowledge about what “investing” means in this
respect and consequently how to go about
investing.
The above is likely one of the reasons why we
see so many people divorce, why the time we
spend with our friends steadily declines as we
age and why many of us spend more time in-front
of the TV or computer than we spend with our
kids.
Personally, I don’t think these things happen
because we want them to. I think they happen
because we don’t allow ourselves the time to
reflect on what really matters and consequently
we’re not fully aware of the impact small choices
we make in our day-to-day lives have on our
relationships. In order to have good
relationships I believe we need to both spend a
considerable amount of time with the people we
love and be really present during that time.
3) .
Install a positive view of yourself
“How we view ourselves is the foundation on
which our life is built.”
When we don’t have a positive self-view we
typically compare ourselves with other people,
feel insecure about ourselves and are too
sensitive to the opinion of others. We also tend
to make choices based on other people’s
expectations rather than do what truly feels
right for us.
Having a positive self-view on the other hand
means accepting ourselves for who we are and
what we believe in. It means having the courage
necessary to make our own decisions and to live
life the way that’s right for us.
Personally, I realized not long ago that I’ve lived
most of my life without having a strong enough
self-view. Only during the last few years have I
been able to understand and accept myself to the
degree where I very rarely feel “below” anyone
or feel afraid to say things I believe because of
other people’s judgment. I still have
improvement areas however, especially with
regards to dealing better with negative
feedback and rejection.
How you think is one of the key factors that
influence the view we have of ourselves. 4) Live your purpose, values and dreams
“Reflecting on what kind of person you want to
be and what you want out of life will increase
your understanding of yourself. Living according
to this understanding will give you a sense of
purpose, fulfilment and peace.”
Being healthy, having great relationships and a
positive self-view is wonderful. But who’s the
“you” in you? What makes you different to
everyone else?
Let’s talk about purpose, values and dreams.
Your life-purpose
Your life-purpose is a clearly stated, high level
description, of what you want to do with your
life.
Understanding your purpose is a journey that
requires time and reflection. Personally, I feel
I’ve only understood my own life-purpose
reasonably well for a few years and for all I
know my life-purpose might change in the future.
Let me share my personal purpose with you so
that you have an example of what a life-purpose
can look like:
The purpose of my life is to feel good, do good
and leave a legacy.
Why are you here on Earth? What’s your
purpose?
Your values
Values are the thoughts and behaviours that
define how you want to be as a person.
The following analogy is a good way to
understand values:
Picture yourself being in a boat. You’re sailing at
night and the sea is rough. Unfortunately for
you, the weather is horrible and you don’t know
if you’re steering the boat in the right direction.
Suddenly you see a lighthouse straight ahead!
You quickly steer the other way and get yourself,
the boat and your crew out of danger.
Values can act as lighthouses or guiding stars
like the Northern Star. Values help you become
aware of when your thoughts and behaviours
aren’t alligned with the kind of person you want
to be, just as a lighthouse make you aware of
where to sail. Consequently, values can help you
make better decisions in life
Below are some of my core values:
Live
Love
Learn
Give
Believe
It’s important that your values are closely
aligned with your life-purpose. As for your life-
purpose, understanding what your values are is a
journey that requires time and reflection.
Personally, I had never thought about values until
about five years ago. At the time my life wasn’t
in balance and spending time understanding my
values helped me make better decisions in my
own life.
What are the words that define how you want to
think and behave?
Your dreams
Dreams are things you want to experience in life.
Want to travel the world? Want to become a
world-class teacher? Want to make the world a
place where every creature is treated with
respect? I know I do.
Dream a little every day. Think about what you’d
like to do, see, think, feel and so on. Don’t let
your current as-is situation define what you dear
hoping for.
Dreams exist to be pursued! Many dreams do
come true and the more positive your self-view
is the easier it will be for you to achieve your
dreams. Source: www.rethinkingtruth.com/2013/01/31/the-four-most-important-things-in-life/ What is the most valuable thing in your life?

them plenty small oh, like 5m dollars, etc.

shyna01:
them plenty small oh, like 5m dollars, etc.

. Yes, money is important. But what is money without good health and Joy in your heart.