My Personal Life Guidelines

It’s been about a year since some big changes started occurring in my life. A year ago I started Praxis, plugged into a large community, and took on challenges I never thought I could accomplish. I learned what it was like to travel far and explore new places. I turned 18 and began a new chapter of my life. ​

A lot has changed and I’ve learned a lot of lessons during the process. I thought I’d share some of the lessons I keep at the forefront of my mind. (I learned them the hard way, but hopefully, you won’t have to.)

Keep yourself busy.

Amidst the challenges I’ve experienced, my biggest struggle wasn’t with the tasks themselves. It was mainly the power of the mind that got me. Having projects that excite me helps me get my mind off of anxiety. However, keeping yourself busy also doesn’t mean doing too much. Work hard and push yourself but it’s also important to know when you need to stop.

Try different things.

The necessity for change in our lives is huge. Repetition kills a lot of aspects of life and I would argue it’s too risky. Risks are great, I highly recommend them, but some risks are not worth taking. We need to change things up every once in a while. We’re designed to be that way. This can actually be a lot of fun if you have the right approach. I enjoy changing things in my day-to-day life. Dye your hair. Drink your coffee a different way. I don’t care how insignificant these changes may seem, but as time passes they’ll pile up and it will keep you more motivated.

Get uncomfortable for other people.

Loneliness was a huge battle for me this past year. It sucks. It’s super hard to feel wake up feeling completely insignificant to anyone and to the point where it affects you physically. If you’re not making an effort to have other people in your life, consider this your giant red flag. Please don’t go down that road!!! Think about it this way: you’re going to be uncomfortable either way. You may as well be uncomfortable for others.

Always do more than you think you can.

Always, always, always do more than you think you can! I’m still learning this one. Actually, I take that back. I’m still learning all of these lessons. However, you never know who’s watching. People are watching your progress and watching you move forward in life. Don’t do it for them, though. Do it for yourself because you’re probably capable of more than you think. Actually, I take that back too. You ARE capable of more than you think. The next step is to just act like it.

I guess you could say these are “guidelines” for my life that I do my best to abide by - so much so, I want people to be concerned when I fall outside of these guidelines. I want to become so rooted in these ideas that people can’t imagine me being another way.

So there you have it. My approach to life in a nutshell.