April 18, 2017

Mistakes To Unlearn Before They Ruin Your Life

This post has been contributed.
 
Anyone would be hard-pressed to say that there is a ‘100%’ correct way to live our lives. After all, we live in an environment we’re not exactly supposed to. Our brains and bodies are designed for a hunter-gatherer experience on that savannah, not blogging on a balcony in a city. But that’s a digression. There might not be a right way to live your life but you had better believe there are wrong ways to live it. Here, we’ll look at a few lessons regarding your finances, your time and how you view what you do that you’re not going to learn in school.
 
Get rich quick
There is no such thing as getting rich quick. There are some very lucky people who catch lightning in a bottle and then there are a lot of chancers who want to enjoy a successful life without working for it or really defining what it means for themselves. Instead of constantly looking at how you can skyrocket up to wealth, you should focus on working on something you can working at. Make awesome things, make decisions you’re invested in and focus on the path and not the end goal all the time. Otherwise, you’re going to be leaping at opportunities that lead to nowhere at all most of the time.
 
Funding your lifestyle
That’s not to say that money is important. However, there’s a difference between being happy and resourceful with your money and being rich. There’s a big difference between the person with $1,000 a week in income and $900 in expenses and the person with $1,000 income and $1,050 expenses. Being happy with your money is about learning to live within your means and learning that the extra money is better funding goals and protections as opposed to your lifestyle. Pay yourself first, whether it’s to tackle existing debt, to build savings or to invest in your future. Even worse is to use credit cards to live a lifestyle that’s unsustainable.
 
Expect nothing bad to ever happen
When you’ve lived a somewhat charmed life, it can be easy to forget how hard some people have it. It’s even easier to neglect the fact there might be very little difference between you and them in the first place. You might be one unfortunate event from being in a boatload of debt, for instance. Without preparing for unforseen financial emergencies, you are in serious danger. The same goes for other kinds of emergencies in life as well. You should spend all your time worrying, but you should be spending time and money on building up the protections and connections that can offer you and out when you need it. No-one else in this world has your back in the worst of scenarios.
 
Work for your boss, they’ll work for you
This is true in any industry. When your boss does something nice, most of the time it’s because they understand how it will benefit them. Like your boss. Work well with them. Meet their standards. But don’t expect that a career under anyone else’s employ is going to place you as anything more than second fiddle if even that. If you work in writing for any publishers, for instance, then don’t believe the myth of exposure. You have to work on yourself and for yourself and your own brand and find your own platform. Even if it’s to jump from one employer to another. There’s nothing wrong with spending your life as an employee. So long as you’re aware that you are ultimately responsible for the paths open to you, not any boss.
 
Keep going, never look back
If you’re hungry for success, for wealth, and for influence then that’s perfectly okay. There are many worse goals to have. However, that hunger can sometimes make you a little narrow-sighted. If you’re constantly looking only at the future, then you are only looking at what you haven’t done yet. For your own sanity, take a look behind you. Take the time to really list out and appreciate the accomplishments you’ve made in this short existence you’ve enjoyed. It’s a crucial part of building the confidence in yourself that, in a roundabout way, is very much responsible for helping you fulfill the achievements you’re looking forward at.
There are likely a lot of other mistakes you will spot in time that you kick yourself over. However, these are the ones that many agree can ruin your life if you don’t unlearn them now. So, do that already and get it over with.
 
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