Rules, principles, and values are anchor points which lead us down a path to help us get create the life we truly desire. These anchor points guide us in the way that we lead inside our communities and the impact we have on other people’s lives. Without these beacons of light that shine on the path where you want to go, you can find yourself on an entirely different path that doesn’t serve you.
These are the 5 rules that will assist you in achieving your purpose:
1. Be open
Be open to what you don’t know. Be open to new perspectives. Be open to removing the truths that you’ve held close for most of your life. Be willing to truly sit with someone else who may have an entirely different world view or truth. Learning about other life perspectives can serve you greatly.
When I talk about being open, I don’t mean you have to turn in your truths for anyone else’s. It simply means you might be open to the possibility that other people’s perspectives or truths might be a little bit more true for you. Be willing to be real, raw, and vulnerable. Be willing to open up your heart, and put it out there in the world, even though you know you might get hurt.
True growth and expansion in life happens when we are willing to be open, so make sure you are receptive to new perspectives and truths.
2. Don’t hide
It doesn’t serve you, and it doesn’t serve anyone else when you play small. If you truly knew how short life was, you would not hide. When we hide, not only do we hurt ourselves, but we can hurt others around us. We get so stuck in our head thinking that our life is so unique, and that no one else would ever be able to understand our pain and concerns, but that’s not true.
We think the thoughts and stories that we have inside us are so unique that no one else will be able to relate. The reality is that when you decide not to hide and open yourself up, you get the opportunity to share your experiences, insights, and truths which can help lift up those around you. In addition, you’ll realize that others have gone through or are going through similar experiences as you.
You’ll recognize that others have similar thoughts and stories inside their life that hold them back. This can allow a group of people to come together and realize they’re not alone. This is empowering and uplifting.
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” – Gandhi
3. Be present
In the next step and in the next breath, be present in your life and in your surroundings. Be present with those you love and who are closest to you.
With all the technology and distractions we have nowadays, it’s easy to not be fully present. It’s easy to not be there for those who matter the most to us. It’s one thing to physically be there, but another to be completely present, to put your phone away, to close all your browsers, to shut off all the external distractions. It is a strong statement to be there in the moment with those who are physically in your company.
To be present means to stay out of the past or out of the future. The moment that we go back in the past and relive the events that have happened to us or look too far out into the future is when we become paralyzed.
There is no other time but now. Be in the present regardless of what you are doing. Do whatever is most important to you right in this moment. To get the life that you truly want, to create the relationships that you truly desire, and to create the business that you’ve always dreamed of, you’ve got to be present in the moment to move toward what you want.
4. Go all in
What would it look like for your life if you were to truly go all in? I don’t mean just dipping your toe in the water, and testing it out, but truly going all in. There are likely moments in your life where you’ve gone all in even when you’ve struggled in one area or another.
In those moments, a switch flipped inside you. You did what was required, and you got the result. Whether that was losing weight, hitting targets, or achieving financial stability in your business, you likely felt differently when you found what truly served you.
We can look back at our lives and see the moments when we know we were truly all in. You might have experienced other moments where you thought you had gone all in, but you were sort of all in.
Being not quite all the way in is usually still more than what everyone else is doing, so we justify our actions by saying, “Well, I’m still doing more than other people.”
However, to truly live your best life, you must be fully submerged in water from head-to-toe. This is where you’ll see the transformations in your life that you ultimately want for yourself.
To be all in is not easy. It’s a simple concept to understand, but it takes commitment. What would your life truly look like if you took a stand, and everything that you did from today moving forward meant you made the commitment to yourself to be completely all in?
“I’ll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it’s sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot.” – Kobe Bryant
5. Never give up
Finish what you started. I recently didn’t complete a 100 mile race I signed up for; I completed 64 miles. Never giving up means that I committed to going all out to meet the goal of finishing the 100-mile race on my own. I still have to complete what I started even if I didn’t get as far as I wanted the first time. I have to do what I said I would do. I have to never give up and make sure I finish those 100 miles.
If you truly want to do something, do it. If you stumble along the way, if you fall, if you fail, get up, dust yourself off and never give up. You must meet yourself in this way to become the person who can keep this promise to yourself.
Can you see how these five rules will benefit you and others around you? Try it on for yourself. Be open, don’t hide, be present, be all-in and never give up. When you follow these rules, a completely new world of possibilities will be available to you.
