Life
6 Strategies That Will Kickstart Your Dream Life
Do you ever get the feeling that your real life has not yet begun? That you have much more to offer? Do you ever feel like you’re not living your true potential?
If this is a feeling that lingers with you then you probably haven’t tapped into all your greatness just yet. But not to worry, now is the time to shift that energy. It’s said that your life changes when you do.
Here are 6 strategies to get you started:
1. Adopt a Kanye West mindset
In other words, aim ridiculously high. Most people tend to settle for average goals since these are “reasonable”. The problem with that is that it creates a lot of competition for the reasonable opportunities. But if you instead strive for something beyond the ordinary, you will notice that there are few people doing the same. Which means that you actually improve your odds.
2. Risk it like when in Vegas
“Negativity bias” is a psychological phenomenon which means that we tend to overestimate risk by underestimating our own ability to handle eventual bad consequences of taking a risk. And at the same time underestimate all the possibilities that would come with taking the risk. On top of that, we tend to underestimate the cost of not acting at all. So go go go take more risks, get yourself out there, pitch your idea, network, start a new project. Who cares if you mess up. There is no failure, only feedback.
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzky
3. Ask for what you want
You won’t get what you don’t ask for. A common notion is that your dream life will just find you. That people around you, like a potential business partner, your boss or your loved ones knows what it is you want. News flash: They don’t. Save your time and speed up the process by letting people around you know if you’re entitled to a raise, a new exciting project, longer vacation, a new position or better christmas gifts. You name it.
4. Don’t read to much into a being told no
This is vital. If you get rejected try again, just take a different route. One time when a magazine editor rejected one of my ideas I contacted her boss instead. Who loved my pitch. There were 12 publishing houses that rejected J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter story. Yes, that’s right, and we all know that J.K Rowling is laughing all the way to the bank. So be bold, keep going, take another way. Because there is always another way. Consider a ”No” as feedback and ask yourself: What can you improve? View rejection as a redirection to something better.
5. Update your belief system
Psychology studies have shown that those who believe in their own ability to succeed tend to perform better and have a greater ability to execute their plans. But a common mistake is that we tend to get caught up in other peoples belief system. Often by listening to their advice or fears. But remember, what they believe that they can or can’t do has actually nothing to do with what you are capable of achieving. So be aware of your thoughts and how they affect the way you act and make decisions.
“A belief is not merely an idea the mind possesses. It is an idea that possesses the mind.” – Robert Bolton
6. Challenge the chemistry of your brain
You have probably read a thousand times that you need to face your fears to be able to reach your true potential. But perhaps you’ve wonderd why you have to do such a horrible thing? A simplified biological explanation is that your fears may be linked to an overactivity in the amygdala (which is part of the limbic system in the brain and plays a key role in triggering stress reactions and fear).
The amazing thing is that when you expose yourself to what you experience as unpleasant, such as public speaking, a repeated number of times, the chemistry in your brain changes. The hyperractivity gets reduced and thus suppresses the discomfort, i.e releasing the fear. The more often and the closer in time you do something you find scary, the faster this process of change takes place. So challenge your fears because the chemistry of your body will have your back.