Every single individual walking this earth is alive. But that doesn’t mean that you’re actually “living.” Living, in this context, refers to taking control of your life, creating a vision, creating goals, and then executing on those goals.

Not everyone does this, sadly enough. If you find yourself waking up every morning without a sense of direction and going through every day without aspirations to improve, you’re living by default. You’re not taking control of your life, but you’re letting life take control of you.

Now, if you live life with a purpose, chase your hearts desires, and wake up every day with a goal/plan in mind, you’re living by design. Design being that you’re creating your life to create the reality you wish to live in every day. It’s safe to say that you shouldn’t be living your life by default.

Follow these three steps, and your future self will thank you for it:

1. Wake up with a goal in mind

If you wake up without a goal in mind for the day, you’re better off remaining asleep. By starting your day off without a plan or a goal, you’re essentially just “winging it.” Winging it throughout your day is, in essence, letting whatever life has planned for you happen. You’re like a zombie just going with the flow.

This is living by default because you’re not designing your day. If you continue this bad habit, you’re going to find yourself wondering where time has gone a few years later. You’re then going to realize you didn’t create your reality, but instead let life have its way.

Many individuals who end up here have a habit of blaming the world and everything else around them for their mistakes, when the person to blame is the one staring back in the mirror. The point is, wake up with at least one goal in mind, if not multiple goals each and every day, and attack them.

“I’m always thinking about creating. My future starts when I wake up every morning… Every day I find something creative to do with my life.” – Miles Daves

2. Stop letting time be a determinant

The saying “time goes on with or without you” is the theme here. So many times we allow time to determine whether or not we should take action or pursue our dreams. Lots of millennials believe they’re too young for certain professions or to start a business, and older adults believe they’re too old to pursue old passions.

This is completely wrong and has been proven wrong time and time again. There are entrepreneurs in the world as young as 9 years old making a difference. There are also adults who are 65 years and older starting a business for the first time. Mind you, these are all things outside of the norm.

It’s never too early or too late to do anything. When I first started my business in college, I felt a sense of urgency to further grow it. My parents would always tell me “you have your whole life ahead of you, slow down.” I ignored them, of course. It doesn’t matter how much time you have left in your life. You should take control of your life and start creating your reality immediately and unapologetically.

3. Execute, execute, execute

This follows the last point. Once you stop letting time be a determinant and start creating your life, you have to execute. Simply creating the life you want in your mind and not executing on those goals aren’t enough. The world is full of individuals who have dreams, goals, and passions who never do anything about it. Once you visualize and know beyond a reasonable doubt, what you want your reality to reflect, begin attacking those goals, never give up, and never look back.

“Vision without execution is a daydream. Execution without vision is a nightmare.” – Japanese Proverb

It’s easy to live your life constantly putting off important tasks that will catapult you towards your dreams by falling into the normal routine. It all starts with a decision to design your life and make your reality a reflection of who you wish to be.

Wake up with a goal in mind, ignore the imaginary limitations society has made you believe, and execute. One day you’ll wake up to a life you’ve built, and not one that was given to you. I’m not saying this will be easy, but I am saying that it will be worth it.

Are you living your life by your own design or somebody else’s? Leave your thoughts below!

Image courtesy of Twenty20.com