Key Steps to Living a Life You’re Truly Satisfied and Content With.

It starts with your mindset and where you choose to focus.

Before I began working on my personal development, I gave very little thought to what I truly wanted.

The sad thing is I didn’t know I had a choice.

I thought I was supposed to pursue what was best for me, according to my family and friends, and that meant college and climbing the corporate ladder.

I tried it and was absolutely miserable.

When I started spending time getting to know myself, I realized I cared very little about making it big at some corporate job. I cared more about making money while not violating my values and beliefs. The job itself didn’t matter that much.

In this pursuit of creating and living a life that’s authentic to who I am, I’ve learned a few important lessons — here they are:

Identify what’s truly important to you — your values and beliefs.

Too many people are making goals and workings toward an outcome they don’t want.

We often do this because of the expectations placed on us by our families, friends, or society.

I remember not long ago; I was living according to what others thought I should do and be until I found myself feeling absolutely miserable.

If this is you right now, even if you’re succeeding at what you’re doing, you’ll never reach a point where you’re satisfied. You’ll always feel like something is lacking.

It wasn’t until I sat down in front of a counselor (four years ago) that I realized I never took the time to dig deep within myself and ask what I wanted.

It was sad realizing this.

However, it was crucial I did because I got the opportunity to learn what I care about, who I want to be, and what I want my life to look like.

This brings up another point.

Some people aren’t taking the time to figure out what they genuinely want and instead are wandering aimlessly, hoping for something or someone to show them the way.

Some of us let ourselves off the hook and blame the universe, our families, our jobs, etc., for why our lives aren’t the way we want them to be.

The truth is, you’re the only person who can take charge and make changes happen.

I agree many times, it’s not fair, but you can make it fair by making different decisions and changing course.

If you want to figure out who you are and start moving towards an authentic life, spend time with yourself and get to know what truly matters to you.

I do this by journaling. I highly recommend starting this way. It may initially feel awkward, but it’s a simple and effective method.

Set clear goals that align with these values and beliefs.

Sometimes we get very excited about an idea and the possibilities.

However, the drawback is that a cool idea may have little to do with your values and beliefs and may cause you to stray from the path you’re trying to stay on.

We get lost in the pursuit and distracted by shiny object syndrome.

I, unfortunately, am swayed by economic opportunity.

When I hear of a course or an investment where I could make a lot of money quickly, I get distracted.

This is due to my economic background — my mother and I had only what we needed but rarely got the opportunity to splurge.

Don’t get me wrong. I am grateful for all those difficult experiences and moments as a kid where I had to understand that sometimes some things couldn’t happen even if I wanted them to.

This taught me to be disciplined with money as an adult, but these moments created a scarcity mindset.

I grew up believing there wasn’t enough because of my past economic situation, and sometimes, the promise of not having to think about money again blinds me.

Although one of my goals is to make enough money to afford the lifestyle I want, the ‘how’ is important to me — that’s one of my values.

I promised myself to only accept money by earning it fairly and not taking advantage of another person in a difficult economic situation.

Unfortunately, this is what many of these courses do (not all). They sell the promise of financial freedom, but after you’ve invested hundreds if not thousands of dollars, you find out it doesn’t work.

I’m not okay with putting someone in a worse financial situation than they started so I can be better off.

My primary goal is to make an impact with my words. I hope the money comes later, and I believe it will.

The priority is to share my experiences and lessons so they can show someone a different perspective, ultimately helping them make better decisions.

If I made an impact this way, I have reached my goal and honored my values.

Make sure that you enjoy what you’re doing in the pursuit of your goals.

Part of what I believe allows you to keep working toward your goals and live authentically is to enjoy what you’re doing.

If you dread every second of the work you do, you will become resentful when you don’t see progress when you think you’re supposed to and give up.

This is why liking your work is as important as the goal itself.

When things get challenging, because they will, enjoying what you’re doing will help ease stress. Even if things look gloomy for a season, enjoying the journey will help you push forward.

I love writing. I discovered I enjoyed writing during the pandemic, and with the amount of free time I had available, I decided to start publishing on Medium.

It’s been an unexpected journey, but I’m very grateful because I have discovered something I truly enjoy doing.

Writing also aligns with my values and goals.

Writing does two things for me. It allows me the opportunity to make an impact and learn new lessons every time I put pen to paper, metaphorically speaking, since I type.

These two aspects of writing keep me pushing forward despite the challenges — sometimes, I get writer’s block, and other times, I’m swamped or lazy and don’t want to make an effort.

As I said, it’s been an unexpected journey, but because I like writing, even when I don’t feel like it, I’ll sit down at my laptop and let my mind wander.

Don’t forget to rest along the way.

Working is as important as resting.

Discipline is crucial, but there are days when the exhaustion is real. Those days, it’s okay to take a break but don’t let your break turn into weeks, months, or years.

I’ve been there, and what you feel after falling off the wagon for that long is regret for not having made an effort to get back on sooner.

Rest is essential because it allows you to refresh your mind and find newfound motivation and inspiration.

Now that I’ve gotten better at not falling off the wagon, I give myself a few days to rest my mind.

This allows my mind to wander and develop a few different ideas. When I get new ideas, I get excited about writing, and I’m back on the wagon sooner rather than later.

When I started to act according to my beliefs, I felt more alive than ever.

I felt closer to myself and my purpose.

I hope these lessons can help you figure out what that looks like for you.

I’ve learned I don’t care about how much money I make as long as I can afford the lifestyle I like, which is very close to my current one.

I care to make a positive impact, and I care about where the money I make comes from.

I care for other people, and that’s one of the reasons I do it. Writing is a vehicle that I enjoy working on, and it allows me to achieve the goal of having some form of impact.

Please share your thoughts in the comments!