Tuesday, August 25, 2020

The Magical Secret to Living Life on Your Own Terms

 

Ought, should, must, need ... ick! All those words define our lives in terms of the things we have to do. There's not a whole lot of choice in those words, right? And how much of our unhappiness with our lives stems from a feeling of limitation or lack of freedom? We have to get up at a certain time in the morning to make it to work on time. We have to do as our boss says. We have to pick up the kids after school by a certain time. We have to maintain appearances. We have to pay bills.


There are so many things in our lives that we can't control it can sometimes feel as though we are living in a box. So what can we do magically to bring more freedom into our lives? How can we live life on our own terms rather than on life's terms?

Living Life on Your Own Terms, Magically
Simple. Make a practice of doing something everyday that life doesn't make you do. Pick something, anything, that you don't have to do and do it everyday. It can be anything. Learn three words in a foreign language every day. Get up 20 minutes earlier everyday and do absolutely nothing. Read two pages in a novel. Learn yoga. Take up underwater basket-weaving. Whatever! The point is to everyday exercise a level of freedom that is outside the "oughts" and "shoulds" of life. It is an exercise in personal choice and personal freedom.

Now why is this important? It's important because it exercises your freedom muscle. This exercise teaches you, over time and day by day, that you are not totally limited by the demands of life, that you do have choice in your life. As time goes on, if you are truly dedicated and consistent in this exercise, you will find that your beliefs about life will change.

The Freedom Exercise
You might think at this point in time that you have to work hard to succeed in life. Practice the freedom exercise for a while and see what happens to that belief. Over time you may come to find that you don't want to work hard to succeed in life, and that you don't have to either.

We live the lives that we believe we have to live. If your beliefs change so will your life, and this little exercise is designed to peck away at those beliefs, to melt them away over time, until you can live your life on your own terms. You didn't come to planet Earth to play life by someone else's rules. You came to make up your own rules. So start today by making your own game of life. Just do one thing every day that life doesn't make you do and revel in the freedom of it, even if it means making an extra effort at first. The freedom that results will be well worth the initial price you pay. Try it, you'll see!

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