Friday, January 5, 2018

Don’t try to do your best to live a different life this New Year. Just DO it!

This year I received lots of Christmas and New Year’s wishes and also emails. Worked with guests around Christmas. Reading the wishes, the mails and working with my guests I got the understanding many people know they are not really LIVING life or live the life they want. Satisfying others, not being themselves any more. They experience they are in a kind of vicious circle. Living a life they actually do not want living (any longer) but earning money and fulfilling expectations, so they go on living a life they don’t really want living. Isn’t that strange.

And they also know what they need to change and what makes them really healthy and happy. Immediately after writing or telling me this, actually telling themselves, it’s so terribly hard to change their life(style) but they try to do their best in this New Year. I am sure they will not succeed. They stay in their vicious circle. Not serving themselves and not serving the world around in the best possible way.

Why do we constantly put off until later what we intuitively know is of the highest importance? Isn’t it strange you know you live an unhealthy life or lifestyle and to say it’s so hard to change but you will give it (only) a try? Giving you already a General Excuse to stay discontent? It only takes one person to change your life. You!

Take a sincere look at yourself. Where are you in your life? What have your priorities been up till now and what do you intend doing with the time you have left? Are you really the best you can be? Is there a need to remain as you are now? Who do you (only) think you are serving with this dissatisfaction?

In the West, we are consumed from morning till night by endless activity. We do not take much time to consider the basic causes of our happiness or suffering. We imagine doing even more activities or care more, our sense of dissatisfaction will fade away. But the truth is that many of us continue to feel let down and more and more frustrated by our contemporary life(style).

Very few people would say there is nothing worth improving in the way they live and experience the world. However, some people think their own particular weakness and conflicting emotions are something rich that contributes to the ‘fullness’ of their lives. They take the point of view their way of living is ‘normal’ or ‘natural’, and that it’s all about accepting ‘human nature’.

Are you willing to change, do you have the guts to change? Giving it only a try this year does not bring you any further. So stop with that, go on suffering or building up even more unhappiness or… just change it. Do it!

From one of my friends, actually one of my former teachers, I got a story that possible can help you making the change to start LIVING life. And yes, maybe at first sight and for a short while it will be hard to let go and you will suffer a bit. Afterwards you are proud of yourself, you feel free, much better. And not only will you feel better. You serve the world around you much more as well. If you do not accept or make the choice for change, you will not grow.  

This friend sent me a story from Bronnie Ware, an Australian nurse who spent several years working in palliative care, caring for patients in the last 12 weeks of their lives. As a witness she recorded their top five regrets in this last weeks of their lives.

  1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
  2. I wish I hadn't worked so hard.
  3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.
  4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
  5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

What's your greatest regret so far, and what will you set out to achieve or change before you die?

Do not do your best to give it a try. Do it!



Frans Captijn
Host / Catalyst / Talenteer at Captijn Insight



Captijn Insight“Catalyst in your process to new sustainable flow in life, love, family, business, career and work. Whether you are an individual, couple, team or organization.” 
captijninsight@gmail.com


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