Fear of change leads many to settle for less than they deserve. Some of the more common factors involved in settling include:
- Reaching a debilitating point of low self-esteem.
- Self-deception about your real needs, and what will ultimately make you happy.
- A tendency to blame others for your problems or undesirable circumstances.
- Throwing yourself a pity party, night after night.
- Striving for conventional standards of success at the expense of your personal desires.
- Getting caught up in the “daily grind” and accepting it as normal for you – or the best you can do.
- Misery loves company: Engaging in conversations with cynical or pessimistic friends and/or associates that are comprised mostly of complaining.
- Lack of clarity on how you want your life to be, but knowing you deserve better.
- The sinking feeling that you’re doomed if you do not make a change.
When you are in the grip of any or all of these negative states, it can seem impossible to see a way out, or a better way of living. And it is business-as-usual for people not to seek a way out until what they’ve become used to doing suddenly stops working. That is, they get fired, their spouse or partner leaves them, or a setback like a serious illness forces them to reevaluate their lives. I don’t want that to be your impetus for change.
It takes courage to evaluate our values, to question our life decisions, to live life on our terms! And it is my intention in this book to help you find the determination within. Your best life will reveal itself when you move from settling, through courage, into action.
Don’t give up what you want most – your dreams, aspirations and joy – for what you’re settling for now – perceived security, same ol’ same ol’, and complacency.
As you become clear on your values, and live your life in accordance with them, your decisions will lead you away from settling and toward your highest potential. A wise old saying reminds us: “Never settle for being a character in someone else’s story when you are meant to be the author of your own.”
Excerpt from #1 International Bestseller Outrageous Achievement, available on Amazon Kindle and paperback.