Secrets To Control Your Path To Success: Top 5 Ways To Maintain Complete Control Over Your Life
A lack of control is one of the main causes for stress in many people's lives. But, with the latest and greatest computer software, devices, and systems at our fingertips, it's never been easier to gain complete control over your life. And if you're still trying to maintain a work-life balance without losing any of your time or energy to distractions such as television or online streaming services...well then there's just no hope for you.
But, the fact of the matter is that if you're reading this article, it's because you're already working toward achieving success. And I don't need to tell you that a lack of control can be just as dangerous to your goal as a lack of discipline.
For me, the first step toward reducing such ills from my life was developing discipline and finding out my daily schedule. Now, when I was younger I was in many ways undisciplined. I wasn't wasting time, for sure. Instead, I was sacrificing my energy and my time to activities that may have seemed productive in the moment, but ultimately did nothing more than waste valuable time.
The idea of a schedule is simple; it takes all the guesswork out of your day. And while I'm an advocate of the idea that you should strive to have some flexibility in your daily routine, a set schedule is still a very effective form of control if done correctly.
In fact, I'm so all-in for the idea that I suggest that you only allow yourself one or two meetings a day and always keep a pen and paper with you. Not only can this lead to greater productivity, but it eliminates the need for conference calls and other time-consuming tasks. Also, be sure to set your calendar up so that you aren't going to any appointments or meetings in the same room. Use your commute as your time to complete important business (and don't forget your phone).
Naturally, after I started getting a good feeling for the benefits and techniques of scheduling, I started to become more disciplined. But then came the next thing that I started doing...
I created a strict routine that didn't require me to constantly engage my attention.
While this did require some discipline in order to maintain it, it did not require me to be on-call (which would have been ridiculous). To keep myself on track with my routine, I had certain things that needed to be done daily...like regular exercise and prayer. And on top of that I had weekly and monthly obligations, just as anybody does.
For me, maintaining control over my life started with slowly bringing order to the chaos of my routine. It started by learning to make decisions quickly and accurately, which meant being able to plan ahead and know that I could rely on myself. This was a big step for me.
But then there was more...
I had a lot of debt when I first started getting serious about achieving success in my life. And while living within my means and cutting out the unnecessary expenses was a good start, it didn't get me very far in achieving my goal. I still had to avoid frivolous spending. On top of that, I made sure to adjust my financial decisions based on how big of an impact they had upon my goals and desires.
So, after implementing discipline and a routine into my life, I started to take a very calculated approach to financial expenditures. And for me the key was getting control over myself...not my money. I had to learn to be more disciplined in my decisions, and not just based upon cutting the big expenses from my budget.
I think much of what has prevented many people from achieving success is their need for control over something that they will never attain, especially when it comes to material things. It is a burden that people place on a "thing" rather than on themselves...and that's wrong if you ask me.
I mean, why do you need to buy a new car that is just as old and outdated as the one you have now?
Why do you need a dog that will just ruin your life and the environment?
Why do you need a home that is out in the suburbs instead of your own neighborhood?
Why do you need to buy all these gadgets that are going to be outdated in less than a year?
What about all of these clothes, shoes, furniture, gadgets, and investments...do you really need them?
No, you don't. And the sooner you learn that, the better off you'll be.
But that's why I wrote this article...to help people understand that there are certain things in our lives that do not matter. And if we can eliminate those objects from our lives, then we're one step closer to dealing with the things that really matter.
And so, after cutting out all of the negative influences...the useless expenses...the completely unnecessary "things" and "stuff"...I found that I had more control over my life.
In a nutshell, the idea behind this article is to let you know how to maintain control over your life. It's not an easy job...but it can be done. And if you take these steps, then you will be well on your way to achieving great things in life.
And remember...you make the decisions...not the "things" in your life.
I do hope that you enjoyed this post and be sure to share it with others if it helped you out...
Conclusion
In conclusion, I want to reiterate the key point of this entire article...you do not need to give up control over your life in order to achieve success. In fact, it's quite the opposite.
With that in mind, I think we can all agree that for some people the idea of controlling their own lives is a foreign one. But that doesn't mean that you can't do anything about it...