We as human beings follow many rules from birth to death. Some rules are imposed by society, some by constitution and many of them created within a family.
We strictly follow the rules that come with the consequence in the form of penalty. We follow such rules diligently and abide by them without fail.
How about the personal rules that you have created to set yourself in the success path. Do you have one? Do you follow somebody else’s rule?
Sometimes the rules are just assumptions about the way life has to be. But most of the time it is a cardinal rule that you create yourself which sets yourself in the right direction.
If you follow somebody else’s rules then definitely you will either fail or get something that was not meant for you. Without rules, let me tell you frankly your life will just keep drifting.
Some years back, I did not have any rules for myself. I was just going with the flow. No direction. No aspiration. Life was drifting. I did not have control. This way I have wasted many years of my life. Now I can say it was a real waste.
Then one day a big rock hit my lifeboat and it changed my world upside down. I was shattered and woke up from the long sleep. Then I realized I was under huge debt.
This all happened because I was playing by other’s rules. I was following someone else’s rules that had led to the debt consequences.
I tried hard to understand but could not. Then I started reading online magazines that finally directed me towards paperback books.
I gained immensely from those online articles though. Since I was already in the online marketing space I knew how to filter and process the right information.
Then to gain my life back and to take full control of it I started reading ferociously. Reading gave me perspective that I cannot follow someone else’s rules and expect to win.
Everybody has their own rules. All individuals should make their rules for bigger success in life.
Somebody else’s rules can be a point of reference. You can learn from it and apply what is applicable and doable.
Learning from all the ups & downs and past mistakes helped me to create my own rules. The way I have created rules for myself you can do it too by considering following steps.
Steps to making your own rules
1. Understand
Understand what is going wrong. Understand what did not work well. The best way to analyze is by writing with a pen in a paper. Above all you gotta help yourself. Unless you help yourself no one can.
Understand that you cannot expect the result for the things you did not work on. You have to play your top game to be there. It is not that complex. We tend to make it complex.
2. Shed what’s not working
Do not be disappointed if your rules did not work the first time. If it did not work, change the rule.
One quick example I can share. So it’s been many years I was planning to start writing. But I was not able to kick it. On and off I would write a page or two. But this was not going to cut me through.
I had set the rules of reading in the morning and writing in the evening. But this did not kick off for a long time.
Then I changed the rule by flipping the schedule. I changed the schedule to morning writing and evening for reading. This has worked like a charm. So never hesitate to test what’s working and shed what’s not working.
Then in intervals you tweak and refine the rules to achieve the larger goals.
3. Make space
The rule you are creating is either to stay happy or be creative or to stay productive. All these will not happen if you do not have that space.
Space does not only mean the physical space. It can be your mental space and being in the zone.
This will help you visualize the end goal that you have set and the rules created to attain them.
4. Measure the progress
There is no point making rules that do not benefit you. Hence, in every interval you are required to see whether you are making the progress or not. This is a must because the rules you create are to lead you in the right and positive direction.
If the rules bring you stress after following then you should immediately change. If it has not helped you gain anything tangible or intangible then replace it with another rule.
Above all you got to go easy on it. Rules are to make your life easier. Do not ever obsess on it. Don’t worry if you break it sometime.
If you get derailed, the next day follow it. There is no sin in it and no harm in it. If you get back to the groove the next day everything is fine. It will also mean you have mastered some amazing life rules.
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