The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success and a key focus is Health/Wellness. There are several aspects to a successful life. Unfortunately, many individuals are only taught to focus on a few pieces and not the entire picture such that our lives become incomplete and even disjointed. The following contributed post is entitled, It’s Time To Take Charge Of Your Life.
* * *
When you’re a kid, it’s easy to feel as though everyone else is in charge of you. You’re told when to eat, when to sleep, who you can see, and where you can go. But when you’re a teenager, you’re right on the cusp of being a real adult, and it starts to feel like you have a lot more freedom over what you do. Now, this can be an amazing thing and something that a lot of teens spend their lives waiting for, but it can also be pretty intimidating. After all, for the first time in your life, you’re faced with the idea of actually having to make your own choices and be responsible for the consequences. It’s enough to make some people want to retreat to their rooms and go back to being a kid. Of course, you can’t go back, so here are some ways in which you can start taking charge of your own life.
Working
Once you’re old enough, there are few things more exciting than the idea of being able to start earning your own money! After all, do you really want to spend your life asking your parents for money every time you want to go to the movies? Of course not! However, finding work when you’re still young can be really tough. There are plenty of places that will hire you; they just might not be your dream job right now. That’s okay. The job that you have now won’t be the one you have forever, and it’s more about being able to enjoy the freedom that earning your own money provides than finding your lifetime career. Don’t put it off either! Get started on applications for things like Barr-Nunn corporate jobs, as well as any other applications! Sure, fast food places, retail stores, or restaurants might not be the most glamorous places in the world, but they help you gain that independence that is so important as you get older.
Studying
When you’re younger, you’ve often got teachers and parents staring down your neck all of the time in order to make sure that you’re pushing yourself as hard as possible and that you’re studying as much as you can. However, you’ll find that once you’re in college, that’s all going to change. When you’re in college, the only person who’s around to hold you accountable is, well, you! This is something that a lot of people struggle with at first because it’s something that they’re really not used to. Because of that, it’s important that you start being more independently motivated by your studies. Sure, you might still have your parents and teachers around right now, but if you can avoid leaning on them and push yourself forward independently then not only are your studies going to improve a lot, but you’re also going to be in a much better position to move onto a more independent stage in your life.
Your relationships
Relationships are hard. That’s something that just about everyone would be able to agree on. When you’re younger it’s all terribly simple but as people mature and become more complicated, so do the relationships between them. One of the hardest things to do when trying to take charge of your life is to avoid falling into toxic or unhealthy friendships whenever you can. This can often be tricky because no one sets out to end up in that kind of relationship but being able to recognise the warning signs is always a good idea. Are the people in your life taking more from you than they’re giving back? Do you feel worse about yourself when you’re around them? All of these things are serious red flags that you should keep an eye on. If you find yourself in this kind of situation then the best thing that you can do is to just walk away altogether.
The reality is that, if you want to do something with your life, you have to be willing to put the work in. Life isn’t going to throw anything into your lap. People who spend their time waiting for the world to hand them the things that they want are almost always sorely disappointed. Fortune favors the bold and you’re never going to get anywhere if you don’t take risks and push yourself to take control wherever you can. You have to get out there and make it happen for yourself.
