“Well, that wouldn’t hurt.”

“Don’t sweat the small stuff.”

As we go about our daily lives, we tend to neglect the micro choices that we make consciously or unconsciously.   But here’s the thing – the law of Cause and Effect is continually at work whether we know it or not.  Every choice has a consequence, every cause that you set in motion has a resultant effect on your life.

Everything you do, counts.  The life that you’re experiencing now is a summation of all the choices that you have made to date, whether you know it or not.

When a person flares up at a seemingly small provocation, it is the summation of all past suppressed feelings of anger and hatred.

When a person has a clogged artery, it is the summation of all the fatty foods consumed as well as the lack of regular exercise.

Likewise, if you’re experiencing a sense of fulfillment in your work, or enjoying a wonderful relationship with your loved ones, it is the summation of all the past thoughts you’ve filled your mind with and the all actions you have taken.

Remember, everything counts.

Of course, you might think that it would be overwhelmingly difficult to pay attention to every micro detail.   This is why it is very important to be clear of what your values and goals are as well as whether they’re aligned.  Because when you are clear of your values and goals, you will know when a choice you’re making isn’t in line with who you are and where you’re heading.   The key here is this, the choices that you make should be congruent with the person you want to become.

So, if in your mind, you want to become a person of integrity, patience and virtue but yet you choose to fill your mind with resentment when you encounter verbal disagreements, you’re not being congruent.  These pent up emotions of anger will manifest themselves later in your life.

When you begin to understand this principle, you will begin to see why long time relationships break down, why seemingly diligent people still fail, why highly respectable people still falter….  Because everything counts.

Failing to understand that everything counts results in disappointments, setbacks, failed promises, forgotten commitments and whole list of undesirable consequences in life.

When you embrace this reality, and consciously make all your choices purposeful and goal-directed, you will build unshakable relationships,  steady income streams and most importantly, a fulfilling and rewarding life.

You can perceive and experience the world around you using your five senses.

Unfortunately for you (and most of us), one day, your life will come to an end.

The important question therefore,  is, from now till then, how are you going to live your life?  Will it be a life of joy, bliss, accomplishments and fulfillment?  Or will it be one filled with anxieties and worries, stress and depression?

Which do you want it to be?

As we talked about in the previous article on Take Charge of Your Attention!,  you know that it is of utmost importance to be in charge of your attention.

But what happens if you’ve tried umpteen times, and yet you’re still unable to stay focused on your task?

Then it means 2 things :

1) You’re not doing what you love (many people like to believe this)

2) You’re not loving what you do (sounds familiar?)

This begs another question : Should I learn to do what I love, or should I learn to love what I do?

If you’re a little apathetic or nonchalant about your job, your studies or maybe even your life as a whole, this could be a question that strikes a chord in you.  Interestingly, this can be a blessing in disguise if you’d learn to read the hidden message.

The message is simple – there are things that you’re deeply not satisfied about in your Life.  It is Life’s way of telling you that you can’t find meaning and fulfillment in the situation you’re currently in.  The adage “Circumstances do not make a man, they merely reveal him to himself” succinctly describes this point.   So, if you’re not happy about about certain things in your life, don’t fret – these emotional signals are just your body’s way of communicating with your consciousness.

In the book “DaVinci Method”, Garret LoPorto makes a very powerful statement :

“Don’t ask what the world needs.  Ask what makes you come alive.  Then go do it.  Because what the world needs are people who have come alive.”

Even Slyvester Stallone said “I’d rather do something I love badly than to do feel bad about not doing something I love.”

Think about it.  What makes you excited?  What drives you?  What would make you eager to wake up in the morning?  What is something that when you do, you feel that resonance within yourself?

You have to do something that you love to do.  You need something that invigorates you every single day.  Now, it might sound over-romanticized but that is the truth.  We are not here to find the meaning of Life – we are here to create meaning for our lives.  And so we have to find or decide on our Life’s purpose.

Some people believe that they’re trapped in unfulfilling work and have no recourse because of the monthly mountains of bills and possibly debts.  And this is probably where people trap themselves since according to Parkinson’s Law, expenses always rise to meet incomes.  I’m not going to pretend that Life is fair – there are people  who have environmental disadvantages, family disadvantages, health disadvantages and so on.  But we have also seen people with their fair share of disadvantages go on to achieve great things in their lives – look at Lance Armstrong, Honda, Slyvester Stallone, Nick Vuijic.

The point here is this – if you find yourself trapped and unable to be doing something you truly love, then learn to love what you do first.  Because only when you begin to develop a passion for what you do can you begin to excel, and in doing so, climb out of the bottomless pit.  Of course, if you’re just a pizza delivery boy, or a garbage collector, you might be going “are you nuts? what passion?”

Look higher up.  Develop the passion not for the job, but for your higher values e.g. excellence, integrity, recognition, etc.  Whatever job you are doing, you can always aim for excellence.  Do the best with what you have.  Continually read and upgrade yourself – improve your own personal productivity and become the best.  In doing so, you’ll be cultivating the attitude of success.  At the same time, you will attract the attention of people who can and will help you.  When the opportunity comes, you will be ready for it.

Learn to love your Life as a whole.  Bad things happen so that good things can happen.  When failure and frustration keeps knocking you down, chin up and keep moving forward.   Everything happens for a reason and when you learn to accept that, you can move on to find and do that which truly resonates within you.

Now, go do what you love and love what you do.

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… C: wait… SD: wait…