What Have You Done to Improve Your Life?

A note from peter@thewealthyattitude.com for Monday August 31, 2009

Good day all and welcome to a shiny new week.

Last week we focused on the theme of "Personal Development" and I expressed my joy at the quantity, and quality, of readers submitted by our contributors. I'm still in joy and want to continue on the theme for a bit as you really will enjoy some of the others pieces we were given.

So let's get right to it and ask you a very important question...

What Have You Done to Improve Your Life?
by Jahiel Yasha Kamhi

I was seated with a group of people when someone said to me:

"What have you done to improve your life?"

I didn't expect that kind of question, so I asked for clarification.

"I mean," he said, "What have you done to study, improve or change your life? Probably, you've studied many years to get your credentials, but how many years have you spent studying your life?"

Fortunately, a friend of mine solved the problem when he declared that today's topic was "How to improve our lives."

This article is actually adapted from a conversation between friends about the topic I mentioned above, with no indication of who said which statement.

The very first question was: "Do you really need to improve your life?" We all agreed with one clear and obvious conclusion: yes, you do need to work to improve your life.

Your whole life is actually a permanent school for you. Only people who pay attention to the quality of life can expect satisfaction. Life is a process of learning not only job skills but also life skills.

To improve your life, you first need to learn who you are. Do you know yourself, or you are just guessing? Knowing yourself is crucial, because everything starts with you. Can you improve yourself if you don't know yourself? If you don't know where you are now, you might be heading in the wrong direction. I hope not!

Do you have a personal goal or a destination as a fixed point to reach in your life? What do you do for life, not just for living?

Write down your answers and read them on a regular basis, checking to see where you have improved. Learn what you have done for your life that particular week and try to get closer to your goals every week. After a couple of months or years, you will see improvements. Having a goal or a fixed destination is the best way to do something about your life.

Goals are important, but you must have more. What about meaning in life? Do you believe that meaning is within you or not? Who is "in charge" of meaning in your life? If you expect someone else to find meaning for you, unfortunately you're on the wrong track!

Can you answer these simple questions:
What's your reason for living?
What do you want from life?
you have a real fascination about life?
Are you living for ... or for ....?

The only one person who can answer these questions is You. To live a full life, you need to know your reason for living. Is your reason for living a healthy and good family life, or is it maybe your professional success?

Think about your reason for living. It will shape your destiny.

If you, like everyone else, think about how to get more money, or how to get a better position on the professional ladder in your work place, this is not a bad thing.

A bad thing is if you don't do anything to improve your spiritual dimension of life (this isn't necessarily religious). Your soul wants to grow and help you to live a life with meaning, reason, goals, and a destination. Spirituality is part of a healthy way of living and you need it, especially when you are looking for any kind of mental support.

A person who applies his entire mind to living is not only a great human being; he is also a rich person. If you know how to apply your mind in everyday life, you will live an intellectually and spiritually rich life. Sometimes, your mental and intellectual potential is unused. You have the power to access that potential: each person's life has purpose and meaning if you know how to discover it.

Have you learned to forgive yourself first, and then to forgive others? Forgiveness is the key to inner peace, for inner peace is not determined by circumstances.

How "high" or "deep" is your life? You must learn this because your life is your source of wisdom, inspiration and meaning. Your personal inner wisdom is the basis for your knowledge of what is needed in your life, and it will determine your personal growth. Can you reach a higher level of being?

During our friendly conversation, we asked many questions and answered many of them with the sincere intention of bringing more knowledge into our own lives.

We know: there is no single recipe for a joyful and meaningful life; it's the individual's creation.

We all understand and agree with this message:

When we try to change things in life, the same life responds perfectly well. Help yourself to feel good because it's your responsibility to do that. We need to be able to purify our spirit by making changes to our inner state.

Our quality lies in what we are, not in what we do for a living.

Jahiel holds a degree in Medical Biochemistry and a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry. He is passionate about writing, and conveying positive ideas that help people live life with more passion and purpose. His mission is to promote a good mental and physical health. Jahiel's core message is to inspire and encourage people, to give them hope and help them live their everyday life. Being thankful for what is good in life rather than focusing on the negative is his message. With hope, all things are possible. Yasha can be contacted at jasakamhi@hotmail.com