No Promises

As a Humanist life skills coach, I will never tell you how to get rich quick. That’s because, very few people get rich quick. Even overnight sensations spend years slugging along before they get their big break. My husband and I joke that it will probably take me 8 years of hard work to become an overnight sensation. And even then, I might never be.

Image: "Try Win Lose Dice"
by Stuart Miles

FreeDigitalPhotos.net

This doesn’t discourage me though. Even though there is no magic formula to succeed in life, that doesn’t mean all hope is lost. While it would be nice if I could wish upon a star and get my dream’s desire, in the real world, reaching your dreams takes hard work and quite a bit of luck. 

I can control the hard work. It’s the luck part that is frustrating. But I don’t allow that to discourage me. Here’s why.

1. I know that if I don’t at least make a good faith effort, I have no chance of success at all. So if I want to be successful, I have to make an effort. No good is going to come to me just from wishing.
2. Even if I never achieve my dreams, the journey is still worth it.

We all have things we want to improve in our lives. Whether it is our finances, our love life or our looks, there is always something that could be improved. And, as a Humanist, I think we should absolutely be taking constructive actions to improve our lives.  However, I also think that we would be fools to wait until our lives were perfect before giving ourselves permission to enjoy life.

Whenever I am struggling with something or frustrated and ready to give up on some project I ask myself one simple question. What am I doing with my life?  The answer is always the same. Living it.  While I have short and long term goals, my ultimate goal is to live my life to the fullest. Even if I don’t ever accomplish my other objectives, as long as I’ve lived life fully and did my best, I’ve succeeded.  If I manage to help other people in the process - bonus. 

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If you want to learn more about how to live life successfully as a Humanist and without all the magical nonsense about how just improving your thoughts can improve your life - check out my life skills course - Living Made Simpler