Top 10 Things Between You and A Great Life

If you're not living the life you dream about (and if you're like most people - you're not - then identifying what's getting in your way could be the most valuable way you've ever spent your time.  Here are the Top 10 Things that
come Between You and a Great Life!

1.  Playing it safe.  One of the hardest things for most people to do is to risk the level of success they've  achieved in order to reach the next level, but playing it safe isn't the way most people dream of living. 

2.  Being comfortable.  We all have a desire to coast at times but settling into your comfort zone is a death knell for an extraordinary life.  Where in your life are you choosing comfortable over greatness?

3.  Avoiding rejection.  If you're like me you're ok with taking risks - as long as they're not too risky!  I'm not a big believer in jumping off cliffs and building wings on the way down; I just don't believe that life has to be that frantic but I do know that my fear of rejection is one of the fears that I still struggle with and it's been eye opening to take a look at how it really gets in my way.

4.  Procrastinating.  We tell ourselves some fantastic stories to increase our level of comfort with not getting off our duff and going on there and really scuffling it up on the playing field of life - but trust me - the bench is totally overrated.  Where have you been sitting on the sidelines warming the bench up for the players?  What have you been procrastinating on and what could you pick today to take action on that would have the biggest impact on your life?

5.  Not taking care of yourself.  I've been dealing with some health "challenges" for some time now and it's only now that I've turned the corner on all that and have finally reached a truly healthy place in my life and body that I can really and truly appreciate this one.  When they say that if you don't have your health you don't have anything, I really understand what they're saying in all of its dimensions.

Heidegger talks about the ground of being that we all live out of, and you are the source of everything in your life.  Are you taking care of that source, and what can you do to improve the quality of that care?

6.  Lack of self-awareness and understanding.  Some people spend their whole lives living out somebody else's script for themselves and some even go to their graves not knowing what their own music even sounds like - that unique music of expressing themselves fully and completely.  We're surrounded and inundated by a world that wants us to medicate ourselves from ever having to know ourselves, but you can either have a life devoted to numbing yourself out or you can have a life worth living.  It's one of those choices that is a very clear choice whether you ever get around to consciously making it or not.

7.  Giving up.  I think we've all had times in our life when life has beaten us down to the point where we really don't know where we're going to find the resources to go on - and then we do.  Unfortunately, one of the ways that people find to come to terms with that kind of pain is that they're technically going on with their lives but with the firm commitment that they're going to give up rather than face the pain again.

It's certainly understandable, but I do also think that if we really understood how expensive that choice is we'd keep digging to find the strength to turn things around and move on with our lives passionately alive.

8.  Settling.  It seems to be a tough call at times whether it's settling or counting our blessings and appreciating what we have.  How can you tell the difference between the two, and where are you settling?

9.  Playing the victim. I've heard this one all my life and have studied the idea at length, pondered it, and discussed it with people from all walks of life.  Currently, I'm working on an article on the Top 10 Ways That Playing the Victim Robs You of Your Life, and it wasn't until I started nailing it down in black and white that I began to really appreciate this one.

It was stark and confrontational and is really challenging me to take a deeper look at how I play the victim in my own life and the ways that I'm robbing myself of a great life by playing the victim.

10.  Not following your dreams. You can't live a great life if you haven't defined for yourself what that means to you, so maybe you're not following your dreams because you're not even sure what they are.  Or maybe you're not following them because you have a good solid list of reasons why you shouldn't.  Either way, you're not going to satisfaction of that certainty that you're living a great life if you're not.