Attitude for Success: Design a Better Life

Did you intentionally design your life?

A key attitude for success is being proactive in designing the life we want.  Obviously, we can’t control all the external factors that happen to us, but we can control our response to these events.

Our response is how we design our life.  It is how we live intentionally.

Are you just going with the flow, reacting randomly to whatever goes on around you?  Or, are you acting with purpose, passion and direction to bring the life you really desire into reality?

A better life is available to us, but I firmly believe we have to be its designer.  We have to be very intentional.  We have to take life by the horns and demand from it what we want!  Why continue accepting the leftovers?  You can design a better life!

Design Your Life With These Attitudes for Success

A big part of taking control of your life is adopting the right attitudes.  You have to embrace the kind of thinking that fosters growth, purpose and direction.  Otherwise, you are just meandering about getting nowhere fast.

Take a moment and think of a ship’s captain.  Does he plan and plot his journey or does he just set sail and see where the wind takes him?  Are his actions consistent and deliberate or are his duties neglected and haphazard?

A sailor knows the ocean is a force to be reckoned with and that you have to design a specific course if you want to survive and thrive.  Otherwise, you could be lost on the open seas forever or you could be driven against the jagged rocks and crushed.

The captain has to approach his journey with the right mental outlook just like we need to approach life with the right attitudes.

Here are some attitudes for success we all need to embrace:

1.  I Am the Captain of This Ship

A ship’s captain has to know he is in charge and project his command to the rest of the crew.  This inspires their confidence to work together, follow orders and reach the destination.

We have to really wrap our minds around the notion that we are the captains of our lives.  If we aren’t happy with where things are going, then we have to stand up, develop a vision for the future, correct our course and drive toward new discoveries!  You can either be captain of your ship or someone else will be.  Mutinies happen all the time in families and at work because we fail to fulfill our role as captain of our life.

I’ll admit that I can be a little lazy about this at times.  It takes effort and energy to constantly be the captain of your life.  However, the alternative is not one that I’m willing to accept.  I will not let myself wander off in a direction where bad things can happen!

2.  I Will Maintain a Steady Course

A ship’s captain must steer his vessel on a steady course to successfully arrive at the intended destination.  If he veers even a degree or two to the left or right, then he could find himself miles from where he wanted to be.

We see this all the time in the lives of successful people, take for instance Tiger Woods.  Tiger had it all!  He was living in a mansion in Florida, married to a Swedish super model and widely recognized as the best golfer of all time.  It obviously took a lot of discipline to rise to this level of success in his life.

However, Tiger let things stray off course.  Now look at all it has cost him.  His marriage is in serious trouble, his reputation is forever marred, he’s lost valuable endorsement deals and he’s had to take an extended leave of absence from golf.  What a waste!

A well-designed life is one that stays on course.  There are all kinds of things that will try to tempt us to take a detour, but steady as she goes is the best route to follow!

3.  I Will Use the Resources Available to Me

Out on the open sea you have limited supplies.  You must utilize whatever you’ve got onboard to deal with the situation at hand.  Sometimes this requires the captain to get creative and improvise.  Maybe he doesn’t have exactly the perfect tool for the job, but that isn’t going to stop him from doing what needs to be done.  After all, he can’t just give up when he’s miles from land and everyone is depending upon him.

I have been guilty of throwing around excuses from time-to-time.  Of course, this never gets me anywhere.  It just wastes time that I could’ve been using to work toward a solution. 

Situations in life are rarely ideal.  It is rarely the perfect time to start something new.  We rarely have all the tools and resources we’d like available to us.  It is certainly rare to have all the information we’d like to take most, if not all, of the risk out of our endeavors.  This is just the way the journey goes.  We can’t give up or let it stop us.  We just have to press on using the best resources we’ve got.

4.  I Will Weather the Storms and Survive

Every captain knows that sooner or later he is going to face a storm.  It is going to rain.  The wind is going to oppose you and the waves are going to get big and scary.  This is just a fact of life on the ocean.  You’ve got to be prepared for it.

Storms blow in life too.  In fact, if you aren’t facing any opposition, then you likely aren’t doing anything worth a hoot.  Every meaningful conquest has had its share of opponents.  You are naive to think that your journey will be a cakewalk.

Instead, we need to brace ourselves.  We need to expect resistance and steel ourselves against it.  Storms have sank more than one unprepared ship.  The ocean floor is littered with their treasure.  Don’t let yourself get caught off guard!

5.  I Am Committed to My Destination

A captain has to know exactly where he wants his ship to arrive before he ever departs.  He has to be committed to this destination or he’ll never get there.  Once he sets sail, he will feel like everything Mother Nature has is working against this goal.  However, if he is determined, prepared and persistent, then eventually he’ll find himself anchored in the port of his design.

Before you set out toward a better life, ask yourself what it will cost you to get there.  Are you willing to pay that price?  Success doesn’t come cheap.  It will require sacrifice.  It will take hard work.  It might even cost you some money along the way.  Are you committed?  Will you do whatever it takes to push through to your final destination?  If so, then you are ready to set sail!

These Attitudes for Success Are Treasures

Whatever it is that you call success is out there waiting for you.  You can design a path to get it.  The attitudes I’ve offered here are the map guiding your way.  What are you waiting for?  Why not get started on the priceless journey to a better life?  Bon voyage and good hunting!

What other attitudes are needed to design a better life?  Leave me a comment and let me know!

Photo by jaredw_1986