There are many ways to live life. Some people aim to follow their principles, translate these into practice and do their best to get positive results. Different people follow this approach in different situations.
Some may do it when pursuing a spiritual faith, following their vocation or fulfilling a mission. Some may do it when helping other people, recovering from an addiction or doing their best during their time on the planet.
Such individuals may find it relatively simply to clarify the principles they want to follow. They then recognise, however, that the crucial part is to translate these into practice on the way to getting positive results.
Different people follow this approach in different ways. Whatever route they take, however, it often involves focusing on the following themes.
Principles
People who follow this approach start by clarifying the principles they want to follow in their life. Different people will, of course, focus on different principles. Here are some that people may mention.
Principles
The principles I want to follow
in my life are that I want:
To encourage people … To have a sense of gratitude … To care for my loved ones … To create enriching environments in which people grow … To use my strengths to help people to succeed.
To do offer people practical hope … To build pioneering things that show people a better way … To pass on knowledge that people can use to shape a positive future.
To make full use of the talents I have been given … To do my best during my time on the planet … To give people positive memories for life … To die feeling at peace.
Imagine that you want to follow elements of this approach. One way is to start by brainstorming and then settling on, for example, the three principles you want to follow in your life.
You will, of course, have your own set of principles. If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you:
To brainstorm the principles you want to follow in your life;
To then settle on three principles you want to try to follow in your life.
Later we will look at how you can translate some of these principles into practice. Before then, however, here is the exercise on this theme.
Practice
Many people clarify their principles after a period of reflection, a crisis or a Eureka Moment. They will then focus what they are actually going to Do – in behaviour terms – to translate the principles into action.
A person who is aiming to be kind, for example, may focus on the practical things they can do to take this step. They may aim to encourage their child, partner and the people they meet in their work.
A person recovering from an addiction may aim to stay healthy one day at a time. They may also keep repeating a personal mantra to remind themselves of the positive benefits they are getting from staying clean.
A person who aims to follow a good habit may revisit their positive history – the times they have succeeded in their life or work. They will then focus on the following themes.
They will clarify a specific situation in the past when they followed a good habit and got the desired results.
They will clarify the specific things they did right then – such how they translated the habit into action – to get the desired results.
They will clarify the specific things they can do to follow this habit in the future – plus maybe add other skills – to get the desired results.
People often find that this approach helps to develop their inner belief. This is because they already have the successful pattern within them. They can then aim to follow this pattern in the future – plus keep improving – in their daily life or work.
Let’s return to your own situation. Imagine that you want to translate your principles into action. If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to complete the following sentences.
Positive Results
You may want to follow your principles when helping a person, doing a project or leading a team. You may want to take this path when playing a sport, building a business, tackling a crisis or doing another activity.
Different people follow different approaches to doing their best to get positive results. Some of these may seem counter-intuitive but they can also be effective.
Some athletes, for example, aim to follow their principles and go into a state of flow. They are then more able to focus, do fine work and fulfil their potential.
They realise that if ‘they want the prize too much’ they can tighten up and this affects their performance. They therefore aim to do their best in the moment and then, as a by-product, sometimes achieve the desired results.
Some people follow their principles and focus on continuous improvement. They may do this when aiming to improve as a person, professional or doing their best during their time on the planet.
Some people follow their successful pattern for finishing. Looking back, they reflect on when they have finished something successfully. They then aim to follow similar principles, plus maybe add other skills, to finish the present piece of work successfully.
Some people believe in enjoying the journey. They aim to be fully present and absorb themselves in the process. They keep following this path and may then find that, as a by-product, they have achieved the goal.
Let’s return to your own life and work. Imagine that you are following your principles and translating these into practice. How can you then do your best to achieve the desired positive results?
If you wish, try tackling the final exercise on this theme. This invites you to complete the following sentences.
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