Ignore the future. Whatever happens will happen whether you worry about it or not! There are so many possible scenarios that you cannot say something will happen or will not happen.

What if it does work? What if it really goes uphill and you make it and it turns out better than imagined? Or what if it never turns out anywhere close to what you think it will?

The point is that no one can say for certain what will happen. Some things may be good, others bad, but preparing for either will often leave you disappointed and wasting time in the process.

Should you decide to look into the future anyway, do yourself the favor and think of the positive possible scenarios. In a future where nothing is certain and everything is possible, it’s a 50/50 shot at the future being positive or negative.

Just remember, that whatever happens will happen regardless of how much you think about it beforehand. Be ready for whatever you can be, but focus most of your time here in the present.

Exercise: Whenever you think about the future answer those thoughts with “I’ll figure it out” or “Those are worries for another time” and refocus on what you are doing at the moment.

Focus on the now instead. With the future being so uncertain, and the past long gone, the only thing we can really do is focus on what we can do right now.

Take a look at your life. You are where you are. For better and for worse your choices lead you here. This is what your life is right now.

Don’t like it? Tough luck. You cannot change those decisions anymore that lead you here. So what is it that you can do?

What can you do right now to make your life better for your future self? What can you do right now to make your life more amazing than yesterday? What can you do to create a life you love?

Right now you are making a choice to read this article, and it will affect your life in some way. In fact, every moment you made a choice to do what you do. The question is whether that is a choice that will lead you to an amazing life or not…

You cannot change the past, nor can you predict the future, but every choice you make now does matter. Everything you have now was a choice you made in the now before. In the same way what you choose now changes your future, even if only ever so slightly.

Keep focusing on what you can do now. Have fun NOW. Work hard NOW. Create your future NOW.

Exercise: Every day, ideally every morning, take a look at where you are in life right now. For better or for worse, just accept everything without judgement. This is your life. Then, pick something you will work on today. It’s this training in your awareness that will bring about the most drastic changes.

Make it happen. Of course there are bad things that will happen. Life will not always be straight-forward and easy. What will you do about it?

Most people get so scared of the work that they hide behind comfort and entertainment, only talking to the same people that give them the same advice and ‘feel-good messages’. However, none of that will change a crappy life.

Do you really expect your life to magically turn around by running away from every problem? Do you really think you can sit on the couch, watch TV, and somehow everything will work itself out?

Look, your life can be great and you can have a ton of fun, but if you want anything more than what you have you have to work for it!

Again, it’s not about doing everything all at once. Your life will not change from today to tomorrow, but that’s not the point. The point is that you start working now, do a what you can, and slowly but surely make your way to where you want to be.

Exercise: Habits. Daily habits that, in the long-run, allow you to reach your ultimate goals. Create those habits, make sure they are easy, and then mark them off every day when you complete them. Again, it’s not about the few big things done once, but the small things done every day that change your life.

Trust in your ability to figure things out. Imagine yourself in the worst possible scenario you can. No money to your name, no way to internet access, no phone, in a country with no civilization for miles, all alone. You have nothing on you other than the clothes on your back. Given that situation, what would you do to get out?

Really take some time with the above mentioned exercise and think about what you would do. It probably won’t be the best plan, probably won’t be the easiest thing to put into action, but try to make a plan regardless that seems viable. Take a few minutes now to do this.

Notice now that whatever plan you came up with is a plan created in a situation probably far worse than the one you are in. And yet, you still managed to create a plan of action that would get you out. If you can make a reasonable sounding plan for that situation, then why wouldn’t you be able to do the same for any other situation?

Life will throw many things at you, but few will be as drastic as that. If you can think of something more drastic and hopeless, however, then design a plan for that too. Get your mind used to thinking about what you could do to make a situation better and you’ll train it to do just that in the moments it matters.

You’ve figured out everything up until now, and you will figure out everything going forward. Believe in that and you’ll go at most situations with less worry, fear and restriction, which will open up a world of opportunity to you.

Burn the Boats. “When Alexander the Great arrived on the shores of Persia his army was overwhelmingly outnumbered. Yet he gave the orders to his men to burn the boats. As their only means of retreat went up in flames, legend has it that Alexander turned to his men and said, “We go home in Persian ships, or we die”. Not quite the stirring Braveheart speech, but certainly motivational in it’s own way! What followed was an astounding victory over an army that was in many ways superior. Win or die. Simple.”
(Source: Burn Your Boats)

When you burn your boats, when you only leave one path open to you, you commit. Not because you choose to but rather because you feel that innate sense of necessity. It’s that necessity that pushes you far beyond what you would do. Necessity got you up at 4 in the morning if you had a paper to turn in that day, got you to work even though while sick when you needed money, and is what makes you go out of your way for your kids even though you have no energy at all.

Now, the point to the story above is not for you to abandon every other plan for your life and force this necessity. Rather, the point of the story lies within what that necessity created in the soldiers. When they heard that there was no way back other than to win, they committed everything they had to the fight ahead of them. Where before they might have been willing to flee, now they would fight to the death for sure.

The point here is about commitment. It’s committing to a choice, necessity there or not, that allows us to go above and beyond what we are capable of. There is nothing that giving up will do for you, and if you already commit to a choice you might as well give it your all.

Exercise: This week try to commit to every choice you make without looking back. Commit fully to the moment, the choice, the action, the goal or the situation. When you watch a movie, be fully attentive. When you are on a date, be fully invested. And when you are at work, try to give it everything you’ve got. You’ll not only feel more relieved afterwards, it will also open up a tremendous amount of opportunities for you if you approach life like this.

Know it will happen, no matter how long it takes. It might not happen today. It might not happen tomorrow. It might not even happen in the next 5 years. Okay. Fine. Keep working anyway. If you keep working on it, if you never give up it will happen for you!

Over 99% of people never get what they want because they give up. They encounter failure after failure, but that doesn’t mean their dream is over. As soon as they give up though, they are done. The dream is dead only when you decide to give up on it.

You may not get there the way you thought you would, or when you thought you would, so give yourself the options to do other things. You will reach your dream if you keep working on it. Make sure you keep that in mind.

No matter how long it takes. Start today. Keep working. Keep grinding. Enjoy the journey. And never quit.