Conventional
wisdom is “conventional” in the sense that the majority of people have already
accepted it as the norm, with the implication that others should follow
suit—something like a blueprint.
However,
if you want to live an extraordinary life, you are going to have to think for
yourself, do the unimagined, and create your own definition of the reality for
living—that is, living with your own wisdom, not necessarily following
conventional wisdom or that of someone else.
What Conventional
Wisdom Says About Living
In general,
conventional wisdom has the following to say about how one should live.
Life Purpose
Most experts agree that life
has to have a purpose, and living is to identify that life purpose and then
follow a pathway to attaining that purpose. The explanation is that with no
central purpose in life one may easily become a prey to fantasies, imaginings,
and longings—the root causes of all emotional problems in contemporary life,
such as anxiety, fear, and depression.
Thinking Questions
What is my life purpose?
Is a life in search of
happiness purposeful?
Life Goals
The next step is to set clear
and achievable goals with a timeline for each in order to bring one’s life
purpose into fruition. Based on specific life goals, a person then develops a
direction in life in order to achieve what he or she has set out to accomplish.
Life goals, however, must be
clear and definite, achievable, and, above all, life-transforming in order to
make life meaningful.
Thinking Question
Does life still have goals
when I am nearing its end rather than its beginning?
Life Priorities
Determine the priorities of
life goals by focusing on current skills and strengths that facilitate the
attainment of certain immediate short-term as well as long-term goals.
Meanwhile, explore and discover hidden gifts and talents for other life goal
further down the road.
Life priorities have to be
adjusted accordingly as life proceeds.
Life Passion
A life well lived must be a
life of passion. Follow your heart: instead of following anything or anyone. Do
what you are good at or what you are passionate about, and you will find your
true self. If you like what you do and do what you like, you will do it well.
Passion gives life and substance to whatever you do.
Thinking Success
An individual who develops the
process of right thinking is more likely to succeed than the one who does not
because that individual knows how to rule himself or herself under any
difficult circumstance. Success in any endeavor in life has to do with the
mind, which creates the attitudes for
success.
Attitude
towards discipline
Govern yourself to avoid
ungoverned grief, tumultuous tempers, and unbridled passion—the root causes of
some of the major disasters in contemporary life.
Attitude
towards input
Great success requires great
sacrifice.
Find the one thing you do
well, and do not do anything else—or at least do not try to do everything
at the same time.
Develop a strong inner
circle to provide you with the right input. As for others, just ask certain
friends to keep you updated on what is happening in the lives of your other
friends. You cannot possibly catch up with everyone you know.
Spend time wisely.
Focus on knowing and learning what is important to you. Remember, 99 percent of
everything in life is what you do not need to know.
Sacrifice short-term enjoyment
for long-term value goals. It is important to know the things you are giving up
in life and how important they are to your life. Being willing to give up some
of the things you love in order to focus on what has the greatest impact is not
only a difficult life lesson to learn but also a difficult life choice to make.
But living is about balance, which requires give-and-take.
Attitude
towards failures
Learn to cope with ups and
downs, obstacles and drawbacks in life.
Stephen Lau
Copyright© by
Stephen Lau
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