Nana’s Top 10 Rules for Life!
1) No one is keeping score. Counter to what people tell you, what you do and how you do it isn’t tabulated somewhere in the grand galaxy. Nearly all measurements are arbitrary, shifting and evolving based on the input of the participants. Instead of worrying about performing to please others and their specific demands of you, work to be better at the things you love and eventually it will turn into your purpose.
2) Your origins are the sum of the family culture you were brought into and the society you grew up in. You will automatically do as they did until you become aware of your specific actions, practices and habits. If you do as they do all your life and it is O.K. with you; fine! However, if you notice things that are counter to your heart, then seek to learn and change how you participate. This may mean placing boundaries around yourself (and the belief systems of others) if they are trying to impose them on you and it isn’t allowing you to grow.
3) Consistency always wins over intensity. Life is a long game, a marathon, not a sprint. Character is built by doing things consistently and on purpose regardless of whether there is an immediate payout or result. Character is built from doing the mundane things with love and even when no one else is paying attention. A garden is cultivated over years and years — a farmer doesn’t just quickly throw down a bunch of seeds and hope for a robust crop of wheat the next day.
4) Learn to be selective early in your adulthood. You can’t possibly know it all, be it all or have it all! So what will you learn, who will you be that dictates what you will ultimately have? Focus on the things that make you happy, surround yourself with people who make you smile, inspire you or support your growth. Show up as the person you want to attract into your life and eventually you will BE DO HAVE!
5) Your emotions are there to protect you, not attack you! Just like the instrument panel of a sophisticated jet, you have many dials, knobs, clutches and wheels. Each part of the whole is critical to a successful flight. Each emotion you experience is there to redirect you to a better path. Happy = do more of that. Angry = reflect on the quality in you that was triggered. Sad = inspect your days and the people in your life. When a strong emotion arises, ask yourself, “If this feeling were to exist forever, what quality in me would have to emerge to manage it or break through it?” You don’t attract what you want, you attract what you already are, so work on being the best version of you possible.
6) Only you can build you. Please stop looking for others to build you! Stop asking their opinions, stop looking for recognition, stop checking in and comparing yourself to them. It’s time to look in the mirror, take inventory of what your talents, skills and traits are and then create a plan for how you want to use them.
Building you means being interested in what others who inspire you are saying, staying learning based your whole life, reading, trying, experimenting and making course corrections. If you see that the path is leading to a place other than your ideal, fail forward. It’s not your job to fit into an existing world, it’s your job to go into the existing world and build out your ideas and allow the world to serve them.
7) Put blinders on and walk quickly. You never really own more than the day you are in. Everything is transient. Life changes 100% of the time, please ditch the idea of “landing” somewhere physical whether its a location, family scenario, physical state or career. Just as a river slowly changes shape over time, you should be aiming to land within. Land in the knowledge you were honest, that you did your best, that you gave generously and that you created joy and received it. Everything else is a distraction, so keep your head down and go confidently in the direction of your dreams.(Ralph Waldo Emerson)
8) Procrastination is simply evidence that you should head in another direction. It’s a galaxy nudge telling you, this is not the highest and best use of your time. Guess what? The thing you procrastinate on, is the ultimate joy for someone else. Energy in the form of effort is circular — leverage the things you resist, lean into the things that energize you and watch your life become the one you create by design and not one that simply showed up by default.
9) Joy must be developed. Many people turn to quick fixes to attempt to create joy in their lives. Food, alcohol, drugs, gambling, relationships and consumption are the easy things. Discovering what makes you tick and motivates you from the heart takes more effort and time. Finding activities, charities, hobbies, locations and meditations take a little longer AND they are amazing because unlike unhealthy addictions, you can work into a greater mastery around them and they can become healthy addictions with amazing results.
10) Ultimately, the quality of your life will be in direct proportion to the level of moral values you live by. Morals are a system of beliefs that are taught for deciding good or bad and for deciding right or wrong. Morals have more social value and acceptance than just values, with a person being judged more for their moral character than their values. Examples of common moral values are: Being honest and trustworthy. Being courageous and Never giving up. Respecting property. Being humble and Grateful for the things given to you. Adding value to the world. Being patient and Kind. Taking personal responsibility. Keeping your word and always giving a little more than you receive.