Life is precious, treasure it.

No one lives forever. Although they are only four words, these words are truly powerful. No one likes to think about their own mortality, or actually come to the terms that one day they will seize to exist, at least to our knowledge. To put it lightly, we all have a countdown clock that begins counting the moment we are born. Many of us procrastinate because we feel that we will always have “later” or “tomorrow” to start. The issue with this type of mentality is that none of us can actually guarantee what tomorrow will bring or even that tomorrow will come. I can think of many friends, family members, coworkers, and individuals alike, who had it in their minds that they would start living their lives the right way tomorrow, until tomorrow never came. Too many of us neglect our health and well being because we haven’t taken the time to address the underlying issues, which in fact, are the root of the dilemma’s or obstacles that we are currently dealing with. Many of us allow ourselves to have vices, making an agreement with ourselves stating, “This is who I am, this is a part of me.” My response to that is that we will always be what we consider ourselves to be and we will remain that way unless we decide to change our opinions of ourselves. You see, the way that you view yourself is the same way that people will view you. If there is something that you do not like about yourself, physical limitations excluded, you have two options: Learn to accept that flaw for what it is and see if you can turn it into a strength, or you can change it. Just because you have been a certain way for most of your life does not mean that you have to spend the rest of your life being that way. Let’s say that for most of your life you have had bad things happen to you and this has caused you to have a negative outlook on life. You would consider yourself bad luck, and say that it’s “impossible” for you to change. The longer you continue to believe this is your destiny and that there is no hope for change or reconciliation, the smaller the window of opportunity becomes. In order to be what you have always wanted to become, you must first do things you have never wanted to do. It's quite interesting to know that success and growth take place right outside of our comfort zone, yet we do all in our power to ensure that we don’t allow ourselves to become uncomfortable. In order to grow you must first become uncomfortable.

Daniel D'Elia, M.Ed
Personal growth coach, educator, transformational speaker, writer.