We often get stuck looking for the way to do something and we probably picked up that habit in school. We learned that two plus two is four, that its not five or six or seven. We learned what the proper capital of a country and that water boils at one hundred degrees celsius. Time and time again the idea was reinforced inside of us that there is a right answer and that it is always a solitary answer.

As far as we know we get the pleasure of dying once, of being held to the surface of the earth by gravity, and of paying our taxes each and every year. Some things are final, individual and solitary, but how you conduct your life, what you do with your life, and how you get it done are not defined.

There is no right way, or perfect way, or only way of getting at something. There are a thousand different ways, if not millions or an infinite number of possibilities.

There are many methods and they are true. The authors and experts share what they know and they should. It is what has made them great. It is what they understand and they mean very well. They want you to experience the same success and happiness they have found with whatever brought them there. But you have to remember that they are not you. You are still in charge. You will always be in charge.

This doesn’t mean that you don’t listen that you try to do it your way, but it does mean that its ok to try new things or to disagree with the advice you are given, not because it isn’t valid, but because your unique set of circumstances call for you to act differently.

Take for example the idea to set aside four hours a day to pursue your dreams or to wake up super early, or to never eat any treats that your fellow human beings bring with them to share at work. Setting aside a four hour block to follow your dreams, waking up early, and eating clean are tremendous ideas, but perhaps they might have to be tailored to your life.

If you have children, or a demanding job, and yet you still want to pursue your passion, maybe you will devote twenty three minutes on Monday, and hour and a half on Thursday, and seven minutes on Wednesday. Maybe waking up early means getting up only twenty minutes earlier and doing something with that time and maybe not accepting treats that well meaning people bring to share with you might hurt them feelings if it is done all the time. Perhaps there are accessions to every rule. Perhaps there is no one way to do everything. There may be a thousand different ways, and we cannot be shy not to explore any of them.

The most important way is to always continue. To always thrive to move forward. To attempt new things and get back to the things that have worked and continue to work. The important lesson is to never stop, to do something, to have a purpose, to have a plan, and to work that plan. Work that plan to success or failure and then dig through the debris to find out what went wrong, or duplicate and mold the effort to create some more.

There are a thousand different ways to be successful. You should never give up. You should grow flexible enough to return, and spring back and forth to whatever you need, when you need it.

 

Cover photo generously provided by photographer Rawpixel via unsplash.com