Make a wonderful life for you

Tokani L. 
Asst. Prof., St. Joseph’s College, Jakhama

Realize that you are magnificent in human form and your potential is unlimited. You truly are unique and there is no one in the universe with the exact same experiences and perspectives as you. Regardless of where you are or where you are going, you are always exactly where you need to be and therefore, you should allow yourself to feel the extra happiness you are pursuing now.

Steps for a wonderful life-

• Live Below Your Means:

There will always be temptation to forsake the future for immediate gratification. We all want to buy that new piece of technology, treat ourselves to an expensive night in town, or take out a loan for the flashy car we can't afford. It might feel great at the time but rash spending hurts a lot later on.

Enjoy life's simple pleasures and save as much as you can. Expensive things don't create lasting happiness and security. Careful spending will bring you greater leisure and enjoyment in the long run.

• Put Your Money to Work:

Saving is great, but to make the most of your money you need to put it to work. Good investments can be the difference between retiring in your 40's or in your 60's. Wise investment is the surest path to financial independence and it's something everyone can work on.

• Educate Yourself:

To be happy, we need continuous growth. The best way to grow is life-long education. This doesn't mean you need to pursue a doctorate or spend 2 hours reading every day. Self education can be anything that takes you out of your comfort zone. The important part is keeping an open mind and search for fresh ideas and perspectives.

Education builds over time. It might feel like the bits of wisdom you acquire don't mean much, but over the years they add up to form a wiser, kinder and more interesting person.

• Develop Lasting Personal Relationships:

Suppose you had everything you wanted. Would you be happy without anyone to share it with? The personal relationships we develop with friends and family members are the greatest source of happiness in our lives. Don't forget about them.

Taking the time to cultivate and enjoy personal relationships is essential for long-term happiness. Without the people you care about, you'll probably be miserable, no matter how successful you become.

• Work towards a Dream You're Passionate About:

Even if your life isn't perfect, you can always build towards a goal you're passionate about. If you aren't building towards something, you're probably stagnating. When this happens to me I start to feel like a victim trapped by my own life. The best way to reverse this is set a goal and work towards achieving it,

We can't control everything about our lives, but working towards a goal gives us something positive to focus on and lays the foundation for future success. No matter what your passion is, get out there and start doing something. As Lao Tzu said, even a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single a step.

• Giving back to Community:

The reality is that the community we live in has a huge influence on us personally - it fosters safety, responsibility and sustainability - so it is important that we take our community seriously for the greater good of humanity and for our own personal benefit.

As the saying goes, 'charity begins at home'. Charity is believed to be a form of blessing you receive when you help the needy. This kind of deed also gives you an inner satisfaction. If you have the ability then why not help someone in need? There are many needy people in this world struggling for the basic necessities of life. If you provide this kind of help, just think of the wonderful life you are living. Not everyone has what you have!

Charity may not necessarily be in the form of money but it could also be in kind. You could provide with food, clothes, or anything. This reminds the age-old African proverb: "When the right hand washes the left, the right gets cleansed too." Healing ourselves, making ourselves whole by helping others, is not some half-baked preachment. There is a longing to it that is intensely personal, a pressing homesickness for that something or someone we have left behind and long to reach. We ache to transcend time, transcend our limitations, transcend our material existence and embrace the eternal.

Conclusion:

In a nut shell it can be said, everyone in this world, rich or poor should have a definite aim in life. A man without any fixed purpose in life is like a ship without radar, at the mercy of the winds, powerless to control its course. Likewise, a person having no aim in life has nothing by which to guide his actions, or regulate his conduct. So, follow your dreams with your heart.