3 Key Principles for a Better Life
You see all over social media people cruising through the Mediterranean Sea drinking champagne on their yacht or hiking up the tallest mountains and capturing the most beautiful views, or snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef or cliff diving, or chasing waterfalls etc. You look up from your phone staring back at your computer screen and just got a ping from your boss for a meeting in 5 minutes.
You immediately start to contemplate all your life choices, start feeling bad for yourself and start developing feelings of jealousy towards some random person on social media because they’re living the life you want to live while you’re cooped up in your cubicle doing a job you don’t want to do and taking orders from a boss you don’t like. Does this sound like you?
Well if it does then you’re in luck, because the following tips will hopefully change your perception on your life and give you confidence to take control of your dreams. No matter who you are, where you work or what you do. Everyone deserves to live the life of their dreams.
1. Social Media a sham
The scenario I laid out above is one that we all see far too often. We see all these “wealthy” and “successful” people living it up on social media and traveling the world and we get so self conscious about ourselves and our lives that it makes us feel bad, get envious and ultimately depressed about our situation.
Social media is a LIE! The sooner you realize this the quicker you will begin to realize that half of these “influencers” lives aren’t so great at all and they’re only showing the best parts or highlights of their lives and keeping the other 99% of their lives in the dark.
We also need to realize that 99.9999999% of the population does NOT live like this and you are actually doing so much better than you realize.
Do you have a job? Can you save money for your future? Do you have a roof over your head? Can you buy fresh food with a short trip to the grocery store? Do you have clothes? Do you have clean water? Do you have free time? Do you have electricity? Do you have people who love you?
For most of you, the answer for all of those questions should be yes. When you start appreciating the little things in your life you will be grateful for that boring 9-5 job that puts food on the table, provides health care and investments towards your future and your hobbies, because there are a lot of people out there that would kill to be in your position.
The sooner you learn to ignore social media and realize a lot of what seem to be “The perfect lives” are actually fake you will be more at peace with your life, and the trips you do take and the memories and experiences you make and deserve, will be extremely fulfilling.
2. Experiences > Material Items
Whats the difference between an older car still in good condition with say 40,000 miles on it and say a brand spanking new top of the line car with 0 miles on it. The answer? About $30K – 50K. While both cars do the job of a car in getting you from point A to point B, so many people will choose the latter option. They’re ok with spending $800 a month with their car payment but an $800 round trip flight to a new country is too expensive.
Look, if you’re a car person and you love having a nice car then that’s totally fine if that makes you happy. But if you’re someone who is so confused about why they don’t have any money and can’t afford to travel when they work 40 hours a week, then I may be talking to you. I drive a 2014 Nissan with 45,000 miles on it that I paid for in cash and bought for $11,000. Never had a car payments in my life. It’s not the sexiest car in the world, but it does the job and keeps my expenses low, and that’s all I need it for.
By not having a car payment every month I’m able to put that money into a vacation fund that I use to fund my travels. If you can’t make the sacrifice by not having the fanciest and most expansive car out there, then you will be able to free up so much more money for things that will actually bring you real joy in life.
That car may make you happy for a little bit, but then ultimately it’ll go back to just being exactly what it is. Just a car, and a couple years down the road you will want the newest one, same goes with the iPhone or the next gen video game consoles and any other material item in this world. You can’t take them to the grave with you, but you know what you can take to the grave? Your memories and experiences.
If you’re a spender and you’re buying every new car or clothes or phones or shoes that come out, you won’t have any money left to travel. By cutting back on a lot of those material items and realizing they don’t actually bring you that much joy after all, you will see how much money you have freed up that you can allocate to something much more fulfilling….experiences.
Once you get that first taste of travel, and breath in the air of some place new and see new and beautiful things, you will be hooked.
If you live by the principle of valuing experiences over material things I truly believe it will make you a more happy and well rounded person
3. Get out of your comfort zone
“Comfort is the enemy of progress” – (Author name ) This is another saying that I absolutely love. If you never try to venture out of your comfort zone and do something that makes you feel uncomfortable you will never grow as a person, you will always stay in your little bubble of comfort. And that little bubble will slowly destroy you. It will destroy your motivation, your creativity, your curiosity, your sense of adventure and your will to improve.
However if you choose to push yourself out of that bubble and into a world unknown you will discover your unlimited potential. You will realize that your comfort zone has been holding you back for your entire life.
Think of your comfort zone as a muscle, if you don’t work it out and exercise it it will get smaller and weaker over time. However, if you start exercising it by putting it through pain and discomfort such as doing bicep curls, bench press, deadlifts etc, you will soon see that muscle start to grow. It will get bigger, stronger and healthier.
Same goes for your comfort zone. The more you push yourself to do things you don’t want to do, more pain you endure, the more discomfort you out up with, the bigger your comfort zone will grow. The greater your mind and your body will grow and the more powerful of a person you will become.
Next time your friends ask you to do something you’ve never done before, do it, if you’re nervous to go to the gym, do it, you will be glad you did, I promise. If you’ve never left your town or state before, DO IT! If you’re scared to travel for the first time like I was, DO IT, you will not regret it.
Get out of comfort zone, do things that make you feel uncomfortable or things that you’re scared to do. 99% of the time, you’ll be glad you took that step.
So there you have it. 3 key principles for a better life. If you start implementing these rules TODAY, you will see your life change like never before. You will also feel better both mentally and physically. You will be amazed at the person you’ve become,
I know this is a travel blog, but sometimes you can’t fulfill your travel dreams without working on yourself first. Sometimes people don’t know how much traveling can be benefit a person. And sometimes if you’re still trying to “find yourself” taking a trip somewhere new in nature may just be the best thing for you.