I had a strange thought last night when I was sitting on my couch with my wife. We were both scrolling our phones, lost in the digital world like we all often do. While I was on my phone, I started to think, “When I’m in my fifties, what will I miss the most about now?”

I paused because that question really got me thinking deeply. The answer came as a shock to me: “I’d give anything to be in the moment I’m in right now. I’d want to be young, happy with my wife, and live to the fullest while I could.”

I immediately put my phone down and went to hug my wife. She was surprised by my action and asked, “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

I didn’t say much. The only words that came out of my mouth were, “I love you, and I’m so grateful to have you in my life.”

This realization about my future gave me a reason to live my present to the fullest. I felt a deeper sense of gratitude for life—and for the present moment. I didn’t want to waste any time doing things I didn’t want to do or worry about things that didn’t matter. I didn’t want to argue with my wife over stupid stuff. I felt something unusual that I couldn’t explain.

I’m still carrying that emotion. The thought about being twenty years older gave me a new perspective on life. Everything has started to look different—a positive energy lightened up and gave me a new perspective on life.

We all set goals—things we want to achieve in the future. What if I tell you that you are setting your goals the wrong way? And that they are actually limiting your true potential.

I used to think hitting a goal meant I’d arrived somewhere. Set the number, hit the number, feel complete.

It’s happened to me several times: I set a goal, hit it exactly on schedule, and after a few hours, still felt that nothing much had changed.

It took me a while to notice the pattern. I’d hit the goal, feel good for about a week, then quietly set a new one — usually just a bigger version of the last. More revenue. More followers. More of whatever I’d already decided mattered. I never once asked whether the ceiling itself was the problem.

Your goals were supposed to be a floor. You made them a ceiling.

Here’s the uncomfortable part: your goals are limiting your true potential.

Imagine something that defines you — a title, a number, a target you’ve written down for the month or the year. The moment you define yourself by it, you’ve also set your boundary. You’ll work hard to reach that line. But almost nobody asks what’s on the other side of it, because the goal itself becomes the whole horizon.

We all carry a self-image — a quiet, mostly unexamined belief about what we can and can’t do. Since childhood, experiences, feedback, and comparisons have shaped us into believing we have a fixed, countable set of abilities. Somewhere along the way, most of us stopped questioning where that number came from.

Setting goals isn’t the problem. Believing the goal is the edge of what’s possible for you. That’s the part that quietly caps everything.

The cage gets bigger. It’s still a cage.

Picture an animal born and raised in a zoo enclosure. For that animal, the fence isn’t a fence; it’s just reality. It doesn’t test the edges because it’s never occurred to it that there might be an edge.

Now picture the zoo expanding the enclosure: bigger space, more room to roam. The animal still doesn’t know the fence used to be smaller. It just knows: this is the size of the world.

That’s what happens when you respond to a maxed-out goal by setting a bigger one. You’re not breaking out of the cage; you’re just funding a renovation. The bars move, but you’re still deciding your life inside a structure someone (usually you, years ago) built based on what felt believable at the time, not what was actually possible.

Where the ceiling actually comes from

Nobody hands you your limits at birth. You build them, mostly by accident, out of past results, other people’s opinions, and moments where something didn’t work and you generalized from it.

Failed once, so you decided you’re “not a numbers person.” Got rejected once, so you decided rejection is just what happens to you. None of that was ever proof of a ceiling. It was proof of one data point, dressed up as a permanent identity.

The problem is, once that self-image sets, you stop even attempting the things that would disprove it. The ceiling stays intact not because it’s real, but because you’ve quietly agreed to stop testing it.

Break the cage. Don’t just make it bigger.

Going beyond your limits doesn’t happen by setting a slightly more ambitious version of the same goal. It happens by questioning the frame the goal was built inside of — letting go of the self-beliefs that decided what counted as “realistic” in the first place.

Your comfort zone is a cage with better lighting. It’s still a cage. Breaking it means thinking in a register that has nothing to do with your current evidence — imagining a version of your life where the usual constraints (what you’ve done before, what people like you “typically” achieve, what feels believable right now) simply don’t apply.

That will feel uncomfortable, maybe even a little embarrassing to admit out loud. Good. That discomfort is usually a decent sign you’re outside the fence instead of just redecorating inside it.

The stories that don’t make sense — until they do

You’ve probably heard versions of this story: someone with nothing — no money, no safety net, sometimes no home — ends up with everything—wealth, influence, a life that looks nothing like where they started. Oprah Winfrey’s early years are one of the more famous examples, but there are thousands of quieter versions of the same arc that never make headlines.

From the outside, those stories look impossible. From the inside, the people living them will usually tell you the same thing: the turning point wasn’t a lucky break. It was the moment they stopped treating their circumstances as a verdict on what they could do.

The honest difference between someone who breaks through and someone who stays stuck usually isn’t talent, luck, or even effort. It’s where they’ve drawn the line on what’s available to them. High achievers keep testing the fence long after everyone around them has accepted it as permanent.

Imagine you’ve achieved all your goals — your dream car, house, income, fitness, and the best relationship. How would your life be?

Can you handle it?

Let’s take a specific goal — your dream car. If you received the car right now, would you be able to take care of it?

Sure, you might think it’s easy. But think carefully. Sometimes, we think we want something, but we aren’t ready for it.

Let’s take another example. What if your income increased 10x right now? How would your life be? Maybe you would buy stuff you wanted and spend most of the money. Then, you would be back to square one.

Having what you want doesn’t always mean you deserve it.

The stuff you have won’t be worth it if you don’t know how to take care of it. Even if you possess it right now, it will soon be gone.

The money will be spent, the car will break down, the house will be worthless, your body will be unhealthy again, and the relationship will end.

Do you want that? Of course not.

So, to get what you want, you must become the person who deserves it.

And the only way to do that is by first growing your mentality about your life. Your mindset is crucial to determining whether you deserve everything.

If you can’t act like you deserve the thing, you won’t get it. And even if you do manage to achieve it somehow, it will soon be gone.

Visualizing and thinking about your goals isn’t enough. You must become the person who has all the things and, most importantly, knows how to handle them.

The life you want requires a version of you that doesn’t exist yet.

You can’t get a healthy body if you keep avoiding workouts. You can’t achieve financial freedom if you refuse to learn how money works. You can’t attract a meaningful relationship if you continue communicating defensively.

Wanting something isn’t enough. You need to consistently take action to become that person, whether it’s learning new skills, taking consistent actions, behaving a certain way, or building an identity.

Desire creates emotional intensity. But desire alone does not create the skills, habits, emotional resilience, or consistency required to achieve the goal.

You keep getting the same things if you keep doing the same things and living the same way.

To get the life you want, you need to channel the version of you that doesn’t exist yet. You must focus on transforming certain traits, skills, and daily actions that align you with the person ready to get that life.

The real price of what you want is usually paid in behaviors you don’t enjoy.

Most of us focus on the outcome. We want the body, income, relationship, freedom, etc. It’s easy to think and state these goals. However, what’s challenging for us is the actions required to achieve these goals.

We ignore behaviors like:

• Repetition
• Delayed gratification
• Rejection
• Boredom
• Uncertainty
• Difficult conversations
• Learning
• Saying no

The problem isn’t the lack of desire. It often lies in the process required to obtain the result.

I’m not saying that every desire or goal requires you to suffer. Some of them might only need a subtle transformation that is easy to achieve. Yet, most of our significant desires have some form of significant action or behavioral change tied to them.

Remember, if you are ready to do the boring, difficult, and invisible things repeatedly, your desires won’t be far away from you.

Stop asking, “What do I want?” Ask, “What would this require of me?”

Here’s a four-step exercise to help you become the person who is ready to achieve their goals.

Step 1: Define the desired outcome.

We often begin with this — stating the goals. However, most of us aren’t specific about it. So, for example, instead of adding vague goals like, “I want to be successful,” say, “I want to earn X amount of money from my work within Y months/years.”

Step 2: Identify the person who can create that outcome.

• What does this person know?
• What do they do regularly?
• What do they no longer tolerate?
• How do they respond to failure?
• What decisions do they make differently?

Step 3: Find the gap.

Compare the desired identity with your current behavior. Do they align? If not, ask;

• What are you currently avoiding?
• What skills are you missing?
• What habit contradicts the outcome you want?
• What emotional discomfort repeatedly controls your decisions?

Step 4: Create evidence.

Pick one behavior that proves the new identity. Make it specific and measurable. Do it consistently enough that it becomes evidence.

Become capable of sustaining your dreams.

As I said in the beginning, if you aren’t able to take care of things, you won’t be able to achieve your desires.

Everyone is worthy to achieve greater things in life. God has made us all creative beings. We can imagine certain things and bring them to reality — a power we all possess.

However, if we aren’t prepared to use or sustain the things we want, we’ll lose them.

Getting what you want can change your circumstances. Becoming capable of handling it determines whether it changes your life.

You don’t need to become perfect before receiving what you want. But you should be willing to become the kind of person who can make something meaningful out of it once it arrives.

The life you want is out there. It’s just waiting for you to become consistent enough, courageous enough, skilled enough, and honest enough to be able to attract it towards you, and keep it.

The goal is not to prove that you deserve a better life. The goal is to become someone who can create, recognize, and sustain one.

—

My uncle has a construction company, where he hires many workers. His employees work hard. They have to do physically challenging construction work. It consumes a lot of physical and mental energy. Unfortunately, those workers have very difficult lives because they aren’t paid for their hard work. And that isn’t my uncle’s fault; it is how the market treats construction workers.

I had a similar experience when my wife and I visited my sister-in-law, who is a nurse. She told us that she works hard night and day, yet she was paid below average.

On the other hand, my father rented out one of his houses uptown and earned thousands of dollars each month, without having to “work hard.” He sat in his home, reading his newspaper and sipping black tea. This made me realize that hard work isn’t always the best way to make money or succeed in life.

Then, the question that stuck with me was, “What is hard work actually paying me for?”

The Story We Were Handed (and Why We Believed It)

When you think about getting rich or being successful in general, you generally tie it to hard work. The human mind has been programmed to believe that working hard will bring success.

Since we were kids, we learned that hard work will help us get good grades in school. Then, as we grew older, the same philosophy applied to our work — hard work equals promotion.

The belief that hard work means success is comforting because it implies control. If wealth were purely about effort, anyone could get there by trying harder.

However, that’s obviously not the truth. Building wealth is about structure, timing, access, etc. But that is less comforting for us to hear. So we choose to believe what we have always believed.

Hard work does correlate with some success, but that’s often because it’s a prerequisite, not because it’s the cause. Everyone has to work hard to succeed.

Even my dad, who makes money easily by renting out his house, worked hard to build the house, deal with contractors, and make sure the tenants live in a comfortable environment. He worked hard before so that he doesn’t have to now.

Hard work is necessary, but that’s not sufficient.

I’m writing this, but I still want to believe that effort is the best lever because, as I said, it’s the one thing fully within my control. When I started writing online, I worked really hard trying to put out the best articles. My belief: “If I just push harder, the money will flow.”

But the reality was different; working hard didn’t make me money, but it did help me become better and learn other skills to understand writing and money.

Wages Are a Price, Not a Reward

Why is a janitor paid less than junior staff at a company, even though the janitor works harder? His work is exhausting and requires more time than that of someone who sits in a chair and works much less.

The truth is that just because your work requires a lot of hard work doesn’t mean you have to be paid more. The market prices scarcity and leverage, not difficulty.

The janitors’ work isn’t scarce. Anyone with the physical ability to do cleaning work can do that. His skills are easily accessible in the market. Therefore, he is paid less than a junior staff member with a proper skill set who would benefit the company. And so, they are paid more than the janitor.

Some effort-based work compounds, meaning that hard work will pay off more in the future. But only when the person eventually converts skill into leverage — a firm, a following, a rate only they can charge. In our example, the janitor cannot expand his skills to earn more because his work is usually the same. However, a junior staff member can develop their skills and get promoted to earn more. They can even start their own business to build something bigger.

Effort matters, but only as a stepping stone.

Money Follows Risk and Ownership, Not Hours

In the popular book Rich Dad Poor Dad, the author says that the rich own assets and the poor own liabilities they think are assets. The rich aren’t paid for how many hours they put into something. Instead, they are paid for exposure to outcomes — owning something whose value can rise (or fall).

Owning an asset is the best way to make money. That’s because assets don’t need sleep. They keep generating value while you’re doing something else entirely. This is the actual definition of leverage, and it has nothing to do with working harder.

Making money is also about risk. The people who look like they’re “working less” for more money often took a risk earlier that the hard worker never did — quitting a stable job, investing savings, building something with no guarantee of payoff.

The reward isn’t for effort; it’s for absorbing uncertainty.

Yes, it’s unfair, but it is what it is.

Elon Musk risked every penny he made from the PayPal days and invested in SpaceX and Tesla. Now, he’s the world’s richest man. I’m not saying he didn’t work hard. In fact, he is also one of the hardest-working men in the world. But the point is that he took a risk that looked reckless at the time, but it worked out, not because he worked harder than everyone else, but because he owned the outcome instead of renting his time.

Consider two people who are paid the same income. One of them earns a salary, while the other earns rental income. Even though they earn the same amount, the difference is that the first person’s income requires them to work additional hours, while the other’s doesn’t.

Wealth is the price of bearing risk and owning outcomes, not the price of effort.

How Hard Work Can Actively Block Wealth

When you work hard at something, you are giving your time and mental energy to it. If you are doing it in the wrong area, your hard work is actually blocking you from success.

For instance, working hard at a job consumes the exact time and energy that could be spent building things that actually create wealth, such as a side project, an investment habit, or a skill with leverage.

Every hour of hard work you put in the job you dislike is an hour not spent building an asset. The effort at a job can be, in effect, a subsidy paid to someone else’s wealth rather than your own.

I’m not asking you to quit your job or work less. It’s an argument to address where your hardest hours are going and whether they’re building something that’s yours.

It feels tempting to work hard at something because of the false belief that it will actually make you wealthy. It feels productive and safe, even when it isn’t moving you towards ownership.

Again, I’m not asking you to stop working hard. What I’m saying is that you must be aware of what you are working hard for and who owns the result.

Do This to Shift the Equation

The goal isn’t to “work less” but to redirect a portion of effort toward something you own, even in small, unglamorous ways. In other words, work hard for the things that matter, that actually will make you successful.

To give you a few examples:

• Negotiate equity/ownership instead of only salary when possible.
• Start something small on the side that doesn’t require quitting your job immediately.
• Treat consistent investing as buying small pieces of other people’s risk-taking when you can’t take the risk yourself. Start small, but build a habit of investing.

I get it. You might not have the time, money, or security to spend on these. This shift is in direction, not identical for everyone. But if your goal is to make money or become successful at something, you must be intentional about where you put your effort and what results it brings.

I began writing online while working a corporate 9–5 job. It began as a side hustle to make some extra cash. But as I built my skills, I learned how to leverage them to earn more without working more. For example, I published e-books and sold the copies for hundreds of dollars each month.

It’s time you understood that working hard isn’t the problem. The problem is when you don’t work hard at building something of your own.

Conclusion

My uncle’s construction workers will never be rich, even if they keep working harder at their jobs. The only way to wealth is for them to use their experience in the construction business and start their own company. It’s the sad truth that hard work isn’t related to wealth or success. Effort without ownership is effort wasted.

Hard work will always matter, for dignity, mastery, and stability, not just for a specific job of building wealth.

The solution isn’t working less; it’s to make sure some of your hardest hours are building something that’s yours.

When was the last time you worked really hard at something? Were you happy with the outcome? What did you benefit from your hard work? Did you own the outcome of the hours you put in?

My uncle retired at sixty-two and was dead inside by sixty-four. Not literally — he’s still alive, still sends forwarded emails — but something left him. He’d spent thirty years as a civil engineer, fixing drainage systems in small municipalities nobody cared about.

He complained about it constantly. The bureaucracy, the ingratitude, the low pay. And then he stopped, because he’d earned it, and he had absolutely no idea what to do with himself.

I keep thinking about him whenever someone asks me what I want out of life. The usual answers feel hollow — I want to be happy, I want financial freedom, I want to travel more. These aren’t wrong exactly, but they feel like things you say rather than things you actually believe.

The idea I keep coming back to — and I’m not fully sure I’ve earned the right to say this yet — is that the point of being here is to be useful. Not in a noble, self-sacrificing way. Not in the way people say it on LinkedIn with a graphic of a lighthouse.

Happiness as a byproduct

The happiness thing bugs me the most, honestly. We talk about happiness like it’s a destination — something you arrive at and then maintain, like a good posture. But I’ve never met anyone who was consistently happy because they were trying to be happy.

The happiest people I know are sort of… incidentally happy. They’re absorbed in something — a project, a person, an argument they care about. Happiness is a byproduct, not the goal.

What my uncle actually lost

He wasn’t unhappy at work because the work was bad. Towns stopped flooding because of him — the problems were real, and he was good at solving them. He was unhappy because he never connected the work to that fact.

He experienced the bureaucracy but not the outcome. And then in retirement, he lost even the bureaucracy. He lost the friction that proved he existed in someone else’s life.

What pulls me out of a bad stretch

When nothing feels meaningful, and I’m just sort of moving through days, what usually pulls me out isn’t a realization about my own happiness. It’s being needed for something specific — a friend stuck on a problem, a situation only I’m positioned to attempt.

The mood lifts not because I feel good, but because there’s suddenly a shape to the day. A reason the day has to go one way rather than another.

I realize this might sound like workaholism rebranded. I’ve had that thought too. But busyness and usefulness aren’t the same thing — you can be extremely busy and useless, and very slow and essential.

The problem with chasing money

Obviously, money matters — it buys stability, and stability is the precondition for almost everything else. I’m not romanticizing poverty. But I’ve also watched people organize their entire lives around accumulation, and the finish line keeps moving.

There’s always a higher number that would finally feel like enough. The goalposts aren’t moved by external forces; they’re moved by the accumulator, unconsciously, because the accumulation itself became the point.

What usefulness actually feels like

Usefulness has a different quality. It’s specific, particular — this thing, for this person or situation, done as well as I can do it. It doesn’t scale endlessly into abstraction.

It arrives, and then it’s done, and then there’s another one. That rhythm is stabilizing in a way that happiness-seeking never is — because happiness-seeking has no natural end state, no moment where you set down the tool and say: yes, that’s what was needed.

The human brain seeks comfort. It feels good — addictive, in a way. But it’s dangerous. The more comfortable you are, the more you want it.

I used to think being comfortable meant I had freedom, and that I was happy. It took me some hard knocks to realize that comfort isn’t good and, in fact, leads to stagnation.

Lesson learned: Your potential rarely grows in environments that demand nothing from you. For instance, I felt uncomfortable showing my face and publishing articles online. I didn’t want to come off as a know-it-all by posting about my life lessons. But the truth is that those who can share their stories and lessons and be honest achieve greatness.

Having a personal brand meant success, and I was running away from it.

Thankfully, not anymore. I published vulnerable stories, even when it felt uncomfortable. I showed up and spoke about my struggles and failures, even though I didn’t want to. Fortunately, those moments of difficulty helped me grow as a writer and storyteller.

Remember, growth almost always requires friction.

Comfort = No Growth

When things feel easy, you stop pushing your limits. You adapt to the environment that feels natural to you. As I said, the brain prefers predictable routines over challenging tasks. So, you begin to choose convenience over improvement.

Here are a few examples:

• Staying at a job you’ve outgrown
• Consuming content instead of creating
• Avoiding difficult conversations
• Not taking risks

Comfort keeps you safe, but it also keeps you small. Growth requires exposure to difficulty. For example, to grow your muscles, you need to lift heavy weights. Even though it feels uncomfortable, and your brain keeps telling you to stop, the only way is to expose yourself to the pain of lifting heavy weights. That’s the only way to build muscles and get fit.

In the same way, new skills come from struggle. There is no other way. You won’t grow from doing nothing or sitting on the couch watching Netflix. You need to expose yourself to new scenarios.

Confidence is built by doing uncomfortable things repeatedly. The more you can expose yourself to difficulties, the more self-confidence you grow.

Every meaningful achievement usually starts with uncertainty. Whether it’s publishing your first article, starting a business, or sharing ideas publicly, it feels uncomfortable at first.

Discomfort is often the price of becoming who you could be.

Sometimes, you don’t realize you are too comfortable. It happens unconsciously because you have become too familiar with it. Here are a few common signs you are living in your comfort zone:

• You avoid challenges that might make you look foolish.
• Your days feel repetitive and predictable.
• You spend more time consuming rather than creating.
• You keep saying, “I’ll start later.”

If you want to change, you must ask yourself this:

Am I choosing what is easy, or what will help me grow?

Once you learn to embrace discomfort, your life begins to change. It’s not just in business, social scenarios, or health. It works in all aspects of life. In fact, many religious texts and stories prove that growth lies on the other side of comfort. It’s just how life works.

Do this to escape the comfort trap.

If you have realized you are living in comfort, it’s time you escape the trap. You don’t have to panic or do things quickly. Small, daily actions can help you escape this trap and become your better version.

1. Do one uncomfortable activity every day. Publish something, reach out to someone, or learn a new skill. As I said, it doesn’t have to be anything massive. Perform a small act that is unfamiliar to you.
2. Create small habit changes. For instance, wake up earlier, exercise a bit longer (or lift a much heavier weight), or brush your teeth with your non-dominant hand. It will tell your brain that you can handle discomfort now.
3. Reduce passive comfort. Limit mindless scrolling. Having a smartphone has made us too comfortable. Instead of using it or doing anything that entertains you, replace that time with creation. You can also read a book, something that builds your knowledge.
4. Measure progress, not comfort. Did today move me closer to my potential? Ask this question and analyze your daily activities. If you are still doing things that make you comfortable, it’s time you took things seriously. Try again tomorrow. Do it until you finally feel comfortable being uncomfortable.
5. Reframe discomfort. Your mindset makes you who you are. So, instead of thinking, “This is uncomfortable.” Think, “This is where growth begins.”

Discomfort is not a signal to stop. It’s a signal that you are growing. If life feels too easy for too long, you’re probably not challenging your potential.

Try being uncomfortable. Embrace it instead of avoiding it. Start small, and be consistent.

Let me know what uncomfortable thing you did today in the comments below.

It was the end of 2025. I was about to write my last journal entry for the year when it clicked, “I wonder what I had written last year on the same day.” Basically, I wanted to reflect on my goals for 2025 before starting 2026.

I had a hard time finding the old journal. But when I did find it (after going through lots of them), what I read made me feel disgraceful. I couldn’t believe what I had written. The sad part was that the same stuff had been repeating for years, as I figured out after reading some older journals.

Most of us write goals and resolution plans for the new year. I don’t usually make a list. Instead, I write what I experience at that particular time. It’s like an essay called, “My current life situation.” I had written about my relationships, health, career, work life, and more. I’d also mentioned what I wanted in life, but couldn’t achieve.

Failures, successes, emotional states, and aspirations were part of my journal.

In my 2024 year-end journal, I had written how bad my life situation was. I had rambled on about what I couldn’t do and what was missing. It was full of complaints and disappointments. There were a few optimistic viewpoints. But more than eighty percent of them were rants.

The realization that hit me hard

Being completely honest, I had only hit a few of my 2025 targets. I am still struggling to make ends meet in certain areas of my life. Now that I am aware of my thoughts in the previous years, I have come to realize that I had manifested more bad than good.

Let me give you an example. Here’s what I had written in my 2024 year-end note:

I am in a difficult life situation. I can’t seem to make ends meet financially, no matter how much I try. It is exhausting to work hard and still fall short, to watch others move forward while I’m trying to stay afloat. The business is doing well, but not well enough. I want to do more, but I can’t. I am responsible for it because I am not working as hard as I should. So, this year I will be giving it all and fighting for everything I can.

You see, all complaints. And the worst part is that I have done the same thing consistently since 2022.

This year, I did well financially, but not well enough. If I had to summarize my year-end situation, I’d still write something similar to the previous ones.

The biggest realization I had before I even wrote this year’s entry is that I had actually manifested my situation year after year. There is no positivity and optimism in my entries. And it’s not just about the finances. It’s actually worse when it comes to health and personal goals. I only say that I will improve, but I never do.

How you feel repeatedly manifests more of the same feeling

My journal entries reflect my feelings at the time. If my emotions weren’t negative, I wouldn’t have talked about them as much. But since I was struggling, I wrote more about them.

Unfortunately, feeling them consistently and also writing about them were making things worse. I was programming my mind to feel that way over and over again. If someone asked me how my financial situation was (for example), I’d always say I was doing well. But in reality, I knew it was a lie. I couldn’t hide the truth from myself.

When the feelings were the same, the reality became the same.

I had an eye-opening moment when I realized what I had been doing wrong. I knew exactly what was making my life challenging. It was the lack of money, bad health, or struggling relationships. Instead, it was my mindset.

Thinking that I am the victim and I have always struggled was a mistake. Everything felt more negative than positive. Instead of thinking about how things could change (and believing in myself), I had been dwelling on how things were.

You manifest what you are

If you think you are poor, you will attract poverty. If you think you are unhealthy, you will attract poor health.

That’s a fact, and I just proved it with my own situation.

I wasn’t grateful for what I have. Instead, I was complaining about what I didn’t have. I didn’t write a single sentence to thank the people who helped me become better. I wasn’t grateful to have food, shelter, and people. I surely didn’t speak much about God and His blessings.

That was the problem.

Even when I didn’t have much, I still had some. And I should have been grateful for the little I had.

Even though the reality wasn’t how I wanted, I could have found the positive parts of my life and written about them. But no, I only focused on the negatives, which made me more pessimistic rather than the opposite.

Instead of writing, “I am struggling financially.” I could have said,

“I have been working hard, and the results haven’t shown yet, but I know that my hard work will pay off soon. I can feel it happening. I am grateful for the people I have and for their love and support. I have God with me, watching my every step and blessing me more each time I ask.”

Your current situation is the outcome of how you think, feel, and speak. Even if you aren’t where you want to be, don’t speak negatively. Instead, refocus on the good and talk as if you already are who you want to be. You have nothing to lose.

This year, I am not ranting about anything — no complaints, struggles, and blaming others. I’m focusing on the positives — gratitude, belief, trust, and persistence. I am ready to face the new year with a highly positive and eye-opening point of view.

Happy New Year to all. I hope you focus on the goods this year so that you manifest a better reality.

For some reason, we want to change some aspect of our lives. Better health, relationships, opportunities, jobs, and financial status are a few examples.

Unfortunately, most people fail to bring about the change we want. Some even spend their entire lives chasing their dreams, yet they fail.

I used to feel the same way. I always wanted to change things that I thought would improve my life. For example, I wanted to make more money than I already was, and I was never happy with my appearance.

It was always a struggle to have these in life, no matter how hard I tried. Things remained the same, with only minor or no growth.

Later, I realized a crucial (yet simple) idea that transformed my life. By implementing this idea, which I will share in this article, I can have anything I want.

Life works on a simple philosophy: actions equal results.

Newton’s first law states,

An object at rest remains at rest, and an object in motion remains in motion at constant speed and in a straight line unless acted on by an unbalanced force.

(Source)

In other words, nothing in life changes unless a force (or energy) is applied. Your action is that force, and your life remains unchanged if you don’t use it.

If you want to change something about your life, you must act with intention. It’s that simple.

Here are a few examples:

• Want to make more money? Start building more skills and learn about investing. Do it with intention.
• Want to have better health? Start exercising and eating healthily.
• Want to have better relationships? Meet more people and communicate with them.

If you are sitting in your room complaining about not having a better life, you are not taking intentional action.

Believe you can change. That’s the most essential part.

Change begins in your mind, then happens on the outside. Once you decide that things need to be different and that you can make it happen, you are halfway there.

The only thing that remains is acting upon your intention.

Once you build the mindset and start believing, you do things differently. Then, with consistent efforts, you make it happen.

Here is a simple way to begin:

1. Write down what you want to change—including what you want to achieve.
2. Believe you can make it happen. Live as if you have already done it (it’s crucial).
3. Then, act on it with intention. Your daily routine should include an action that contributes to your goal.

This is exactly what I did to change my life. I changed my life once I understood that my life wasn’t changing because I wasn’t acting with intention.

Finally, live in discomfort.

You can never change or achieve greater things if you remain inside your comfort zone. That’s because being comfortable means doing the same things you’ve always done.

Real change begins when you take on a challenge and do things that make you uncomfortable. It might not be easy at first, and you might feel like giving up. But soon, your life starts to take a different turn.

You will become a different person.

That’s it. That’s how you change your life. Remember, start focusing on intentional action, build your mindset, and do uncomfortable things.