Your life is your art, and you get to decide what it looks like. All of us desire success. We all want something and aspire to achieve it. Still, the fact remains that most of us don’t achieve the life we desire. Some of us never start creating our masterpiece because we’re waiting on the perfect time, we feel we lack resources, we blame our circumstances, or worse, we don’t feel worthy or capable of success. Others get started. We hit the canvas with a few strokes of color, but we start doubting, we lose patience, or we don’t make our masterpiece a priority so other things waste our time and energy. What we must believe is that inside of each one of us is an artist perfectly made to create a beautiful masterpiece. The masterpiece is your life!
There is no exact formula, but there are some common guidelines that people who create the life they desire follow. Here are seven of them we want to share.
- Take full responsibility of your life. Own your Canvas – Your life is your canvas, and it’s yours. Successful people take 100% full ownership of the thoughts they think, the images they visualize, and the decisions they make. They don’t waste their time and energy blaming and complaining. Of course there are things that happen to us that are out of our control, but how we respond to it, is fully in our control. The truth is, everything about our lives is a result of our doing or not doing. Income, debt, relationships, health, attitudes, and our behaviors. Deep down, we know this painful truth, but our mind plays tricks on us and convinces us that there is someone or something to blame for our disappointments, failures, and unhappiness. There is only one person responsible for the picture on the canvas, and it’s the artist. Your life is your art, and you are the artist…Own your canvas!
- DECIDE what it is you want. What will your picture be – The clay doesn’t own the potter, nor does the paint own the artist. It’s exactly the opposite. You get to decide what you want your life to look like. Innate in every human being is a knowledge that they have something to accomplish while on this earth, a purpose to fulfill. Taking the time to learn what you were created to create is the key to your success. Your desires are clues to the bigger vision of what your masterpiece should ultimately be. What do you want your life to look like…What will your picture be?
- Remember your why. Why this picture – Why are you creating this life for yourself? Usually, it’s easy to figure out what we want our life to be like, but the harder, more thought-provoking question, is why do we want it? We’re not talking about the superficial, ordinary why, that everyone uses, we’re talking the why that touches you and only you deep in your soul. The why that makes you cry! Without a clear understanding of why you’re doing something, your thought process will always jump to what. Although, you can’t create the art without knowing what your picture will be, it’s the why that will keep you going. Why you’re creating this life you desire will propel you to keep creating when you feel like you have nothing left and you want to give up. It’s remembering why this picture that will keep you working and not giving up on your masterpiece.
- Believe in your ability. You were created to create – If you are going to create the life of your dreams, you must believe in yourself and your ability to get the job done. You are capable of whatever you’re called to do in this life. Of course, you’re going to mess up. You’re going to use the wrong color combo, and even drop the paint. Life doesn’t come without pains and struggles, but you are fully capable, and you have everything you need to experience success. You were created to create the life you desire to fulfill your purpose!
- Live in expectation. Expect to get the result you desire – The best is yet to come. Creating the life you desire, your masterpiece, is a journey. You must live in expectation that what lies ahead is always better than what has been. Successful people don’t live in the past, reliving mistakes, and reasons why they could never possibly achieve what they desire. Instead, they envision the future and walk as though what they are creating already exists. Your past can be the biggest hinderance of creating the life you desire. Past mistakes and past failures can cause us to live in fear and lose our confidence causing us to give up. Never, ever give up! Expect to get the result you desire.
- Shake it up! Change the colors – Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. If you don’t like the way your art is turning out, you must do something different. Change is extremely uncomfortable and can be overwhelming, but sometimes you need to shake things up. Doing something different could mean more money, more time, more energy, and it may even upset people who were expecting to see you create a certain kind of picture. Remember, you are the artist of your art. It’s your life, and if you don’t like what it’s turning out to be, shake it up…Change the colors!
- Just be you. There is only one you – Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive that is truer than you! Dr Seuss sums it all up in this one quote. Only you can create what you were born to do. Don’t worry about what other people are painting on their canvas of life. You are the artist of your masterpiece, your life. There is only one you!
It’s not easy creating the life you desire and living out your purpose, but just like art, with some guidelines to follow, some helpful instructions, and the right supplies, you can create a beautiful masterpiece, the life you desire!
Written By:
Kim Martin, Founder of I’ve Decided, INC.
www.ivedecided.org