Jumpstart Your Dream Life

A Beginning is a Chance to Start Fresh

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I love beginnings.

Beginnings of what, you wonder? Of anything, really. The first day of school. The first day of a holiday. The first time trying something new.

When you first start out, there are all these different stimuli that hit you right away. You look around in wonder, soaking in everything. It’s as if the sun is just rising.

When you begin, all the doors are open. Infinite possibilities lie ahead. Your future is a blank slate, yet to be written.

Nervousness mixes in with excitement. You feel unfamiliarity, uncertainty, maybe even fear. These emotions combine to create a rush, a thrill from being someplace new.

We usually assume that experts are superior to novices, since they know better. And that’s usually true. But in some unexpected ways, a beginner can have hidden advantages over an expert.

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Bad Things Happen When You Ignore Warning Signs

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In January 2002, a lone man predicted a natural disaster that would impact the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.

Local expert Dieudonne Wafulah had been studying Mount Nyiragongo, a volcano in Congo, for 15 years without pay. He tracked the activity of Nyiragongo and another nearby, smaller volcano for signs of change. Although his equipment had been stolen and vandalized over the years, he persisted in his work.

Then, he saw it. Based on the patterns Wafulah witnessed, Mount Nyiragongo was about to blow. There had been a series of tremors in the earth some months before. Black smoke rose from the mountain. The lava pool inside the crater had shifted and was getting higher.

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Slow Down and Take a Deep Breath

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We normally think perfection is the final stage in a process. But it’s not. There’s another step that comes after: speed.

When you first learn a skill or create something, you struggle. You go through trial and error, trying to figure out what went wrong. The going is slow.

Then, you start seeing small glimmers of success. You receive positive feedback. You begin to feel more confident as you get closer to where you want to be.

Finally, you have it. The ideal prototype. Your technique nailed down. A system in place. Now that the structure is in order, the next step is to go faster, and faster… and faster.

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10 Things That Will Matter a Lot More in 10 Years

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Can you imagine your life in 10 years’ time?

It’s hard, isn’t it? There are so many variables, so many unknowns, it’s nearly impossible to predict what’s in store. Chance events happen, and you end up in situations that no one could foresee.

But then you look at people ahead of you for reference. They’re a decade or two older than you. You notice how their lives have panned out.

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Before You Judge, Seek to Understand

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Have you ever looked at something and thought, “That’s crazy!”?

Maybe someone paid exorbitant amounts of money to buy a jacket when you could have gotten something similar for a fraction of the price. Or a company launched a product that seemed so strange, so unlike anything you had seen before, that you wondered what they were thinking. To you, it seemed illogical, maybe even stupid.

But to them, it made perfect sense.

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8 Subtle Signs You’re Settling for Comfort Instead of Embracing the Unknown

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Does it ever feel like you’re waiting?

Waiting for something to happen. Waiting for the fog to clear, so you can see what lies ahead. Waiting for the moment the pieces come together, culminating in the perfection you spent your entire life waiting for.

If you’re still waiting, here’s news: you’re wasting your time.

Waiting is dangerous. It gives the false illusion that if you’re patient enough, time will reward you with everything you hoped for. It causes you to sit there and let things fall into place rather than doing something yourself.

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Were Our Ancestors Happier Than We Are Today?

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Picture this: It’s the year 10,000 B.C. The sun is just rising.

You wake up to the sounds of rustling nearby. A few people sharpen their spears as they discuss the upcoming hunt. After downing a few gulps of water and some dried meat, you collect your supplies in a bag for the day.

You go out hiking with a few close relatives and friends to a berry patch. As you pick the ripest berries and place them in your basket, you overhear a funny story that your cousin shares about a conversation that morning. Laughter erupts.

The day carries on, dragging the sun along the sky. Beads of sweat accumulate on your forehead while your basket grows heavier. Finally, you hear a call from a fellow forager. It’s time to head back.

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6 Questions to Figure Out If You’re Living Up to Your Potential

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The older we get, the more our dreams fade away.

It’s a sad fact of life, if not a very real one. Early on, you have an entire slew of things you want to accomplish. Enthusiasm, energy and excitement pump through your veins as you picture yourself reaching those achievements.

Yet those feelings gradually die down with time. For some aspirations, you might have set the benchmark incredibly high and then failed to get where you thought you’d be. Maybe you talked yourself out of even trying.

And when you did accomplish something, it didn’t live up to your expectations. Reaching a goal wasn’t the be-all-end-all you anticipated. Afterward, there was a void as you thought, “What next?”

Eventually, it becomes exhausting to keep trying (and often failing). You stop resisting to the pressures of everyday life and succumb to the routine. It’s comfortable. It’s safe.

But it’s also dangerous.

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10 Signs You Need to Let Go of Someone

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A strong social network is important to our well-being.

But what if components of that network fail us? What if instead of uplifting us, supporting us, and making us better, they make us feel worse and drag us down?

The obvious answer would be to cut those people out. Stop talking to them altogether. But sometimes the answer isn’t so obvious. There are gray areas.

Maybe a friend pushes you into doing things you’re uncomfortable with, but has a great sense of humor and is fun to be around. Or a partner is thoughtful and means well, but simply isn’t relatable. It’s hard to cut the cord for a number of reasons.

So when is it time to say goodbye?

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Why We Suffer From Losses More Than We Gain From Wins

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Imagine two scenarios:

In the first one, you make a $10 bet with a friend. You lose. The next day, fortune smiles on you as you walk down the street. You see a $10 bill lying on the sidewalk.

In the second scenario, nothing happens. You neither enter into any bet with anyone, nor do you find any money lying on the street.

In both scenarios, your net gain is $0.

Would both of these scenarios affect you the same psychologically? Or would one have a greater emotional impact than the other? Which scenario would you choose?

If you picked the second scenario, you made the right choice.

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