Our reality is simply the combination of our results in life and the meaning we ascribe to them.  A story is essentially a description of that reality.  Stories are how we make sense out of life.  That’s why we all have a story.

And that’s why, when your life starts going off plot, it’s natural to freak out.  The story you’ve been using to make sense of your life doesn’t match reality. “Wait a minute!” some cry.  “I’m supposed to be married by now.  This isn’t how my story is supposed to go!”  Or maybe you weren’t supposed to get married to a “consolation prize.”  Or maybe you weren’t supposed to get divorced.  Or maybe your spouse wasn’t supposed to die so soon.  There’s endless ways to detail the difference between the story you’ve been using and the one you’re experiencing.

But Christ can make up the difference because He is the difference.  Your goals determine your direction, and direction determines destination.  How can you embrace the best destination unless you embrace He Who is the only Way to that best destination?  Sister Johnson acknowledged that truth as she began her remarks with an invitation:

Partnering with the Lord is the only way to your best life on both sides of the veil.  You simply can’t write your best story without Him.

As simple as that answer is, it isn’t easy.  Partnering with the Lord often means surrendering your will to His.  And the natural man and woman are nothing if not unwilling to be ruled.

Combine that truth with our biological hardwiring to resist change, especially uncomfortable change, and you’ve got obstacles to becoming your best self before you even begin.  Sooner or later, we’ll all sense that accepting His will instead of our own will mean accepting some uncomfortable outcome, deviating the story of our life away from the story we’ve told ourselves is the one that’s supposed to be.

This is essentially why we hesitate to turn our story over to Christ.  Sister Johnson said as much in her remarks:

Christ knows you and your potential so well He will guide you to what will help shape you into your best self, and He won’t allow anything to come into your life that you can’t leverage for that end.  Sister Johnson confirmed these truths when she taught,

So it really comes down to this: Are you willing to let Christ write a story for your life far better than any you could write on your own?  You can stay in your comfortable hovel believing in your own story and denying any deviations life will always eventually present.  Or you can embrace the discomfort that will lead you to your best life by letting Him prevail in your life.

The truth is we don’t know everything we think we do.  As discomforting as a turn in your story might seem, if that turn comes from Christ, embracing it will turn you more into your best self and your life more into your best life.  As Nephi taught, “He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him” (2 Nephi 26:24).

Let Christ author your story.  Partner with Him, and He’ll make more out of your life than you ever can on your own.  Whatever discomfort you experience from so doing will turn around to your gain.  When that day comes, you’ll look back on your decision to let Him prevail with gratitude.  And that will bring you more joy in your journey.

Starting with gratitude simply promotes an extra portion of power.  That’s especially true of giving.  Indeed, true giving begins with gratitude.  As we discussed recently, the more grateful you are, the more you will have, and the more you have, the more you can give.  You can truly light the world when with gratitude you share your gifts from God with others.

We often think of gifts being highly prized and desirable attributes or skills.  So it’s not that surprising when some of us who don’t have those highly prized and desirable attributes or skills feel we don’t have any gifts.

That’s of course not true.  I don’t care who you are or where you’re from.  Everyone has gifts from God.  We all have talent for something.  When we exercise our talents, executing the necessary action just seems to flow more easily, even if we lack specific training.  God gave talents to everyone so we all can contribute positively to others’ lives.

I’m convinced we each have multiple talents from God.  Often, they aren’t what we’d think of as talents.  I once knew a sister missionary whose smile was so infectious you couldn’t help but feel a little better when her smile shone upon you.  Another friend was a really good listener.  We don’t normally think of smiling and listening as talents, and yet I would submit they qualify.

What talents do you have from God?  What gifts has He given you that make your contribution to the lives of others unique?  Reflect on those gifts for a moment and simmer in gratitude for them.

Of course, we share some gifts from God in common.  Again, I don’t care who you are or where you are from.  God has blessed each of us not only with gifts unique to each one of us but also with gifts we share in common.

The first such gift is the greatest gift of God — the gift of His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ.  He is the reason for the season precisely because He is the greatest gift.  Through Him, we all have the opportunity to repent and to live forever with God and those we most love.  Through Him we all have the power to acquire the fulness of not just our spiritual potential but every other potential as well, be that emotional, intellectual, or physical.

Unfortunately, that gift too often goes unappreciated, as does the second greatest gift from God — agency.  Every moment, we get to choose for ourselves what we’ll think, say, and do — and with that what we’ll become.  Between our Advocate with the Father and our agency, we have the essentials to become our best selves, live our best life, and achieve the fulness of our potential.  Yet too often we don’t even consider these gifts as the gateways to greatness they are.

Don’t let that be you.  Take a moment to reflect and meditate on these wonderful gifts and the opportunities they make possible in your life.  Marinade your soul in gratitude for your gifts from God.

But it’s not just enough to feel gratitude.  You must share it as well!  Otherwise, the circle won’t be complete.

What does that mean?  Gratitude is an emotion for what has come into your life.  You then decide what you will send out to others.  What you send out will come back to you again, even when that something is nothing; if you send nothing out, you won’t get anything back again.  But when you send out something — say, gratitude, for instance — you will find it later returned to you.

Whatever your gifts from God, take time to reflect on them, feel gratitude for them, and then share that gratitude with others.  You’ll find more reason to celebrate the season while moving yourself closer to becoming your best self and living your best life.  And that will bring you more joy in your journey.

Clearly, the Savior understood that power.  His ministering example teaches all the love generated when we give our full attention to others.  Indeed, one of the greatest gifts we can give to others is the gift of full attention.

Society today hungers for attention, so much so everyone seems scrambling after it.  Whatever new trick can potentially secure the attention of others finds its way onto the to-do list of many seeking to capture attention for their own gain.  And these actors, feeling a scarcity of the attention they desire, saturate us with attention demand overload.

Combine that situation with the addictive nature of social media, and it’s not hard to understand why people give more attention to their phone than to people around them.  Many take full advantage of the dopamine hits social media networks are designed to generate.  And far too many of us surrender our agency to the addiction we hold in our hands and carry with us wherever we go.

We’ve discussed before on this program the mediocrity this life on autopilot creates.  We break free by living in the moment, making conscious choices to move in the direction we determine and not just where the impulse of addiction would drive us.  That’s what I love about the suggested action for today on the Light the World calendar.  It encourages us to make a conscious choice to break free from impulse and move in a direction we consciously choose.

That conscious choice unlocks the real power of giving our full attention in our interactions.  So doing sends a clear message: Out of all the choices I could make in this moment regarding where to place my attention, I choose you.  This is part of why the gift of full attention is a truly a gift of love.

The other part deals with the basic human needs we all have to feel loved, needed, and belonging to something greater than ourselves.  Putting down your phone and giving your full attention to others essentially tells them they are preferred, and realizing that preference generates in others the feeling of being loved, needed, and part of something bigger.

Now consider what happens when we don’t make that conscious choice to give full attention.  We tell others through our actions we choose something else over them, that something else is preferred.  And that preference generates in others feelings of not being loved, needed, or part of something bigger.

I still remember the love generated during a single adult conference 12 years ago when an attendee chose to give me full attention.  Our exchange lasted only five minutes, yet the influence of that seemingly small choice in how to spend five minutes has lasted 12 years, and the end is not in sight.  The gift of full attention is truly a gift that keeps on giving.

And we need not limit the power of that gift to just the one small act the Light the World calendar suggests for today.  We can expand our influence even further by practicing active listening in all settings.

Our society suffers substantially from a lack of listening.  People think listening means simply hearing the words other people say.  Meanwhile, they look for chances to inject what they want to say into a conversation.  But real, active listening involves hearing what others say with the intent to understand them.  Instead of looking for breaks to project our own selves onto others, we can use those same opportunities to try to understand others.  In so doing, we help others feel loved and thereby expand the power the gift of full attention can provide.

So today and every day, let’s give more of the gift that keeps on giving.  Let’s give the gift of full attention.  When we do, our seeming small act of surrender to love will invite others to do the same.  And when they do, the cycle will continue, resulting in a better world filled with the light and goodness of love.  And that will bring us more joy in our journey.

But I also had a conversation with my PhD advisor, who wants to see much more out of me.  That experience led me to reflect on what I have in my life and more importantly why.  Reassessing the different elements in my life somehow brought me to President Nelson’s remarks from the last General Conference entitled “Make Time for the Lord.”  In this address, President Nelson shared three ways in which we can make time for the Lord.

The first time we should make for the Lord is to fix our focus on Christ.  President Nelson declared, “Nothing invites the Spirit more than fixing your focus on Jesus Christ. Talk of Christ, rejoice in Christ, feast upon the words of Christ, and press forward with steadfastness in Christ.”

In my recent reflections, I’ve wondered how much of my focus is fixed on Christ.  How often do I talk of Him?  How often do I rejoice in Him?  How often do I feast upon His words?  How often do I feel the determination to press forward with steadfastness in Him?

I’ve focused my scripture study this year on success and the path to prosperity.  My study hasn’t yet concluded, but it’s already abundantly clear lasting prosperity comes as God’s blessing upon those who embrace true principles.  This conclusion encourages us to follow the Prophet’s counsel to fix our focus on Christ.

Later this month I’ll pivot my scripture study towards my annual tradition of studying the Sermon on the Mount to increase my discipleship.  I’ve discussed this practice before on the program, and I expect it once more to increase the fixation of my focus on Christ.  All are welcome to join me, but whether or not you do, find some way increase your focus on the Savior.

The second time President Nelson encouraged us to make for the Lord is to delight in the Sabbath day.  He taught, “Make your Sabbath a delight as you worship Him, partake of the sacrament, and keep His day holy.”  Consider that teaching.  The Sabbath is a delight when we make it one.

How do you make your Sabbaths feel delightful?  Do they feel delightful to you?  You can use that question to gauge how well you keep the Sabbath.  The more delightful the Sabbath feels to you, the better you keep the day.

And no matter how delightful the Sabbath feels to you, there’s always another level you can reach.  Obviously you can feel more delight in your Sabbath if you don’t feel any.  But if you do feel delight in your Sabbath, you can feel more.  So the question is this: Are your Sabbath day activities what they should be?  Or do you need to change something?

The third time the Prophet pleaded us to make for the Lord concerns temples.  President Nelson taught, “Please make time for the Lord in His holy house. Nothing will strengthen your spiritual foundation like temple service and temple worship.”

Because my nearest temple has yet to reopen, I currently need to travel some distance to attend the temple.  And so I’ve been meaning to get more into family history work in preparation for when my temple reopens.  I say meaning to because I’ve done nothing more than occasionally dabble.  Clearly the Prophet is calling me to repentance.

And with that call comes an invitation to extend the Prophet’s admonition to every area of life.  With all my responsibilities and everything in my life, am I making enough time for the Lord?  We could each ask ourselves that question.  If you haven’t considered it lately, I invite you to make time to consider it.  In the end, if you haven’t made time for Christ, it won’t matter what you made time for.

So make time for the Lord.  When we make the time to consider what time we are making for what matters most, we can more easily connect with what matters most.  In that way we can establish a better balance in life.  And that will bring us more joy in our journey.

To understand the real roots of ghosting, we need to understand the difference between the natural and covenant mindsets and how they manifest in dating decisions.  Although encouraged to be not of the world, LDS singles still live in the world.  As such, without sufficient awareness, LDS singles more easily succumb to being of the world in their dating decisions.

The natural and covenant mindsets differ mainly in what they value most.  Natural men and women most value self-gratification.  What satiates the desires of evolutionary biology to pass good genetic material to the next generation dominates decision making.  In contrast, covenant men and women most value making and keeping sacred covenants.  They’ll give up some things of this world to have the things of the world to come.

That difference cannot be overemphasized.  Placing higher value on the desires of evolutionary biology essentially turns the heart towards this fallen imperfect world and our mortal life in it.  That priority says temple marriage and the world of eternity are acceptable only if natural desires are fully satisfied in this world of mortality.  Exactly opposite, the covenant mindset places higher value on the desires of discipleship and turning the heart towards the eternal world to come.

Ghosting plays right into the natural mindset.  But women ghost more than men because the natural woman doesn’t have the same values as the natural man.  Both most value self-gratification, but what gratifies the natural man often doesn’t gratify the natural woman.

Natural men value youth and beauty because these women are more likely to bear healthier children.  But natural women don’t value youth; men can play their part well into old age.  Instead, natural women value looks, muscles, money, and status because these things make it more likely the woman will bear healthier children or the woman and child will receive support after the birth.  It’s all about perpetuating this life in this world.

Ghosting plays right into that mindset.  Because of what she values most, the natural woman is always looking for a better option that’ll make it more likely she’ll bear healthier children and/or have support after the birth.  That’s what ghosting essentially is.  It’s exchanging someone less desirable for someone more desirable based on perceived ability to perpetuate life in this world.

Conversely, the covenant mindset seeks to perpetuate eternal life in the world to come.  Because it’s not natural to think that way, the covenant mindset requires conscious choice and discipline along the road of covenant discipleship.

King Benjamin taught as much in his classic discourse to his people.  Mosiah 3:19 teaches how to overcome the natural man.  The same prescription works for the natural woman.  Just replace all the masculine words with their feminine complements.  Either way, putting off the natural mindset requires conscious choice.  And we do it through the Atonement.

But you can’t choose the covenant if you aren’t aware.  Without awareness, we’ll all simply do what comes naturally.  The world, either in ignorance or rejection of the covenant, fully embraces the natural mindset.  This is the world where LDS singles live.  Being not of the world means recognizing that influence and consciously choosing against it.

We can start by chasing away ghosting.  That’ll take time and patience.  After all, no one’s perfectly in the covenant mindset.  We’re all both the natural and the covenant according to we’re at on the path of eternal progression.  But when we start by recognizing that truth and then increasing our awareness of which decisions the natural mindset dominates and which the covenant, we can let Christ and His Atonement into every aspect of our lives.  And that will bring us more joy in our journey.

Conference provides a great opportunity to reflect and recommit ourselves to a better path.  But truth be told, every single day holds the same opportunity.  Each day provides a new opportunity to consider your ways and act to change your life.

We all have the same 24 hours each day, but we all choose to spend it differently.  And how you spend your time reveals what you value most in life.

Me?  I’ve always been a big fan of sleep.  There’s no way it’s overrated.  It’s fantastic!  But you can pursue many things to excess, and sleep is no exception.  I’m sure we’re all familiar with the admonition in D&C 88:124 to “arise early.”  I’m actually still working on that.

But I’ve found, when I can do it, an early start radically changes the entire day.  I’m way more productive, producing more value more easily.  I feel more focused and energized throughout the day.  And at the end of the day, I’m just more satisfied with myself.

I don’t get those benefits if I prioritize personal playtime and consuming content, and neither will you.  If you want your best life, you need to answer these questions: Do you devote more time to worthy causes or frivolous pursuits?  Are you the captain of your life’s ship, or do you just float wherever the waves of life take you?

Speaking of sleep, what does “retire to thy bed early” mean?  I think we each must find our own way.  For myself, the sooner I get to sleep, the easier it is to beat the sun up.  My body simply takes what sleep it needs, so staying up late doesn’t help me “arise early.”  And if I don’t get up early, I won’t get the resultant benefits.

In fact, getting up late usually means getting the exact opposite.  I get tons more desire to play and waste the day.  If I do manage to drag myself into some productive pursuit, I’m anything but focused.  My mind goes all over the map.  At the end of the day, I’m left with nothing but the shame of having wasted the day.

On my mission, I heard an African story.  Every morning a gazelle awakens.  He knows his best chance of escaping the tiger hunting him is to get as much of a head start as he can.  But every morning that tiger also awakens.  He knows his best chance of eating that day depends on catching the gazelle before he starts running.  Thus, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a gazelle or a tiger.  When the sun comes up, you had better be running.

Your sleep schedule is just one of many ways you should consider.  We should all reflect on what we need to get where we each want to go and then consider getting what we don’t have but need.  Sometimes that means gaining new knowledge.  Sometimes that means acquiring a new tool.  Sometimes that means having the right people in your life.  Your Heavenly Father, the Lord, and the Spirit are indispensable members of that support team.  Don’t forget to include them in your plans for success.

In the end, you won’t get the most out of life unless you live intentionally.  Only by choosing your activities with intention can you get the most juice for your squeeze.  And the best intention for your time includes your own personal ministry by which you contribute to making the world a better place.

So consider your ways.  Are you making the most of every day?  Are you living with intention?  I can’t say I always have.  But I can say I’ve experienced real joy in living when I’ve consciously chosen how to spend my time to achieve worthy goals.  And I’m grateful to be reminded of the opportunity each day brings to consider my ways and make changes where necessary.

If you haven’t considered your ways recently, do so now.  You’ll open the door to feeling more satisfied with yourself each and every day.  And that will bring you more joy in your journey.

That attitude has everyone accepting only “top shelf,” which is great if you can get it but isn’t essential to maximizing your joy in life.  That maximum joy comes from embracing good enough. And just like worthiness is not flawlessness, good enough is not flawless.

How incredibly ironic that many LDS singles expect perfection in an eternal companion but then also expect they’ll be completely acceptable in their imperfection.  They expect the “perfect” person to love them for who they are as they are.  It’s as though change has no place in their equation.

But change is at the heart of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.  Indeed, the idea we need to change or be lost forever is core to the Atonement, the central part of our Heavenly Father’s plan.  Expecting a companion who doesn’t need to change isn’t just unrealistic; it stands at odds with the gospel plan.  That plan has us here in mortality with imperfections galore.  We’ll all have many flaws as we journey through this mortal life.

Elder Wilcox noted the same principles as he responded to this hypothetical question:

Too many LDS singles aren’t progressing in their dating journey because they insist on not changing, that anyone who can’t love them as they are obviously isn’t the perfect companion.  But the truly perfect companion is one who will both love you as you are today and not leave you as you are today.  The perfect marriage is the union of two imperfect people who work together to perfect each other.  They accept each other as they each are today, but they don’t accept staying that way.

Some LDS singles undoubtedly reject the idea of change because they know what change will mean.  Seeing themselves in all their imperfections, they know how much work correcting those imperfections will require.  It’s much easier to cling to the thought of a “perfect” companion than to put the hammer down and do the work which change in self requires.

Yet doing the work is the more practical approach.  No matter your approach to your dating journey, the fundamentals will always operate.  You don’t progress without the necessary agreement, and you don’t get that agreement unless you’re agreeable enough.  So progress in the dating journey often means traversing a longer road of change through hard work.

That’s how all of life is designed to be.  Elder Wilcox recognized that design when he declared,

Just as worthiness isn’t about perfection but about patience and persistence in walking the covenant path, so your dating journey isn’t about finding the perfect person but about finding the type of person who’ll walk with you as you help each other become perfect together.

If you’ve sincerely tried to walk that path yet feel beaten down by failure after failure, don’t succumb to surrender and change your destination away from eternal blessings.  When the destination is eternity, it’s always better to deal with frustration by changing your approach.

Many share impatience as an imperfection, so it’s not surprising many LDS singles want the changes they seek to happen now.  Yet often the changes we seek will not come overnight or all at once.  Elder Wilcox taught this principle as he shared the story of Damon, a young man who struggled with his own changes.  In the end, Elder Wilcox recommended,

Good enough is not flawless but is committed to positive change.  Embrace needed changes in you and others as well as the work those changes will require.  And embrace the Lord by partnering with Him for your journey.  You’ll find it easier to make progress and more support as you do.  And that will bring you more joy in your journey.

Looking back on my decision and its outcome, I still have no regrets.  But I also have something else, something that I didn't anticipate.  Looking back on my trip and my lack of regret for it got me thinking.  Why can't it be that way for everything in my life?  Why can't I simply decide to live without regret?

I don't regret my trip because from the start I saw it for what it is.  I don't know the future, but I know that, if that opportunity to see my mother would be the last to make memories while she could still recognize me and I didn't take it, I would regret it for the rest of my life.  I refused to live with that regret.  And so I embraced my travel with the end in mind.

And that's the key.  Stephen Covey's first habit of highly effective people is to begin with the end in mind.  That speaks to the need to be self-aware.  After all, you can't begin with the end you aren't aware of.

That's more than just an awareness you want a life without regret.  It's an awareness of the choices you can make today that promote or prevent that end.  I didn't know and still don't know whether the opportunity I just took is the last to be with my mother while she still recognizes me.  But I do know the potential it had to become such.  And I refused to tolerate that possibility.

It's really not any more complicated than that.  Gain an awareness of yourself and the potential your choices have to lead you towards or away from the end you want.  And then act accordingly.

That's not just for living life without regret.  That's for any end you want in life.  Adopting an end in which your life has no regret is just a good place to start.  It will give you courage to go farther and pursue your fullest potential, a life without regret, the life that is your best life.

The path that leads you there will of course have challenges.  I faced resistance before making my journey to see my mother.  My advisor expressed disapproval with my decision to travel home.  But I held firm and shared my rationale for my decision.  He understood, and we made plans for what would happen after my return.

I don't think everyone will have that experience.  Sometimes things won't work out.  Sometimes you'll stand your ground, and your challenges will overcome you.  But you can always hold your head high knowing you chose to live your life without regret.

I've made plenty of choices that brought regret into my life.  I've known regret in both the short and long term.  And now I know it doesn't have to be that way.  I can live without regret.

So can you.  You can live without regret if you will gain the awareness you need of yourself and your choices to know the end you want and then make those choices that will lead you to that end.  That decision won't remove the regret you already have from past choices.  Only Christ and His Atonement can do that.  But you can decide to embrace the Atonement, just as you can decide that from this moment forward you will live without regret.

So live without regret.  Life is too beautiful and time too precious.  Don't squander them with choices that will bring regret in any amount.  Know yourself, know what you want, and go after it.  And every day you don't have it, keep going after it.  Don't apologize, don't make excuses, and don't delay any longer.  Start living your life without regret today.  You'll savor the wonder of living more fully.  And that will bring you more joy in your journey.

I remember years ago hearing a speaker at a singles conference talk about living in the moment.  She encouraged intentional living, saying living with intention can lead you to own your life.  I’m a big fan of owning your life, so I was with her that far.

Then the speaker defined intentional to mean having a plan.  The joy of living in the moment, she declared, comes from following a plan.  And that’s where she lost me, because I couldn’t disagree more.

To act with intention requires a conscious choice.  Living with intention therefore means living in the moment.  When you consciously choose in the moment what you do, you refuse to let your habits simply play themselves out.  That act allows you to embrace life and all the true joy of living.

You don’t need a plan for any of that to unfold for you.  All you need is to use the one gift from God we all have — agency.  You simply make a conscious choice.

Happiness comes not from just doing the right things but from giving your all to all the right things for you.  Giving your all is a conscious choice.  When you choose that path with full awareness and intention, the true joy of being alive can be yours.

Most don’t live like that.  They live on autopilot, a life filled with comfort and a sense of stability.  But true joy isn’t found in comfort and stability alone.  True joy comes from consciously embracing the right things.

I use that word embracing intentionally.  You can’t just execute a routine of righteous activity and expect happiness to find you.  The happy life doesn’t just come to you because it’s somehow your right or because you’re somehow deserving of it just because of who you are.  To get the happy life, you have to make it.  That requires consciously choosing the right things.  That means getting out of autopilot and its routine living.  And that means embracing all the right things for you.

In the end, your focus always determines your reality.  Focusing on what you don’t have and can’t do always brings a reality of scarcity and helplessness.  And a life that feels lacking and helpless is never enjoyable.

But the same principle works in the other direction.  Focusing on what you do have and can do brings a reality of abundance and empowerment.  As you begin to see how richly the Lord has blessed you, you feel gratitude come to you.  And life starts feeling joyful.

That focus on what you have now and can do now is key to living in the moment and making the happy life you want.  Focusing on the present and not the future is a conscious choice that helps you live with intention.  And the gift of agency from a loving Heavenly Father brings that choice within reach of us all.

The happy life doesn’t find you.  You find it by making it.  And that starts when you start living with intention.  Righteous intentional choices lift what you do to a new level because in so doing you give your all to the right things.  And when you give your all to the right things, life in return gives back to you all the joy and satisfaction of a life well lived.

You’ll always get what you give, so give your all to the right things for you and get the life that’s right in all ways for you.  You can breathe with confidence, walk with boldness, and bring your focus away from the future and more to the present moment.  You’ll then open yourself to a life you can savor regardless of your circumstances.  And that will bring you more joy in your journey.

Yet in other respects, I feel like I’m worse, especially when compared with what I’d expect to be at this point in my life.  As I think about why I’m where I am, I realize I’m no different than anyone else.  We do what we want.

Tony Robbins once said, “Change is never a matter of ability.  It’s always a matter of motivation.”  If you really want to make a change in life, you simply make the change.  It’s never a matter of ability because, if you want it bad enough, you’ll find a way to do it.

So despite the volume of our protestations, we all do have the life we really want.  My life is where it is because that’s where I want it to be.  I see a change I think I want in my life, and I think I want it because it appears to give me something desirable.  But in reality I have the life I truly desire most, because results come only from actions, and I chose the actions that have given me the results I have.

Still, I keep returning to the question of making changes in my life because what I have truly desired does not completely satisfy.  Why then do I not make the changes that will give me that different life?  I have ability to change but not sufficient motivation.  I’m just too comfortable where I am now.

I think many of us live in this same rut.  We don’t really do what we need to do to achieve positive change because we’re far too comfortable with out present life.  Pursuing positive change opens the door to problems and challenges involving pain and confusion.  I think all of us have enough of those not to want any more.

At the same time, there’s no reward without risk.  You can’t really feel the deep joy of love without opening your heart to betrayal and loss.  You can’t lose weight without exposing yourself to pain and discomfort a new diet might bring or to the exhaustion and injury that exercise can inflict.  You can’t experience the good results from being out in the world without exposing yourself to the bad things that happen to people every single day.

Many of us sense these risks and pull away.  We want safe, sure, guaranteed.  So we stay in our comfort zones, yearning to get out but never wanting to do what will get us out.  We’re just not motivated enough.  We’re doing what we want.

So how then do you get motivated enough to change?  I think we’ll all have our own answer, but I do see one common thread that could tie all those individual answers together.  You get to a point where you won’t tolerate not having the change any longer.

You just get sick and tired of being sick and tired.  You make a decision — a real decision, one in which you cut yourself off from every possible outcome except the one you pre-determine.  You put your all into producing the actions that will produce that pre-determined result.  And to keep yourself motivated, you surround yourself with like-minded go-getters who’ll support you in going after your best life.

Not everyone will do that, but either way, we do what we want.  We have the results we have because of the action we’ve taken, and we take that action because that’s what we really want to do.  If you really want to do something different that’ll produce different results in your life, then you’ll do that.  Hitting rock bottom could be the greatest blessing ever, because there you can more easily find your motivation to do something different.  As you then decide not to tolerate anything less than your absolute best, you’ll get yourself on the path to your absolute best life.  And that will bring you more joy in your journey.