By: Shazad
“Define success on your own terms,
achieve it by your own rules,
and build a life you're proud to live.”
Anne Sweeney.
Rules are everywhere you go. Rules for driving. Rules for sports. Rules for spiritual practices and even rules for gift giving. So many aspects of life have some kind of rule to be followed and they are usually for our benefit. Clear and consistent rules in your personal life can make it easier to navigate social situations as well as life choices. Having some key rules gives you a framework for decision-making and helps others understand your behaviour which can reduce friction while increasing success.
It doesn’t make sense to have strict rules for every single thing in life to the point where you would have to consult with an encyclopedia to know what your next steps should be. People who can recite every single civil law by heart or know every passage of some operating manual are not the kind of people we should envy or become. However, there are some fundamental rules for living that can give you a general outline of how to conduct yourself. The 3 key components of Rules for Living that I believe you should consider as the frame or backbone for your life are:
Health
Relationships
Time
These 3 aspects of life are related to each other which can help reinforce your rules even further. There will be overlap and sometimes, one part of life will pull a little stronger than the other parts. That’s okay because these rules are meant to be a solid guide you can reference for clarity.
For Health, you should know what you will do and not do that affects your physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. For example, are you the kind of person who enjoys eating a certain way at home or are you the kind of person, like me, that avoids any alcohol at all times? That’s an example of a clear and hard rule that cannot be broken. Another health rule could be about how many times you will work out each week. If it’s a minimum of 3 times a week, you know you have to find the time for that. You can vary the length of each workout if something comes up that requires more of your attention but you should not violate your rule if you want the results. You may have a rule about weekly meditation practice or daily prayers that are literally sacred times for you to maintain or further develop your overall health. Be clear on this and then firmly adhere to that rule.
Regarding Relationships, your rule could be straightforward discussions with everyone at all times. No drama or intentional games where you are bargaining for something you want but saying something else. You could clearly establish that you will never be saying one thing but actually pretending to care about another issue. Another rule could be that you put family first and then friends, neighbours, and work colleagues. This helps when you have to decide where to spend your limited time and resources each day. Knowing which relationships matter the most and how you want to conduct yourself with the people you care about makes it easy to enjoy the moments you have together.
Time is the third thing you need to have rules around. How will you spend it? When do you get up and when do you sleep? How much time do you want to spend as a minimum, with your family and friends? Are you punctual all the time for everything you are invited to? When you say you will finish something by a certain time, is that a statement of conviction or a polite response to someone asking with no intention of following through? Do you accurately estimate deadlines and manage your time to make things happen when you said you would? Do you know how to save time on important things and can you delegate less important things to someone else? Time rules define a lot about a person’s overall character and also determine long-term success in life. Make sure you figure out things like what an hour of your time is worth during the weekdays or perhaps any day of the week. Knowing this will help you delegate better and get the most out of the time you have each day.
There are so many other places you can have clear and consistent rules in life and these include, money, work/business, education, entertainment, travel, and so on. I think the 3 core components such as Health, Relationships, and Time (HRT for short) will help you define your rules in those other areas as well.
Living according to your rules may not sound fun but trust me, it works and saves you a lot of hassle in life! You won’t have to explain yourself to others nearly as much as the person with no rules to live by. Also, nothing stops you from genuinely changing your mind on some things and then developing a new ruleset so don’t think you are stuck with the rules you created 10+ years ago. The burdens of decision-making are greatly reduced and less willpower is needed when you have clear rules for life. Treat your personal rules like a checklist or filter for your daily behaviour and you’ll quickly begin to see the benefits. So now it’s your turn. Write some rules for your Health, Relationships, and Time, and share them with the people you know. It can transform your life immediately!
Want more Awesome writing from us? Go to this link and order your copy of the Awesome Life book today! Click Here to Buy The Awesome Life Book!