All the time given to you in life is valuable; you just have to know what to do with it. Let’s make it count. Shall we?

Starting today, spend more time…

1. Thinking for yourself.

The uneducated belief in something false that someone tells you is the greatest enemy of your own truth. Do not let anyone tinker with the freedom of your mind.

The best thing you can do for yourself is to think for yourself. With all of society’s influences and agendas incessantly trying to persuade you every single second, thinking for yourself is the most courageous act imaginable. You are a unique human being with independent thoughts and free will; carry on accordingly.

2. Being a little bit uncomfortable.

If you’re not a little bit uncomfortable on a daily basis it means you’re not growing.

Every aspect of physical and emotional growth arrives from outside your comfort zone. So be fearless sometimes. Have the courage to take the risks that feel right. Go where there are no certainties. Stretch yourself and your routines even if it means feeling a bit uncomfortable.

The road less traveled is sometimes laden with potholes, bumps, and unexplored territory. But it is on this road where your strength grows and your dreams gradually reveal themselves. Read The Road Less Traveled.

3. Taking baby steps in the right direction.

Throughout this beautiful day you have hundreds of little opportunities to move your life in the direction you want it to go. When was the last time you woke up and realized that today could be the best day of your life?

Participate in your dreams today. Do it! Take one small step forward; there are plenty of ways to do so. Remember, success is something you experience when you act accordingly. Success is not something you HAVE, it’s something you DO.

4. Trying and failing and trying again.

Stick to it and keep moving forward, even when the path gets rough. One of the most common causes of long-term failure is the habit of quitting after a temporary defeat.

Many of your greatest achievements will be realized when you’re completely exhausted and discouraged but still working. Because when it’s all said and done, it really doesn’t matter if you try and try and try, and fail and fail and fail, until you eventually learn what you need to know to succeed. It does matter, however, if you try and fail once and fail to try ever again.

Bottom line: You only have to succeed the very last time. Read The Success Principles.

5. Working through your fears.

How you handle your fears will ultimately determine where you go and what you do with the majority of your life – to experience life fully or be incapacitated by the fear of it.

Although fear can feel overwhelming, and defeats more people than any other one thing in the world, it’s not as powerful as it seems. Fear is only as deep as your mind allows. You are still in control. The key is to acknowledge your fear and directly address it. You must step right up and confront it face to face. This tactic robs fear of its power.

6. Seeking happiness from within.

A choice, not circumstances, determines happiness. Your happiness isn’t out there somewhere waiting for you, it’s already within you.

Each morning when you open your eyes, say to yourself: “I, not external people or events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. It’s up to me. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow hasn’t come yet. I have just today and I’m going to be happy in it.”

7. Practicing small acts of kindness.

Aesop once said, “No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted.”

If you have big plans that can make a real impact in the lives of the masses, by all means, execute your plans. But don’t let these big plans interfere with the small deeds you can do every day for the people around you. If you wait until you can do something big for everyone, instead of just something small for someone, you’ll end up doing nothing at all for anyone.

8. Tracking and measuring your progress.

You are always moving toward something, but YOU have to decide what that something is. Don’t let someone else decide for you. From where you stand now you can go anywhere. There are paths leading in every imaginable direction. What matters the most right now is the next step you take.

Decide what you truly want for yourself and those closest to you, and know that there is a way, right now, to begin the journey of getting there. When your intentions and actions have a specific, focused purpose, each step you take will carry you closer to the realization of that purpose. Read The Power of Habit.

9. Letting small annoyances go.

Today, go through your day consciously. Make an effort to notice at least one insignificant little frustration that you would normally get frustrated about. Then do yourself a favor and simply let it go. Experience, in this little way, the grand freedom of being in control of the way you feel. And realize that you can extend this same level of control to every situation you encounter in life.

At any given moment, the way you feel is the way you choose to feel, and the way you react is the way you choose to react.