3 Rules To Live A Life Filled With Passion, Purpose, and Integrity.

Over the past 2 years:

• I changed my career path.

• I started writing online, despite having no clue what I was doing.

• I taught educators across my home state about the cultivation of creativity.

And all of these things showed me that anything worthwhile is difficult to do.

I've learned what matters and what I don't care about anymore.

Plot twist:
after a few difficult years with no rewards, most people will ask themselves if this is even worth it.

You'll notice the things you used to care about don't matter as much.

The only goal is to survive, create, and inspire.

These are my new 3 rules for life:

1. Act with urgency.

Time is naturally fleeting, you only have 4,000 weeks to live (on average)

We waste so much time:
-In traffic
-Complaining
-Doom scrolling

A simple reframe of memento mori (remember you must die) will create more intention and as a byproduct,

Intense focus will come your way.

2. Prioritize the people who uplift you.

The more time you spend with someone, the more likely you are to indulge in their good/bad habits. If you can be aware of this, those who uplift you will naturally improve your life by proxy.

This naturally happens, there have been studies on how happiness infects those in a room. The inverse is true as well, it only takes one sad or angry person to infect the rest of the people around them with the same emotion.

It pays mental health dividends to prioritize the individuals who have more positive days than negative days.

3. When chaos knocks, you have to be ready.

“Ready” would be defined as mastery over one's emotional state during the chaos.

Staying calm when your world is on fire will lead you to more rational decisions.

Epictetus once said:
“How long are you going to wait before you demand the best for yourself?”

The best for yourself certainly includes keeping your emotions in check.

All it takes is one chaotic event or circumstance to change your life forever.

For a life filled with passion and purpose:

Other people are necessary, and integrity allows for the preservation of these new-found relationships.