Failure is painful. Recently, I've started to live my life by small rules. Not large ones that are near enough impossible. I live setting small daily or weekly goals. Some say you should be dreaming bigger, but tell me, what is harder on your mental than realising you are failing your goals on a daily basis?

Say I want to be a millionaire or own my own house. That is in fact an attainable future goal. However, it's not going to happen overnight no matter how much you pray or play the lottery. Realistically, realising you are not a millionaire day in and day out is painful. Why though? Other than the shortage of cash, any failure is painful. So why subject yourself to such torture on a daily basis?

Now, I mention living by small rules. These consists of rules that I feel help improve myself as a human being without degrading or putting those around me at a disadvantage. These are subject to change perhaps weekly, but right now, these rules personally give me the most happiness, motivation, and incentive to be a better me. I encourage you to create your own rules that you can live by as no human is the same, so too shall no rules be the same.



1) Embrace the underdog
This is something I thrive off of. As a child, I never was the biggest, quickest, attractive, or most athletic. Now a days I live with the thought process that no..you aren't the best there is right now, but you sure can be. Being a nonathletic person as a child, and raised in a competitive environment, I hate to lose, but nothing is less satisfying than winning when you are supposed to. To me, nothing is more satisfying than trumping the odds and performing with a chip on your shoulder. And this leads me on to...

2) Prove them wrong
Branching off of being an underdog, in my opinion proving them wrong helps my mental grow stronger with self-satisfaction. People may think little of you, and that is perfectly fine for them to think. It doesn't affect them but if you can use their criticism as motivation, you will find you have access to an unlimited amount of mental fuel at none of your expense.

3) Help others reach their goals
Everyone needs a slice of humble pie, as a human thinking about myself, I am not the be all and end all. Okay, so you've made yourself a stronger person than yesterday. So what about those around you? As long as their goals aren't detrimental to your own, why should I not lend a helping hand? Sure independence is the best way someone can learn, but sometimes we as humans just need a nudge in the right direction. Showing off fuels some people, putting themselves above others, but for me, winning with others in our own way is the best prize for any competition. Remember, the journey itself is part of the reward.

As I said, right now these rules motivate me to become a stronger, better person than I was the day before, mentally, physically and emotionally, and may not apply to everyone. However, I find in myself that by improving oneself without harming others, that perfect balance between happiness and hard work can be found. Nothing beats cultivating talent, be it your own, or others. A friend of mine pointed out something: yes you may believe my goals/rules are extroverted, they rely on others for me to get what I need to fulfill them. However, who says that your best critic can't be yourself, and the person you need to help the most isn't yourself?