Break your cage!

A good friend of mine has a saying that makes me think every time I remember it. "Some people's life is limited by North Terrace and South Terrace." referring to the geographical boundaries of my beloved city, Adelaide.

He's not wrong, though. Many of us cage ourselves and our precious minds. We tend to get stuck with our favourite habits, favourite shops, favourite food courts, and favourite sport. We create a comfort zone. We train our eyes and ears to see what we like to see and listen to the words we want to hear.

The environment around us can influence this conditioning. I witnessed people getting involved in gossips about colleagues, their managers, even about the companies executives. I sometimes need to remind myself not to get trapped in those conversations. "You're better than this, Morteza". I say to myself.

When was the last time you stopped yourself in a conversation thinking, "Why am I wasting my time talking about this rubbish?" Well! Do it more frequently, please.

We are born to improve!

If you review the lives of the most successful people, you will probably find a commonality there. They all pushed themselves beyond the perceived boundaries created by the surrounding environment, family, community or other stakeholders.

"You left Ireland to come to Australia. Do you ever regret it?" asked Rob while drinking coffee.

Peter sits back. "I know some who regretted it, but I don't feel that way. That was one of the best decisions of my life."

Rob thinks, "Do you recommend it to others?"

Peter smiles. "Depends on the audience, Rob. We all have different motives. Don't we, Morteza?"

I straighten up. "Yeh! I usually tell others my story of hardship, reminding them that in my case, all the difficulties were worth it."

Rob sighs and gets closer to both of us. "You know. My son wants to go overseas to work, but I want him to manage my business. How would you react if you were him?"

"Oh! You won't like my answer, Mate." I laugh.

Rob smiles. "I knew you'd say so, Morteza."

Looking at his face, Peter decides to jump in. "How successful do you want him to become?"

Without a pause, Rob responds, "A lot! More successful than me."

"Then don't let his best version be a copy of you!" Peter says with no hesitation.

Self-Satisfaction is a good measure!

Satisfaction is probably the best measure for evaluating the quality of your life. Your satisfaction means that you are happy with your way of life and have done your best to achieve your aims and objectives. There's a catch here. Satisfaction is personal. If what satisfies you involves another individual, you will need to think a little harder.

No one should look back at their lives and say, "I wish...." Carefully considering your loved ones and people around you, you still should use your maximum power to strongly sail your destiny boat to a destination where you congratulate yourself for the right choice.

Break the cage!

Do you feel dissatisfied? Do you think you can do better? Do you feel the environment around you restricts you? Guess what? You have allowed it to happen to you!

For years, I said to myself, "I wish I could be in Rome to see the Colosseum." I never forget when I realised it was only a matter of 40 hours from decision to reality to get there. That gave me a big lesson.

If you want to enjoy your life and be satisfied, break the cage you built for yourself.