Previously we embarked on a journey last week to steer your life in the right direction by eliminating the negative cycles that exist in your life. The journey to self-reclamation has just begun; this week’s enticing article will instill perspective on a complacent lifestyle.
To recap what I went over last week, a neutral cycle is a set of behaviors that bring no harm to one’s life but at the same time, it doesn’t improve the quality of one’s life either. Unlike negative cycles, you don’t need to eliminate the neutral cycles: instead, you need to convert them into positive cycles. Now once again to recap for those readers who weren’t with us last week, a negative cycle is a set of behaviors that create a result that causes one short term gratification but long term suffering and a positive cycle is a set of actions and behaviors that result in long-term prosperity. OK, now that that’s out of the way, it’s time to dive in!
In life, there are three types of people in the world: people who are unhappy with their lives, people who are content with their lives and people who live the life of their dreams. Those who are content with their lives typically have a lot of neutral cycles, while those who live exciting purposeful lives engage in a lot of positive cycles that were once neutral cycles. Neutral cycles deal more with time management and how one uses the resources bestowed upon them to make the most out of their situation. Now rather than sit here and lecture you about ways to spot neutral and what to do with them, I’m instead going to compare two similar who lead two different lives.
Jamal grew up in a middle class family in the suburbs of Kennesaw. After finishing high school, Jamal decided to attend Kennesaw State University in order to pursue a degree in Finance. Jamal makes good grades but he doesn’t capitalize on the numerous scholarship opportunities that come his way; instead, he would rather spend that time watching Netflix or playing video games. While at school, Jamal typically stays to himself and doesn’t speak to others unless they speak to him.
Jamal is relatively healthy but he doesn’t actively work out, leading him to have very little muscle tone. After graduating from college Jamal is able to find a job as a corporate banker which pays him a moderate salary. While at work Jamal arrives on time, performs his assigned tasks and leaves as soon as his shift is over. As time progresses Jamal is still working his same position and making the same salary. He doesn’t have many friends and on the weekends, he typically stays at home and watches TV. By no means is Jamal unhappy with his life but there are times where he longs for more.
Gerald was born into a middle-class family in the suburbs of Kennesaw. Once obtaining his diploma, Gerald decided to attend Troy University to pursue a degree in Finance. Gerald makes good grades and is able to obtain a full-ride scholarship after his first year. During his time at Troy, Gerald joins numerous student organizations and is a staple on campus. Every weekend Gerald wakes up earlier in order to go work out and finish up schoolwork.
After graduating from college, Gerald is hired as a corporate banker which starts him at a moderate salary. Gerald shows up to work an hour earlier and doesn’t leave an hour later than scheduled. As time progresses Gerald has received numerous promotions and now supervises a team of six corporate bankers. Gerald never finds himself bored on the weekend as his friends always have some event they want him to attend. Gerald is extremely happy about his life.
Now it’s pretty obvious to see that Gerald’s life is better Jamal’s, but the important thing is to understand why Gerald’s life is better. Gerald’s life consist of numerous positive cycles due to his desire to take the initiative. On the other hand, Jamal’s life is full of neutral cycles as he just goes with the flow and doesn’t put in much extra effort to go above and beyond. Gerald takes what life gives him and creates more while Jamal is content with what life gives him.
Hopefully, those stories have given you a pretty good understanding of what a neutral cycle is and how it looks because now it’s time to learn how to convert neutral into positive.
Step 1 — Envision Your Dream Life: Ask yourself where do you want to live, what do you want to do, how do you want to live. By doing this, you have a tangible goal which you can strive for, which allows you to focus and know what areas of your life you need to direct your efforts towards
Step 2 — Locate and Remove Unproductive Behavior: Take some time to analyze your daily habits and isolate the habits that don’t help move you towards your dreams. Such habits include: sleeping in late, playing excess amounts of video games, being glued to your phone, being anti-social, etc.
Step 3 — Replace Those Unproductive Behaviors With Productive Behaviors: Once you have removed those neutral actions it is time to replace them with positive action that bring value to your life. Engage yourself in activities that lead you toward your goals.
Step 4 — Find Balance: Don’t overwork yourself, always allow yourself a certain amount of time to unwind and de-stress
Step 5 — Stay Consistent: Rome wasn’t built in a day so remember to keep working hard and being consistent with the implementation of those positive actions.
Hopefully, this article was helpful and you can use this new knowledge to reclaim your life and steer it in the direction you want it to. Now go forth and carpe diem!