Society has become emotionally lazy. We have been raised in a world where we hardly have to lift a finger to find the answers we want from the internet, we can share our feelings with the world by the touch of a button and as a result I find that all too often people spend their life waiting. They wait for something good to happen to them instead of working to make it happen. We have gotten used to living our lives in the limbo of waiting instead of taking action. We expect that someone else will do it for us. I find it so interesting that people do not take more control over their life and make it what they want, yet constantly complain about life. Now, I am no exception to this emotional laziness and as of recent, I have begun working really hard to spend my life how I want. I have found that there is more satisfaction in creating my own positive environment. Here are my five tips to start living your own life instead of waiting for it to start.

1. Take chances

If you never put yourself out there, how do you expect anything to happen in your life? Often, we are so afraid of failing that we never take the chance to see if we can succeed. How will we ever know our limits and find our brilliance if we don’t at least try. It can be scary, but the more we put ourselves out there, the more we are opening ourselves up to new opportunities.

2. Break your routine; be spontaneous

I’ll be the first to tell you that I love routines, schedules, and plans. But holy moly, can those be a drag! Mix it up. It’s important to keep something thrilling about life as we grow up. So, get your adrenaline pumping. Personally, I find things are more enjoyable when I haven’t had time to anticipate them.

3. Do something nice for others as often as you get the chance

Pay it forward. It’s as simple as that. If you want a positive environment then you have to create it, for not only yourself but also those around you. Are all your roommates stressed about a big project or test? Buy them coffee, write them motivational texts, help them prepare if you can. The sooner you make the effort to increase the positivity in your environment, the sooner it will change. Don’t sit back and watch as people struggle, help them out of their rut. More than likely, they will do the same for you next time you need it.

4. Don’t complain, let go

Life does not go how we want it. It never has and it never will, we may have a good day or week or month but at some point things are going to be out of our control. In those moments, don’t get stuck. There is no reason to focus on the things we don’t like because the quicker we move on from those things the faster we open ourselves up to getting back on track. Negativity can completely derail life and the longer you get stuck in complaining and focus on the bad, the harder it will be to get back to the good.

5. Listen

Everyone comes into our lives for a reason. We are often too stubborn to admit that we have the same problems, fears, and mistakes as those around us. Imagine how different life would be if we all didn’t have to make the same mistakes. What if one person in our life made a mistake, we listened, and we actually learned from it before we also made the same mistake? In our rebelliously young ages we often block out our parents and mentors, but when really thinking about it, they’re often right in every way. If we learned to genuinely listen at a younger age, imagine all the pain we could have avoided.

We were given emotions for a reason. It’s time to start being more proactive in life. We have the ability to create whatever kind of world we want, so why aren’t we? We are the future of the world and it’s time to take a stand and make the world a happier place. Wouldn’t we all be a little more successful if we were constantly enjoying ourselves? Why waste a single second of our precious time on earth waiting for something to be what we want instead of just doing it.