how to get somewhere in life

How To Get Somewhere In Life – Start Thinking About It…

If you want to know how to get somewhere in life, the first (and very important / essential) step is to start thinking about it. Let me explain…

Like achieving any goal, it always begins with thought. The more that you think about it, whatever it is, or where you want to go in life (for example) – the more likely you will become motivated into action.

Your thoughts become words.
Your words become actions.
Actions become character.
Your character becomes your legacy.

Note that time spent ‘thinking’ is different from time spent ‘reacting’. Many people go through life reacting to the world around them. They are subliminally pushed and pulled in various directions and subsequent actions. Like a leaf in the wind. Subject to their environment which chooses the direction for them…

Spend Time Thinking. Maybe it’s “how to get somewhere in life”. Or where you want to go. It might simply be your next goal. Your thoughts have lots to do with eventuality. Thoughts lead to actions. Those actions eventually stack up to become ‘you’, and who you are. Maybe you’ve heard this… “You are what you think about”.

So if you want to make a change in life, all you have to do (at first) is to start thinking about it. I mean really spend time thinking about it. And then think some more. And more. Self-awareness. What you focus on magnifies. Action will result…

Tip: Knowing that one’s character is eventually formed by actions, which are formed by thoughts and words, you might ‘watch what you think’.

If you want to get ‘somewhere’ specific in life, start ‘thinking’ about it!

[ Read: Don’t Let Fear Of The Unknown Stop You From Trying New Things ]

23 Comments

  1. The longest journey begins with a single step. Patanjali,
    make a plan, write it down on paper like a business model and then act on it. to just think about it, it becomes purely academic. act, move, do something. if it’s wrong, learn from your mistakes and then move forward.
    i was homeless as a a teen after my father died but i picked myself up, worked hard and owned my first business at 29, diesel fuel injection repair, built it from scratch and sold it to someone who wanted it more than me.( my former employer who didn’t like the competition) i built my second one a year later from scratch, mechanical contracting and eventually sold it ten yrs ago.
    the fun part to me is starting them. it’s a quest or challenge. after a while it becomes SSDD with employee’s and the gov., no fun.
    life and business is like gambling, you can’t win if you don’t play.
    people don’t know how to or wan’t to work hard anymore, they all wan’t is to be spoon fed by the gov. in return for their subservience. hard times are coming for them.
    good luck all

  2. Perhaps this quiz came from here. Anyway, if you are an over thinker then try this.
    Line up spoons in this pattern. llll lll ll l
    Now, move one spoon and reverse the pattern to 1 2 3 4.

    I will post the answer tonight.
    Have fun.

  3. I agree with Kula. Many things can be over-thought and one can be standing in place or sitting on their backside due to “Analysis Paralysis”. In retrospect, I never saw any ranchers or farmers sitting for too long with a big cup of coffee from a shop. They would take a short break long enough to have a small amount of coffee from the cup on top of the thermos. (then it was back to work)

    1. Calirefugee,
      On that note of sitting and thinking just long enough to drink a little cup o joe out o the old Stanley,
      Todays guys just dont have the same work ethic, i see it first hand, guess im wrong to keep pushing but its just how i learned, most are not like that anymore, it is a shame, all i see are those damn phones, guess thats why all the younger folks ive worked for didnt like me.

  4. I think 90% of the world’s problem is they rely on someone else (internet, social media, societal fads) to think for them and become unable to make rational decisions on their own. We now have cars that park themselves because the drivers are too stupid or lazy to learn to do it themselves. Common sense has become uncommon and most people can’t cut their electronic umbilical cord (cellphone) for more than a few minutes to actually think for themselves.

    The old “Animal House” quote of “Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life son” is more appropriate today than ever. Thinking is the critical part of problem solving, learning and advancing in life and when you allow something (cellphone, internet) or someone (social media, tv, MSM etc) do it for you, you fall behind and majority of the population seems to be fine with that.

    1. RC
      “Common sense has become uncommon and most people can’t cut their electronic umbilical cord (cellphone) for more than a few minutes to actually think for themselves.”
      Wells stated. I use my GPS far too much. I’ve thrown away all my maps. I’ve become tied to my red-dot sights instead of properly lining up my target. Technology has killed much of what was once instinct. I’m more inclined to pick up my phone rather than think a problem through. It’s easier to watch a YouTube demo rather then read an instruction manual. Ironically, the only thing that really keeps my mind working is prepping. It is the one thing that I must do manually. Canning foods, planting a garden, re-loading ammo, etc. These things require common sense. Not cell phone technology. Hippies used to say, “we gotta get back to the garden.” Maybe they were right.

      1. Arch Stanton,
        Technology is both a blessing and a curse. I use GPS but also keep paper maps and an Atlas in every vehicle. Cellphones have become a necessity since there are no longer pay phones available but there has to be a balance. Like you, I have a garden, canned 6 qts of collard greens yesterday and I enjoy reloading. I am not a total luddite as I do enjoy electricity, a/c, radio and a very tiny selection of tv programs but I also have crosscut saws to back up my chainsaws. Red dots are great and easy on my old eyes but I co-witness every rifle that has them with BUS because batteries die and glass breaks. It’s all about balance my friend and what works for one may not work for another.

  5. If at first you don’t succeed, screw it – leave it for the night shift !

  6. l ll lll ll l
    l
    l ll lll ll l
    l
    Pick up the second spoon. Place it in the second spot from the right.
    Simple, right? Or did you overthink it.

    1. Skeezix,

      I got it right away, as I read your post. Surprising, that, as I usually do overthink things. Just tried it out on my sons, with funny results. Both got it eventually; one of them said he saw that moving the second toothpick from the left over to the single toothpick on the right would solve it. He just didn’t want to do it that way, as it was to ‘boring’, lol. He was trying to come up with another way that was more complicated. Interesting, huh.

  7. You can vote your way into socialism but you have to shoot your way out.

  8. This is a tough one, Ken, though worth the effort if we want to stay in the game. It’s been difficult, lately, to even imagine what a future looks like just months down the road. I’m trying, though. Today, I pondered what it would take to run a homestead 1800’s style – no fossil fuels involved. It’s daunting. Can’t be done on a large scale, but maybe possible for a family/extended family set-up. We already to quite a bit by hand, of necessity, but there’s so much still done with machines that use oil/fuel. Anyway, that’s what I’m thinking about, and how to quickly get things in place for that. It will be a different life, that’s for sure, assuming we’re allowed to live it.

    And for NRP – FJB!

  9. Dennis,

    It’s nose-diving very quickly. Not as bad as it’s going to get, not nearly. Hope you take some time to find comfort in God and family. Sending you a hug.

  10. @Ken – absolutely on point. In my experience, success starts with thinking BEFORE acting. I helped a Gen X client move his business from CA to TX last year [smart guy who never had been exposed to good leadership, but willing & quick to learn. Parents were divorced, mom started the biz, he had reading challenges & was told he was dumb in school – he is not, has genius IQ & visualizes & designs robotic automation]. The business had been in its current location for more than a decade & was filled to the rafters with machinery & product. We agreed that the move would happen over 5 months [of course, it was during COVID & the trucking crisis]; he said he wanted to manage the process. Instead of coming up with a macro plan, he worked on packing his office & some tools / machinery in the plant. I did not interfere, nor suggest changes to what he was doing – kept my mouth shut. After 5 weeks, he came to me & said he was overwhelmed & did not see how the move could be done in the agreed upon timeframe, which had since become cast in stone due to sale of the building. I have organized & executed plant moves for other clients, so I said to him let’s think about the whole picture & then break it down into steps, which we did. We accomplished the move on time. The message was hammered home to him that, even though it took effort to think about what needed, you have to THINK first & make the tough decisions [what to keep / throw out, what lines of business to continue]; once one has clarity of thought, one can choose / implement the actions to accomplish the goal. It is great to see him being disciplined now and applying this skill set to other areas of his business & life. He has gone from being reactive to events & people around him, to actually planning. To reinforce this, when we are dealing with a situation that needs planning / change, I pose the question to him “how are we going to eat this elephant one bite at a time?” He smiles and says, “let me think about it.”

  11. Being a realist, Dennis does not mean you are a pessimist…….hang tough

  12. Have a cousin who works for Mobil oil in Tulsa……..they are quietly changing the gas pump software to accept 10 plus pricing…..also they expect with the current loser in chief in his comatose state that gas will reach 10 bucks a gallon by the end of the year. Not being a pessimist, I am a realist always.

  13. Farmgirl Honest Abes first home was a three sided lean too with open fire on the south side.

  14. Woody,

    I guess we should count our blessings, then. While our home has been affectionately referred to as a ‘sheep shack’, we do have four sturdy walls, and a cookstove to boot! :-)

    1. Farmgirl,
      I would rather a sheep shack any day over a big mansion. Comfort in a country shack,

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