How to Make Progress in Your Life

No matter what stage of life you are in, you may feel as though you’re stuck in a rut and not able to get anywhere. Making any kind of progress, not matter how small, can keep you feeling healthy and engaged in life. By establishing and actively working towards specific goals, you can make progress in any aspect of your life that you like.

Setting a Path Towards Progress

Take responsibility for your actions

Your ability to make progress in life is often directly related to your willingness to take responsibility for your actions

Think about different aspects of your personal and professional life to figure out changes that could help you progress in life

Identify sources of insecurity

Being insecure can also hinder your progress. Figure out what may be causing you to feel less than confident, which can help you find a path to progress

List causes of insecurity or anxiety for you. Consider which elements you have the power to change in order to make tangible progress

Offset your lack of confidence by focusing on something at which you excel or that gives you confidence. For example, if you don’t feel comfortable speaking in public, tell yourself that in spite of this, you write eloquent presentations

Formulate tangible goals

Before you can start making changes that promote progress, you have to establish goals for yourself. By formulating specific aims for the short-, mid-, and long-term, you can easily remind yourself of what you’re working towards.

Use the SMART method to develop your specific goals. SMART stands for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timely.

Update your goals as necessary. Every few months, reevaluate them as a benchmark and to ensure they’re still attainable

Keep expectations realistic

Maintaining attainable expectations throughout life can help you progress more easily. It may also impart more confidence to make positive changes

Check if your goals are realistic by speaking to another person or doing some research on whichever aspect of your life in which you’d like make progress

• Keeping your goals attainable can prevent anxiety that might hinder your progress.Consider talking to superiors, friends, or family members about your goals to help keep them in check

Believe in your success

A person who is able to make progress often has two important traits: she has confidence in herself and believes in her ability to succeed Cultivate and project confidence, which can help set you on the path for progress.

Give yourself positive affirmations every day. For example, you can say “I’m going to get all of my work done and enjoy class so that I can finish my MBA.

”Surround yourself with people who believe in your success and actively support you making progress.

Affecting Positive Changes

Recognize that you are unique

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Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses. Recognizing that you are unique and able to excel at many things can boost your confidence and help you start making changes

• Focus on yourself and dvelop your abilities, which can minimize the temptation to compare yourself to others.

Remind yourself that there is no one else like you and that you offer a combination of experiences that no one else has.

Focus on your strengths.

 List your strengths and focus on highlighting them in whatever situation you like. This can help counteract any negative thoughts that may arise and in turn build your confidence and promote progress

Confront your challenge

Just as focusing on your strengths is important, so is developing your skill set. Our strengths are often things we find easy to do and accomplish. Things we don't find as easy are often an indication that we need to work on an aspect of ourselves.

 Often, these feel like they are weaknesses. Because these things may be hindering you, working on improving your skills may help you more effectively make progress in any part of your life you wish.

Have passion for any endeavor

You need to love what you do in order to make progress in life. Having or developing passion for aspects of your personal and professional life can help you be successful and make progress

You are less likely to take any initiative that might otherwise help you progress if you don’t love what you do Learning to balance the positive and negative can help you more quickly make progress

 You could break up this work by writing sections throughout the week and balance it out with research in between writing.

Take calculated risks

Making changes that allow you to progress may require taking some risk. Taking a calculated risk can help you more quickly make progress and reap the benefits than if you choose to stay in one place.

Remember the phrase “Look, think, leap” when considering taking a risk. This process can prevent you from making an impulsive decision that could hurt you

Support your goals

Surrounding yourself with supportive people can help build your confidence. These individuals can help steer you towards progress and counteract any negativity you may be experiencing

Make notes whenever you talk to your support group about your goals. Having a list of points, such as strengths and weaknesses or how to improve, helps focus the conversation

Keep moving forward

Most progress often comes with setbacks along the way. Keep yourself moving towards your goals and you can much more easily make the progress you want

.if you apply for a new job and don’t get it, look for other positions and continue to do good work in your current position. Likewise, if you don’t meet a running goal, increase or improve your training to help you meet the goal at your next race.

There is significant evidence that having a positive attitude can promote progress in your life. Staying the course can bring you confidence and success

Maintaining a Positive Attitude

Reframe negativity

Holding on to negativity can undermine your ability to make progress. Reframing it into something positive can help you begin making positive changes that promote progress

Talking to family, friends, and superiors can help you constructively process negative feedback and then implement suggestions on how to make progress.

If you find yourself listening to the little voice in the back of your head, a voice that criticizes and puts forth negative thoughts and feelings, try responding to that voice by reframing. Instead of thinking, "This project is too big and is beyond my abilities. I'm never going to finish on time," reframe the same situation as a positive challenge

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Differentiate between "critique" and "negativity."

 There is a significant difference between someone who offers constructive criticism and a person who is a negative influence in your life. Understanding the difference between a critique and negativity can help you more effectively limit negative influences that may be hindering your progress

Negativity is often an attitude of pervasive pessimism or unhappiness, which studies have shown can bring you and your ability to be positive down

you may have a friend or colleague who never believes anything will work out or constantly complains about life. Limiting your exposure to this kind of negativity can help you stay positive and make progress

Embrace positivity.

 Your attitude — from thoughts to actions — can have a significant impact on your outlook. Embracing positivity about yourself and others can help build your confidence and promote progress in your life

Caring for yourself can significantly improve your ability to make positive changes. Exercising, eating healthily, and getting regular and sufficient rest all help reduce stress, which can hinder progress

Maintaining a positive attitude will contribute significantly to building your confidence, which in turn can promote progress and success

Work on decreasing perfectionism. 

Perfectionism is an extreme tendency to strive for perfection. It's also the tendency to find flaws in everything one does. These are often not realistic or productive standards. The bar set for perfection is way too high, and is often not seen by others as a standard. The same goes for these perceived flaws; the flaws are often overly critical and are often not seen as flaws by other people.

Allow yourself to rest. 

Give yourself the opportunity for sufficient rest throughout the day and in general. Rest can refresh you, help you avoid burning out, and can reset you towards progress

Take short breaks during the day, which allow your brain and body to relax and refresh

                 Meaning of Progressive life

When we talk about a "successful" person, we're typically talking about someone who's got billions in their bank account, someone who's authored multiple bestsellers, or maybe someone who's in charge of an entire nation.

But if you ask people who fit the conventional definition of a successful individual, many will tell you that those achievements aren't what make them feel accomplished.

Too many people measure how successful they are by how much money they make or the people that they associate with, true success should be measured by how happy you are

To live the lives we truly want and deserve, and not just the lives we settle for, we need a Third Metric,a third measure of success that goes beyond the two metrics of money and power, and consists of four pillars: well-being, wisdom, wonder, and giving

To me, the definition of success is waking up in the morning with a smile on your face, knowing it's going to be a great day. I was happy and felt like I was successful when I was poor, living six guys in a three-bedroom apartment, sleeping on the floor

Peace of mind attained only through self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do the best of which you're capable

Buffett is just about the wealthiest person in the world, second only to Bill Gates. And yet his definition of success has nothing to do with money or fame
I measure success by how many people love me."

Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.

Gates is the wealthiest person in the world, with a net worth of 86 billion dollars, But to him, success is about relationships and leaving behind a legacy.

In a Reddit AMA, Gates took a tip from Warren Buffett when asked about his definition of success:

"Warren Buffett has always said the measure [of success] is whether the people close to you are happy and love you."

He added: "It is also nice to feel like you made a difference — inventing something or raising kids or helping people in need."

Success in life could be defined as the continued expansion of happiness and the progressive realization of worthy goals, 

Success isn't about how much money you make. It's about the difference you make in people's lives.

Definition of success is equally ambitious: "Success is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration

Success isn't how much money you have. Success is not what your position is. Success is how well you do what you do when nobody else is looking

MAKING PROGRESS IN LIFE WILL MAKE YOU HAPPIER

As human beings we thrive on achieving goals. We get a nice little hit of dopamine, the happiness hormone, when we achieve something. time and time again that we are at our happiest when we are improving.

 when we’re not making progress, it can be difficult to feel happy. When we notice we’re not making progress it can zap our energy and confidence and life can become a frustrating cycle of inactivity and stagnation. One reason we stop making goals for ourselves and stop progressing in life is the belief that we should accept who we are and not constantly strive to improve ourselves.

A key tool for creating goal setting and progressing, is using our imagination.  Yet as is so often the case, by the time we’ve reached mid life, we’ve stopped dreaming about what we want to achieve and feel quite negatively about goal setting. Instead of feeling confidence, happiness and satisfaction from achieving our goals, we feel we are always falling short. That leads to disappointment and we stop dreaming

Some adults try not to engage in make-believe anymore because they think it’s childish, but we ever really outgrow it. In fact, that make-believe is the basis for all our motivations in life.”

The gap and the gain

The problem with finding yourself disgruntled for not hitting the mark, is because the mark always changes and we’re always adapting,we end up feeling like we’re never going to reach our goals. And herein lies one of the biggest misconceptions and reasons for failure, dissatisfaction and unhappiness. We measure against the goal, 

 We measure always against the gap (the goal, which we never feel we’re reaching) rather than the gain (where we’ve come from). In measuring where we’ve come from, rather than where we’re trying to get to, we see results

Tips for a happier life

Take time out to imagine the life you’d like to have, the dreams you want to come true, the things you want in life. Try and find time alone to dream, vision, think big. You can read more about this in the link at the bottom of this article.

Find and make the time to use play and imagination– see the Ted Talk link below. Successful people see play as the key to creativity and realisation. Using your imagination is a key learning skill. This may not come naturally to you at first. Like most things, it’s a skill you need to practice. Question everything, don’t take anything as a given. Begin challenging the status quo. Play make believe and believe anything is possible

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Your goals need to be easy to measure, not wishy-washy. You cannot easily measure them if they are vague, so be very clear on what they are

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Regularly celebrate the gap and the gain. The only way you can do this is to write down and track your success. Look back at how far you’ve come (I find it useful to do this weekly, but monthly is ok too) and celebrate what you’ve achieved. DO NOT look ahead at how far you’ve got to go as this will only lead to dissatisfaction

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Be grateful to all those who have helped you along the way, including yourself. This is very powerful and very important. Do this daily; it will change your life. Gratitude has been called the mother of all virtue, so don’t underestimate the power of this simple act.

Don’t be put off if the ‘event’ (goal) is not as great as you imagined it would be. You’ve adapted along the way, so this is perfectly normal. In imagining it, you’ve already had a great deal of benefit out of the process, which is great and serve to drive us forwards.

Place high value on what you want to achieve. This will help a great deal in achieving them.

Believe you can achieve whatever you set your mind to and adopt the behaviours required to do them which includes being in the right environments with the right people to support you in achieving them.

              The Purpose of life

1. Introduction to the purpose of life

Every now and again, we hear the clichéd question, ‘What is the meaning of life?’ or ‘What is the purpose of life?’ or ‘Why are we born?’. In most cases, we have our own agenda on what our purpose in life is. However from a spiritual perspective, there are two generic reasons why we are born. These reasons define the purpose of our lives at the most basic level.  They are:

• To complete the give-and-take account we have with various people.
• To make spiritual progress with the final aim of merging into God and therefore getting out of the cycle of birth and death.

2. Completing our give-and-take account

Over many lifetimes, we accumulate many give-and-take accounts that are a direct result of our deeds and actions. The accounts may be positive or negative depending on the positive or negative nature of our actions. As a rule of thumb, in the current era approximately 65% of our lives are destined (not within our control) and 35% of our lives are governed by our own freewill. All major events in our life are by and large destined. These events include our birth, the family we are born into, the person (or persons) we marry, the children we have, serious illnesses and the time of our death. The happiness and pain that we give and receive from loved ones and acquaintances are by and large simply a case of prior give-and-take accounts directing the way relationships unravel and play out.

However even our destiny in the current lifetime is just a fraction of the accumulated give-and take account that we amass over many lifetimes.

In our lifetime, while we do complete our give-and-take account and destiny earmarked for this particular lifetime of ours, we also end up creating more accounts by using our wilful action. This in turn finally adds up to our overall give-and-take account known as the accumulated account. As a result, we have to be born again after death to settle further give-and-take accounts and are stuck in the cycle of birth and death.

Refer to the article on, ‘Liberation from the cycle of birth and death’ as it explains how we get stuck in the cycle of birth and death.

3. Making spiritual progress

Samashti spiritual level refers to the spiritual level attained through spiritual practice for the sake of society (samashti sādhanā), while vyashti spiritual practice refers to the spiritual level attained through individual spiritual practice (vyashti sādhanā). In the current times, spiritual progress for the sake of society has 70% importance while individual spiritual practice has 30% importance.

The ultimate in spiritual development in any Spiritual path is merging with God. ‘Merging with God’ means experiencing God within us and all around us and not identifying with our five senses, mind and intellect. This happens at the 100% spiritual level. Most people in today’s world are at the 20-25% spiritual level and are disinclined to any spiritual practice for spiritual development. They also heavily identify with their 5 senses, mind and intellect. This is reflected in our lives when we focus mainly on our looks or are arrogant about our intelligence or success.

By spiritual practice when we grow to the spiritual level of 60% (samashṭi) or 70% (vyashṭi), we are liberated from the cycle of birth and death. After this spiritual level, we can settle whatever remaining give-and-take accounts we have from the higher subtle realms of Maharlok and above. Sometimes however, people above the 60% (samashti) or 70% (vyashti) spiritual level may choose to be born on Earth to guide humanity in Spirituality.

Spiritual development is only possible through spiritual practice which conforms to the six basic principles of spiritual practice. Spiritual paths that do not conform to the six basic principles of spiritual practice lead to stagnation in an individual’s spiritual development.

Refer to the article on The importance of the earth plane in being able to do spiritual practice compared to other spiritual realms such as heaven and hell.

4. What does this mean in terms of our life goals?

Most of us have our own life goals. They may include becoming a doctor, being rich and famous or representing one’s country in a certain field. Whatever the goal is for the vast majority of us, more often than not, it is predominantly a worldly one. Our entire education system is set up to help us pursue these worldly goals. As parents too, we instill the same worldly purpose in our children by encouraging them to study and enter professions that give them more benefits monetarily as compared with one’s own profession.

One may ask, “How does having these worldly goals reconcile with the spiritual purpose of life and the reason for our birth on Earth?”

The answer is quite simple. We strive for worldly goals primarily to achieve satisfaction and happiness. The pursuit of the elusive ‘superlative and lasting happiness’ is intrinsically what drives all our actions. However even after we accomplish our worldly goals, the resultant happiness and satisfaction is short lived, we then search for the next dream to chase.

‘Superlative and lasting happiness’ can only be attained through spiritual practice which conforms to the six basic principles of spiritual practice. The highest form of happiness which is Bliss (Ānand) is an aspect of God. When we merge into Him we too experience perpetual Bliss.

This does not mean that we have to give up what we are doing and just focus on spiritual practice. What it does mean is that only by introducing spiritual practice in conjunction with worldly life are we likely to experience superlative and lasting happiness. The benefits of spiritual practice have been discussed in detail in our section on ‘Spiritual research for lasting happiness’.

In short, the more our life goals are in line with the intent of spiritual development, the more rich our lives become and the less pain we experience from life. The following is an example of how our perspective in life changes as we develop and mature spiritually.

5. Example of how a worldly life can work with spiritual goals

In SSRF, we have a number of volunteers, who serve God by offering their time and work experience. For example:

• One of our members is an IT consultant and looks after the technical aspects of the website during his free time.
• One of the members of the editorial team is a psychiatrist and helps in checking the information being uploaded from a medical and spiritual standpoint.
• Another member of SSRF travels to different countries on work. She uses her free time to tell other like-minded organisations in that country about the website.
• A housewife helps to prepare refreshments for spiritual gatherings.

Members of SSRF have seen a quantum positive change in their lives when they sprinkle Spirituality throughout their lives. One of the key differences is an increase in happiness and a reduction in sadness. Even when SSRF members encounter a situation that should be painful or traumatic, they have experienced being shielded from the pain.

6. What is wrong with being born again and again?

Sometimes people think, “What is wrong in being born again and again?”

As we go deeper into Kaliyug (the Era of Strife), the current era of the Universe, life will be mostly riddled with problems and pain. Spiritual research has shown that worldwide, the average human being is happy only 30% of the time while 40% of the time he is unhappy. The remaining 30% of the time a person is in a neutral state where he does not experience happiness or unhappiness. For example, when one is walking on the road or doing some mundane task etc. and not having happy or unhappy thoughts.

The primary reason for this is because most people are at a lower spiritual level. Therefore our decisions and actions quite often give others pain or end up increasing the Raja and Tama in the environment. As a result, we end up accumulating negative karma or give-and-take accounts. Therefore for most of humanity our subsequent births will be more painful than our current.

While the world has made giant steps in economic, scientific and technical progress, we are poorer than previous generations in terms of happiness which is our most basic meaning in life.

Given that all of us want happiness; rebirth and future lives will not give us the superlative and lasting happiness we desire. Only spiritual evolvement and merging into God will provide us with sustainable and lasting happiness.

Making a Life Plan is Important – And Simpler Than You May Think

 Here are simple and effective steps to take to take stock of your life and start on a new life plan.

Look at What's Not Working

When you're figuring out how to make a life plan, it helps to know what you want to change, and in what areas of your life. Here's where it helps to get out a journal and assess different areas of your life. This can be in list form, narrative form, created as a mind map, or in another format, but should cover the areas of life that are most important to you. For most people, that means job, family, wellness, finances, other areas of stress, and even home environment. Think about what your values are in life, and assess how those areas of life are currently working for you.

Assess Your Values

When you're making a life plan, you should work around your values--what's important to you, and what you hope to maintain in your life. Do you value family, but find yourself spending too little time with your family because you're working overtime at a job you hate? Do you value fitness, but find yourself watching too much t.v. instead? Oftentimes, people include activities in their lives that have little value to them without realizing it. To be sure you're spending your time wisely, assess what you value the most in life, and pay attention to how you actually behave around the expression of these values in your real life; be sure you include activities that fulfill those values.

Look at the Future

As you make a life plan, it helps to plan not only months into the future but years. Looking at your values and thinking about how you want the next few months, year, and five years to be (even up to ten years!) and then working backward can really clarify what next steps will bring you a payoff, and can help you decide where to put your time. For example, if you want to be working in a new field, maybe now is time to make connections and look for work experience that you can gain in your off-hours; you can take small steps to build up for a bigger change in the future.