So many people in this world are afraid of being average. Everyone wants to be successful and have a life of importance and meaning but unfortunately, a lot of those same people are the ones that end up just as average as everyone working their boring 9-5′s.

Life is about the changes you make towards the situations you are put in. You are in control of the direction your life takes and staying stuck in mediocrity is your choice and no one else’s.

The sooner you realize the choices you have been given is when you allow yourself to determine your destiny. The path out of mediocrity is not easy, and requires you to be the best version of yourself imaginable. The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. This is the step out of your comfort zone, and it will seem discerning and unnerving but it is the gateway to all of the world’s most stimulating and exciting experiences and rewards.

If you don’t like the way your life is at the moment, you have the choice to change it. Actually, you owe it to yourself to change it. But you can only shift your current situation one small step at a time. It’s all about taking baby steps and moving forward rather than staying stagnant.

Many people are afraid to take that first baby step because they are afraid of failure but there is no form of failure as debilitating as being frozen in confusion and fear. So if you feel stuck right now, it means you aren’t stepping forward. And it’s probably because…

9. You haven’t taken responsibility for your circumstances.

People love pointing fingers and placing the blame on everything but their own actions. They love blaming bad luck or bad faith but those things only exist because they tell themselves they do. Too few will admit that their situation is a direct outcome of the choices they’ve made.

You must accept your current situation, take responsibility for it, learn from it, make the necessary changes, and move forward.

8. You’ve given in to your fears.

Your fears are holding you back from understanding all the power and potential for growth you have inside you. Stepping outside of your comfort zone is a test that feels glorious to pass, and truth be told, it isn’t too difficult to deal with once you realize the benefits of all the intellectual and emotional changes it can bring you. Do not let fear run your life because you will regret it forever.

7. You continue to ignore your calling.

You of course are looking to add some purpose in your life and want to do something memorable and important to the world you live in. To do so you need to find what truly makes you feel valuable and fulfilled, the type of impact you want to have on other people.

For it is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else’s life with the utmost perfection.

6. You’ve become accustomed to negativity.

It’s not what you look at but what you see that matters most in life. The biggest wall you are going to climb is the one that you have built in your head. If you don’t control your negative thoughts and flush them out at will, they will always give you another reason as to why you aren’t worthy of the life you feel you deserve. Take control of your life, believe in yourself and ignore what discourages you.

5. You don’t appreciate what you have.

You need to be grateful for what you have and appreciate the chances you have to become someone of worth. If you don’t count your blessings now, you will never realize the great rewards they could potentially bring you if you take advantage of them. You might not have everything you want right now, but you have everything you need to move forward. Life isn’t perfect, but it sure is good. Be thankful at all times.

4. You keep worrying about a time that no longer exists.

The past is the past and you will never be able to change it. Why worry about something you cannot alter when you have the opportunity to change what is currently happening to you right now? What happened yesterday is of no concern because what is happening right now can be completely modified to your own design if you put in the right amount of effort to do so.

Whatever could have or should have been doesn’t matter. It doesn’t have anywhere near as much power over the direction your life takes as the world you live in right now.

3. You keep looking for happiness outside yourself.

Happiness starts with you and can only be diminished if you let it. True wealth has nothing to do with material possessions; it is the surrender to an abundance that has no limit. What you seek is not somewhere else at some other time. What you seek is here and now, within you. The more you look for it outside yourself, the more it hides from you.

2. You’re still looking for the easy road.

In today’s society everyone is looking for the easy way out. They are looking for a quick score, a quick buck and the greatest short cut that will get them to where they want to be the fastest. This isn’t a magical fairy tale, life just doesn’t go that way. Every struggle arises for a reason – for experience or a lesson. Big challenges often prepare ordinary people for extraordinary success.

If you look for the easy road, you are ignoring the source of the strongest form of fulfillment to be had out of finding success: the road to get there. There is no feeling that can compare with the glory of digging deep within yourself to overcome the obstacles that stand in the way of your dream.

1. You need to let go and move on.

The biggest reason you are stuck in your average life is because you refuse to let go. What ever it may be that is holding you back is potentially dominating your perception and hindering your ability to acknowledge the strength within yourself.

The struggle forward is worth the effort.  There’s still a lot of beauty left to be seen on the road ahead. Don’t obsess over what’s behind you because there is always a more beneficial experience to be had out of moving forward.

Preston Waters | Elite.