Take Control Of Your Life And Live By Your Own Rules

I hate it when people think they know what is best for me. Every now and again we all run into that person who gives us unwanted advice, who introduces us to “the rules of reality.” I could never understand why such people believed it all right to do so — if they were reciting these rules from a book, I sure as hell have never laid eyes upon it. Life has no rules.

This is what people fail to realize. Sure, the town you live in has rules. The country you live in has rules. The workplace you work in has rules. But quit your job and move to another country and all those rules disappear — sure, they tend to be replaced by another set of rules, but if you really wanted to be rule-free, I am sure there is a forest somewhere where no one would even think to look for you.

“I'm the one that's got to die when it's time for me to die, so let me live my life the way I want to.” – Jimi Hendrix

Believe whatever religious sect you may, you have to admit that there is at the very least some possibility that this is the only life that you have to live, that there is no afterlife or reincarnation. I know you believe otherwise, but you must admit that there is some chance that you’ve got it wrong. If the life that you have now really is the only life you will ever have, then why are you allowing others to tell you how you should live it? Why should anyone care if you choose to tattoo every inch of your body or make amateur porn videos on a daily basis? Why should anyone else care if you eat like a pig?

You have a right to do with your body — or damage it — in whatever way you see fit. Sure, you may be hurting yourself and shortening your lifespan significantly, but as long as you know what you are doing and accept that this is what you are doing, then you should be free to do what you want.

We really are free to live our lives however we wish and to make of them whatever we want to make of them. There will always be people that will tell you otherwise, that will expect and command that you conform — but you can just tell them to f*ck off. If you feel that your life is being run by someone other than you, then you must break that chain around your neck and begin truly living.

We can all break free of the mundane sameness that we are subject to — we ourselves choose to live the way that we are living. We may rationalize our situations and tell ourselves that we are purely the children of our circumstances, but that’s complete crap. If you are in a bad situation and don’t plan on getting out of it, then you are choosing to stay in a bad situation. You are making the conscious decision not to take hold of your life and to change it the way you see fit.

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”- Oscar Wilde

What is it that you want out of life? Where do you wish to go? What do you wish to see? What experiences do you want to have? Whom do you want to share them with? Too few people take the time to think about such things. They simply go through their daily routines, passing time. One day time will run out and that clock will no longer tick.

Fate sees tomorrow just as good a day for you to die as any; would you die happy and fulfilled? Each day that passes by is one day that you survived, making tomorrow slightly more likely to be your last day alive. Are the things that you are doing today the things you wish to do on your last day on earth? Are you treating your friends, your family and strangers in the way that you hope they remember you? As the memory of you will be all that survives. Are you enjoying this exact moment? If not, then what are you doing?

That is the question most people don’t bother answering: what are you doing? What is your purpose, your goal? What is it that you wish to accomplish? Why are you doing what you are doing? Why did you choose to do that with the very limited amount of time that you have instead of something else?

With each decision that you make and which each thing you decide upon doing, you are giving up the possibility of doing something else—you are basically exchanging one experience in said moment for another. For this reason you ought to do your best to do what you want to do, to live with a purpose. Too many are unhappy with their jobs, their spouses, their physical appearance, their attitude towards life and their lives themselves. Why not change all of that? You can do it. There are no rules stating otherwise.

“All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring.”- Chuck Palahniuk

Set your own rules. Live your life the way you want to live it. Spend time with those you want to spend time with. Do things that will make you feel the way you want to feel — not just in the moment, but tomorrow. Although tomorrow is not a promise, we must have hope that it will come. When it does you don’t want to be regretting the choices that you made yesterday.

In this way you will always be playing catch-up. Do the work that you want to do. Live in the city, the country that you want to live in. Visit the places that you want to visit. Do the things that you know you want to do but are too afraid to do; there is nothing in the world that ought to be feared — even death itself is nothing more than a guarantee.

Don’t explain to yourself that your circumstances won’t allow it. Sure, you may not be able to live the life that you want to live at this exact moment, but later is better than never. Not to mention that if you are not working toward attaining your dreams then you are doing nothing more than wasting time. Life is the greatest gift anyone and everyone is given.

It’s only given once and rarely ever used the way it ought to be. Stop not living. You will die one day and the worst thing, the worst experience and realization that anyone could ever have is coming to conclude that they wasted their life away. At that point there is no turning back. There are no redos. When the buzzer hits zero it’s all over. When that time comes, how do you hope to feel toward the life you lived? Focus on that and make it happen. You write your own rules. You are the designer of your own destiny.

“Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”- George Bernard Shaw