Did you ever wondered about what really matters in life? What happens when you look back at your life in some years and wonder: Was it worth it? Did I make the most out of it? Did I really deeply enjoy it?

I think it comes down to 2 things that matter most in life to help us make the most out of it:

1. Our Inner State

2. Finding the resources, people etc that we need to fulfill what we want to achieve

Let me explain why I think these two things matter the most.

Our Inner State: “Know where to concentrate on”

Our Inner State is all there is within us — our emotions, our knowledge, our thoughts, our sentiments, beliefs. Whatever we can think and experience within ourselves.

I recently came across a peculiar experience — I realized that I can see vision and images of my thoughts within myself — there were monsters looking like curly tree branches and snake-like mouths grasping and directing their beak towards myself. They were frightning and came from a dark place within myself. They were giving me fear and awkwardness.

This was the moment when I realized that I can decide what I want to do with them. I decided that I do not want to put masks above their eyes, as they may run around blindly and cause more harm and I would feel weird having unconscious, blind thoughts within myself.

Instead I re-directed them towards a safer space within myself, a red spot of organ where they could have a party and enjoy themselves before after some time of dancing and ingling they would silently go back to the place where they came from.

What do we learn: Where I concentrate my mind on is were I concentrate my life on.

If you concentrate your mind on fearful, frightening stories within yourself, then this is what your life will look like — frightening. If you concentrate your mind on the dancing pack, loving and bumping joyfully, then your life will be joyful as well.

Finding the resources, people etc that we need to fulfill what we want to achieve: “Know where to start”

We explored our inner state, but that’s not all we need that matters. The second is our ability to find what we look for. To know where to start.

If I am totally and utterly in my perfect inner state (which is an exception per se and in itself already), but have not achieved anything of what I planned to do, it will become very difficult to keep that inner state. But when I am able to know where to find the resources to fulfill what I want to achieve, it will balance the inner and outer state.

Don’t take me wrong — achieving does not only mean money, business, growth, it can also simply be food, light, a bed. Basic things we need to survive in this world.

What do we learn: We need to be able to find the resources we look for to stay alive

Putting the two together

What does it teach us? What lessons can we take from there? To know where to start, to know where to find what we need and want to achieve helps us to stay alive. And our inner states and second-degree resources help us to come alive.

What can you do to foster the two things in your day-to-day?

Our Inner State: Look out for the thoughts that cause you pain. Imagine stories of how you could see them in a different light. Try to laugh about the weird story you create in your head. This will additional alleviate a stressful situation and brings new and more positive thoughts to you

Finding what you look for: Start small. Everything that we look for begins with a first small step. Like this: writing my first Medium article. Like this: sending a promotion to my first client. Like this: running 5 minutes for the first time. Whatever it is. Start small and small again until at one point you do not even realize that many small steps make up a very big one.