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"If someone thinks that love and peace is a cliché that must have been left behind in the Sixties, that's his problem. Love and peace are eternal."
If you haven't been living under a rock for the last few decades you know who John Lennon was. 
So let's just get to three of my favourite tips from him.
1. Work for what you want instead of getting stuck in complacency.
"If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there'd be peace."
It's easy to get stuck in complacency. To do what you always do and take an easy way through things. To watch TV with a bag of chips on the belly instead of going to the gym. It's comfortable and nice.
But if you want to get what you really want out of life you have to ditch much of that complacency. Because it uses up your time and focus to keep you just where you are right now.
I think the best way to avoid complacency is to be aware of your behaviour so your don't slip into that comfortable zone. To keep your focus on the right things to help yourself to grow. And not only check your own thinking and actions continually but also fill much of your life with people and information that will inspire you, challenge you and keep you in a supportive environment.
With your focus on the right things you can create proactive habits. Habits where you just do whatever you want to do no matter if you feel like it that much. Habits where you expand you comfort zone little by little – or in big leaps if you like - instead of spending your time just in that narrow zone.
This doesn't mean to stop watching your favourite TV-show. It just means to keep your focus on what you really want and to work towards that. It means to do what you really like doing. Instead of letting your focus slide into escapism or the easy or lazy way out all the time.
2. Live your life. Have experiences instead of hundreds of plans.
"Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans."
Plan your life. But don't get stuck in planning. Or overthinking. Or overreading. You can't avoid failure or mistakes by making the perfect plan. Things will go wrong. And that's when you learn valuable things.
Experiences will make you understand in way that words from another person can't. No matter if the experiences are "good" or "bad".
There are always one or more lessons – or just moments – to take away from experiences. And in retrospect, some of the most negative experiences may become some of your most valuable experiences later on.
So be careful of making everything just perfect before you get started. Plans or circumstances will never be perfect. Be aware if you are getting stuck in overdoing things. It can waste a lot of your time while life is passing you by.
Oftentimes it's better to jump in and just do it. And then afterwards you can see what the actual results were – which are not always the same at all as you may predicted – and more accurately aim your focus and actions to improve your results when you take action the next time. Simply put, you fire, aim, fire. Instead of doing it the more normal way where you aim and then you fire.
3. Be open.
"The more I see the less I know for sure."
If you think you are always right then it may be hard to grow and expand your life and consciousness. Being open to learning and that you may be wrong may not be as comfortable as thinking that you´re always right. Being in uncertainty at times is a way to expand your comfort zone and add new lessons and perspectives to your life. Staying complacent is a way to avoid uncertainty.
And if you not open you can't see the lessons that you can learn. Your mind will filter out stuff based on what you focus on and the questions you ask yourself. You can ask yourself: what can I learn from this? Then you're open to learning. If you think you already know the answers you will filter out the new and possibly important stuff that doesn't fit into you being right. And so valuable lessons pass you by.
I think Lennon was on to something here. And that's one of the nice things about life. It can surprise you a lot if you are open to it.
And you can get much out of life if you are open enough to step through the doors that open. If you are present enough to see the new opportunity that opens up as an old door closes. Instead making the common mistake of getting hung up on the door that just closed.
And then you can choose to step through into something new.
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Further reading:
- How to Improve Your Social Skills
- Stephen King's Top 7 Tips for Becoming a Better Writer
- 16 Practical Tips for Solving Your Problems More Easily
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