Before I answer these questions, I have included a video from Doctor Stephen R. Covey. He is the author of the book, 7 Principles of Highly Effective People. In this brief video, Dr. Covey gives uses a true story to illustrate the laws of nature (or life).

It is true, that we often believe that we govern life, but it is only when we act in accordance with the laws of life, that life begins to become meaningful and truly happy. Negative circumstances are a certainty, when we fail to abide by these laws. These principles are timeless, and I suggest that if you haven’t read his book on the 7 habits, that you do. It is an experience that could change your life for the better.

So, can following these truths on a consistent basis help us create a more happier, fulfilled life? I believe the answer to this question is an astounding yes! Why? I believe the law of cause and effect explains this. If we have the power to choose our response to any situation in our lives, then we are the ones that create the quality of our lives. But why do we make so many poor choices in life? Is it fear, poor early childhood conditioning, poverty, lack of education, pain, poor values, or even false beliefs? All of these play a part, but we can choose to change how we respond to life’s events at any time. How? By finding out what works – the fundamentals of living a successful life. There are self evident principles in life that if we chose to follow, would surely help us live a better life. To get positive, desired results in our lives, we can find out about these principles or truths, and choose to begin acting in accordance to them.

Finally, to summarize this article and video, to live a successful and happy life, human beings cannot break the laws of  life. It’s like in the story about the lighthouse. The lighthouse symbolized the truth, law or principle. It cannot be changed. It is. The ship captain had to abide by that truth, and had to have a paradigm shift in order to do so. Like the saying goes, we cannot break the law, we can only break ourselves against the law. I like to look at it as, we can choose either to act in accordance or against these truths, in the end, results will be created and will show us right action from wrong.

So, what determines how our life works out? Furthermore, what can we do to increase our quality of life?

Firstly, what determines how our life works out, depends on, you guessed it, us! We determine our quality of life, but, no one gave us an instruction manual of how to do it. I believe that our quality of life is based on the meaning we give to any given situation in our lives, and how close that meaning is congruent with our human needs and desires. What do I mean? Well, I hope this story can illustrate it. There was a man named Lester Levenson, who you may have heard of. His story is very popular among his peers.  “Lester Levenson was a man who had mastered life’s greatest challenge. In 1952, at age 42, Lester, a physicist and successful entrepreneur, was at the pinnacle of worldly success, yet he was an unhappy and very unhealthy man. He had many health problems including depression, an enlarged liver, kidney stones, spleen trouble, hyper-acidity, and ulcers that had perforated his stomach and formed lesions. He was so unhealthy, in fact, that after having his second coronary, his doctors sent him home to his Central Park South penthouse apartment in New York City to die.

Lester was a man who loved challenges. So, instead of giving up, he decided to go back to the lab within himself and find some answers. Because of his determination and concentration, he was able to cut through his conscious mind to find what he needed. What he found was the ultimate tool for personal growth—a way of letting go of all inner limitations. He was so excited by his discovery that he used it intensively for a period of three months. By the end of that period, his body became totally healthy again. Furthermore, he entered a state of profound peace that never left him through the day he died on January 18, 1994.

What Lester discovered firsthand is that we are all unlimited beings, limited only by the concepts of limitation that we hold in our minds. These concepts of limitation are not true; furthermore, because they’re not really true, they can easily be released or discharged. Lester’s experience made him understand that not only could he practice this technique himself, he could teach others how to do it as well. As a result, he began working with people, both in small groups and individually.

Since his discoveries happened so quickly and without warning or preparation, he had no language to describe his discoveries and what he was experiencing. The first place he looked for an appropriate language to use to help others was in the Bible. And he became good friends with several evangelical ministers. He then went on to read many books both from the west and the east in order to find the right language to be of service. He eventually settled on his own unique way of describing his experience and his own unique ways of sharing this experience in a useful way with others.

Lester believed strongly that personal growth was not dependent on any external source, including a teacher, and he did not want to be anyone’s guru. But, because of how elevated people felt around him, despite his protestations and attempts to keep it from happening, many of Lester’s students insisted on seeing him as a guru. So, in 1973, Lester realized that his teachings needed to be formalized into a system that he could allow others to teach—leaving him out of the equation. A way to transform his powerful techniques for personal growth into a non-sectarian do-it-yourself system was devised, which is now called The Sedona Method.”

So, what are three steps we can use to change our quality of life? First, we have to choose to make the change. Lester decided that he had to make his life better and that he could make it better. The alternative, was a choice that would have probably killed him! So, step one, is to choose to change your quality of life. The second step, is to take action or to make a change. To do this, Lester Levenson focused on the feelings that were hurting him, and decided to release them. And it worked! He began to get better and never looked back. But why did he never look back? The reason is in this final step. Step three, is to continue to condition steps one and two. Why is this step so important? The easiest example I can give, is that if you were to be physically fit, you would not just exercise once in your life and say, “OK, now I’m fit for life!” That’s not going to help you. You need to keep it up and make it a positive habit! Life is in constant change, therefore, we need to make the right decisions daily to keep up. If your life is not working, choose to make it work and take action to make it work. If that does not work right away, try again, or find out what works from others, instead of reinventing the wheel.

So, in summary, the three steps were:

1) Decide to make a change

2) Take Action

3) Make steps one and two a habit!

What is mental preparation? Mental preparation is about visualizing a specific situation you want to create, exactly the way you want to create it, and mentally “going through the motions” to increase the probability that you will get your desired outcome.

How can we accomplish this? Here are the steps I follow:

1. I Write out specifically and exactly what I want to accomplish.
2. I get myself in a peak performance state by changing my physiology. (get pumped up!)
3. I mentally focus and see myself succeeding in producing the desire result.
4. I visually rehearse the entire process in my mind again and again, exactly how I want it to turn out.
5. I perform the routine in front of a mirror with confidence.
6. I focus on times that I have succeeded in the past, not the opposite. You need to see yourself as a winner.
7. I Practice! Repetition is what creates and refines our skills!

These seven tips are useful in preparing for business presentations, going into a negotiation, giving a speech, really anything you need to create optimal results in. As you practice these techniques, you will see that each time it becomes easier and faster to produce the result! Self-improvement in this area will help you achieve many goals that you have set for yourself, and help your overall self-esteem, self-confidence and personal growth!

stephen covey – video powered by Metacafe