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I cannot count how much times I have heard my friends tell me “Life is a journey” when it appears I am acting leisurely. I always interpret their words to mean, “Girl, you cannot afford to stand still. You gotta keep moving!” But I have come to realize that at some point in this journey of life, “you gotta” stand still and evaluate how your movement in the past has been. When you evaluate, you may discover a need to make some changes. This need stems from the feeling of wanting to move forward; wanting to move up. We all want to feel that we are climbing a staircase as we move. In order to feel so, you need to make the tips below a part of you. 5. Don’t run at another’s pace. Your life was never and will never be tied to another person unless you want it to. Knowing this can help you a lot in consciously choosing who you want your life to be tied to. If your plan is to move up, you should consciously choose friends and a spouse running on that lane. But because you are all running on the lane of success does not mean you have to run at their pace. Your life is your life and you have got a personal pace. So long as you do not stop running on the upward lane, your friends should understand that you can only run at your pace. So, pace yourself. If and when you need to stop to rethink on how you run, please do. But don’t stop running on the lane you want to run or else you would lose friends. 4. Love change If there is something you don’t like in your life, work on changing it. Don’t try and ‘tough it out’ or hope against all hope that it will be better someday. Truth is, if you do not work on changing it, you might just look back when you are 70 years old to discover that what you don’t like still exists. Even if you don’t think the situation will change when you try, don’t stop trying to change it. I hope Nigerians will wake up to this call and stop hoping against all hope that somehow things will get better by just watching their country’s problems roll in front of their eyes. If we don’t love change, we shouldn’t expect anything to change. We have to take responsibility for our actions and inactions. If we created a rot since Nigeria started out as an independent state, we have to take responsibility for it and work on fixing it. This applies to life too. 3. Reduce stress by learning balance Don’t be active so that people will know that you are active and the next minute that the eyes of the people have left you, you return to your inactivity. There is a level of inactivity that can create stress and there is a level of activity that can create stress. Learn balance by working hard with adequate rest. Work is not just about making money but it is about status. Your work makes you feel good. If your work does not accomplish that in you, then it is about time you start looking for another. You cannot afford to waste time on what makes you unhappy. Adequate rest gives your being consonance. It is the time to recuperate, a time when you are one with yourself. During your time of rest, learn to eat healthy and play healthy. Use the money you’ve earned to buy yourself the much needed comfort to recuperate. 2. Have fun Who does not understand this? Okay. For those who don’t… Life is short. Live each day to the fullest. Enjoy doing what you do. Hang out with the people you love hanging out with. Read the books you want to read. Rest when you want to rest. Be alone when you want to be alone. I think the simple definition of having fun is doing what you want to do as long as it does not tamper with the well being of others. 1. Be yourself You must have heard this being preached over and over again but repeating it here is to show you how important this part is. You cannot improve your life when you are trying to be somebody else. The first step to improving your life is acceptance. You have to accept yourself – who you are, your faults, your flaws, your strength, your loveliness – the totality of you; you have to accept all of that. That is the first step to improving yourself. Anyone who does not like who you are will have to leave you or make the decision to stay because they understand that you are on a journey and you will be better. Enjoy your person. Understand your temperament. Use your strengths and try to work on your weaknesses. Be yourself.