Feeling left out because you're not married? Single people who wish they were married often feel forgotten and ignored. It's a difficult place to be whether you've never been married, or are widowed or divorced. Life can be frustrating and lonely, but if you find yourself in this situation you may not realize you are standing on the precipice of a great opportunity...
Before I go further on that thought, please know that I know the suffering that comes with the loneliness you feel is real and intense. It's a hardship that many people silently deal with. I've been there myself and want to share with you the upside of your current status.
The upside is the opportunity you have – now, while you are the only one you are responsible for – to work on becoming the best version of yourself you can be. Business owners, artists and musicians, financial investors, and other people who become very successful at what they do often have a simple rule of thumb, and that is doing one thing every day to improve themselves. It's what I call the 1% Rule. If you do one thing every day to be better, however big or small, you improve yourself by 1%, which means, you are always refining yourself. You are getting better every day, just by one small action. This is a great habit to apply to yourself as you wait to meet the one who will become Mr. or Mrs. Right.
This simple concept, the 1% Rule can produce dramatic results in your life and the best thing is, you are the one who is in control of it. You don't have to rely on anyone else.
For example, as a writer, there are different things I do to improve my skills and I do one thing on a daily basis; anything from taking a free webinar, generating a list of new ideas, working on learning how to write comedy (not easy!), etc. Just one thing every day. Not overkill. And I find it really helps me become a better writer. On a personal level, I try to be better by working on forgiveness, working on being patient, being more consistent in my prayer life, etc.
What would a list for you look like? Only you know the areas you need improvement, but here's another thought on this: the improvement you make can be correcting something about yourself you don't like, but it can also be learning new things and taking time to enjoy new experiences.
Here's a list of 13 ideas that could become personal improvements:
- Venture outside your comfort level and send an emotigram to someone you think is out of your league.
- Attend an early morning mass before work.
- Take a cooking class at your local farmer's market.
- Say a decade of the rosary on your lunch break.
- Work on improving a strained relationship with a relative.
- Take a free teleseminar or webinar.
- Take a walk in the evening instead of watching TV.
- Organize your email inbox.
- Eat healthier food.
- Look up the definition to that word you hear being used but don't know what it means.
- Let someone cut in front of you in traffic.
- Fold your clean clothes right out of the dryer and put them away.
- Clean out your closet.
I'm sure you get the idea. As I mentioned, the one who knows the best way to improve is you. The idea is just to form the habit of doing one thing every day to get better. Can you imagine how pleased your future bride or groom will be when you tell them all the things you've done to prepare yourself for a life of love with them? I have no doubt he or she would be so pleased and love you all the more for it :)
I would love to hear what things might go on your list in the comments section, or at [email protected].
