We all have a set of guiding principles — even those who ‘don’t’
A year or more ago, if someone had asked me what my guiding principles are I wouldn’t have a clue what to say.
“Umm, I am not too sure,” I’d say meekly.
“I am still discovering my guiding principles,” is what I’d say today.
Even though I proudly admit that I haven’t got a direct answer for that today, at least I am on the path to figuring it out.
Everyone, knowingly or unknowingly, has a set of guiding principles.
These may not be engrained on stone or tattooed on your forearms, but these principles are how you live your day-to-day life. It is how you find peace, joy, and gratitude, even when all is not hunky glory.
How you start your day. How you speak to yourself. What are your non-negotiables? Remember, not choosing something is also a choice.
In this article, I want to uncover the choices we make and how I am navigating my path toward finding the best principles that suit me today.
These may very well differ from my principles a decade from now.
Do the self-work first
Realistic guiding principles are substantial if you’ve thought through them and not just picked what sounds ‘cool’. There is no right and wrong answer.
Often people will talk about guiding principles in a sort of morbid way of thinking about your eulogy and what people will say you stood by in life.
Instead, think of principles as an oasis in the desert that fills your cup and fuels you to live your life to the fullest today. Not what will remain of you!
Adulting is chaotic. It is messy. But, one of the sure-shot ways I have found some calm and contentment amidst this chaos is by picking my principles.
