Mind. Set. Grow. Every day!

You want to make the best of your life, right?

Right!

Does that also mean you want to make the best of every day?

Or do you occasionally skip a day because, in the grand scheme of things, what difference can one day make?

I understand that’s not your intention.

Nobody wakes up in the morning thinking they will suck that day or mess up what they’re going to do.

Erikjan Lantink

Nobody plans to yell at their partners, kids, colleagues, or the slow driver in front of them.

But it still happens.

Because a lot can go wrong.

From the moment you get out of bed.

Walking towards the bathroom in the dark because your partner wants to sleep in, you hurt your little toe against the bed leg.

You scream out loud, your toe is bleeding, your spouse is annoyed you woke her up, and your kids storm into the bedroom asking what happened.

All within 30 seconds after you woke up (made-up story, for the record).

A lot can go wrong.

Every single day.

Before you know it, this happens too often, and you are no longer making the best of your life.

But you never had the intention. It just happened.

Like life happens to all of us.

And that’s the point. 

It shouldn’t. 

Life should be lived with intention; each day is part of that intention.

It’s why we should not hold on to the mistakes we make.

I left a corporate role after 70 days in 2021.

I realized I made a mistake on day one, frankly.

Traffic to my new job was much heavier than expected. Nobody was there to make me feel welcome. My boss didn’t have time. The first meetings could have been more exciting and productive.

My intuition told me quickly I had made a mistake.

I could have left after day one or week 1, but I decided to give it a chance. 

What if I was wrong?

What if my contribution and the value I could add were more important than those inconveniences above?

I wasn’t wrong. And I gave it a go. I reached out, I challenged, I invited, I traveled, I connected, and I tried to inspire.

I challenged my extroverted self to win over my introverted self.

I lasted for 70 days.

Then I admitted to myself and my boss I had made a mistake. 

Life is too short.

I did not want to waste a single day anymore in a job I was not enjoying.

I did not want to waste any day. Period.

So, I walked away.

Because every day has the potential to bring you closer to what you want for yourself or help you drift away from your goals in life.

Day by day.

But if it doesn’t bring you closer, you must take action.

You need to take action when you suddenly realize that your life has gradually turned into something you never signed up for.

When you find it hard every evening to find something you’re grateful for and your mind first reflects on how bad your day was, you need to take action.

The action may be that you see it through to confirm or deny your intuition, as I did, but you need to act.

Because every day should bring you joy somehow, you deserve that, don’t you?

That’s the power of every day.

You can find joy, gratitude, and meaning every day, even after you woke up hurting your toe or realize you made a mistake accepting a new job.

Do that, and you’ll have a great life.

Your turn: You want to make the best of your life, right?

Do more of what makes you happy!

Erikjan