Life Goals

Growth

Push Yourself and Rest; Don’t Hurt or Coddle Yourself

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, March 22 2023

We live in an interesting time. For billions of years, life evolved by searching endlessly for resources, using those resources to grow and reproduce, and then dying. And, at its core, that’s what humans still do today. But the past few centuries have seen great advances in humans’ ability to require less effort to survive and to reduce the risk...

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Growth

Better, Not Perfect

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, February 15 2023

There is a great saying for anyone trying to get work done: "Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good." I say it all the time when trying to talk executives back from a perfect three-year plan to focusing more on a clear understanding of what you need to achieve and a plan that shows progress and value toward those outcomes over time vs. a...

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The Meaning of Life

Where Most "Meaning of Life" and "Life Purpose" Books Might Mislead You

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, January 25 2023

You can't write a book called The Meaning of Life: A guide to finding your life's purpose and not have a strong opinion as to challenges with most philosophy, self-help, and personal growth books. Obviously, there are many, many takes on the question of what the point of it all is, and the overwhelming majority of them are honest and have...

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The Meaning of Life

To Live Your Life…You Have to Live Your Life

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, November 30 2022

“If I only had _______, then I would truly live my life to the fullest.” More money. A degree. When your kids are older. If only you didn’t have that one thing in your way, you would truly be your true self and live your true life. There’s another saying, though: “It’s always something…” So what is holding you back in life, and what is it holding...

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Desire

Balancing Desire and Belief

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, November 23 2022

Most people know that you need to want something badly enough to drive forward and believe in yourself enough to continue through adversity. It is the main reason why people say, “Believe in yourself!” and, “It all comes down to who wants it more!” when trying to motivate people toward their goals. Many life philosophies, such as the Law of...

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Growth

New, Better, More

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, August 10 2022

If someone were to ask me what their life mantra should be, I would suggest, “New, Better, More”.  Why?  Because that’s what keeps life interesting, engaging, and meaningful.  Let’s discuss. This blog and the book, The Meaning of Life, talk a lot about growth.  Growth is ultimately the point of life, as all living organisms strive to grow and it ma...

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Meaning

And Then What?

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, August 3 2022

When talking about the meaning of life, you always have to start by defining your terms.  Why?  Because people almost always equivocate when you don’t.  You can look up the definition of life in the dictionary, for example, and no one will claim that that’s what they meant.  In addition to the literal definition of life, other meanings of “the mean...

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Success

The Positive Outcome

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, July 27 2022

There is one unifying goal in all of life: the positive outcome.  Everyone is looking for that one meaning in life that makes them feel fulfilled: service to others, love, happiness, pleasure, achievement, learning, personal growth, financial success, respect, or appreciation.  The truth is that it is all growth-related, as everyone looks forward t...

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Desire

How to Figure Out What You Want

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, July 13 2022

Most simple motivational talks could be summarized as such: “Find what you want; believe you can attain it; and go out there and get it!”  Similarly, when you go to the self-help section of a bookstore, you’ll find a whole list of books claiming to provide anything from the belief system to get what you want to step-by-step guidance to attain what...

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Growth

Don't Wait for Conditions to Improve to Begin Your Journey

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, May 18 2022

In my blog post a few weeks ago, “If You Want to Be Happy, Then You Have to Be Happy”, I spoke about how if you wait for things to be better before you’re happy, then you are making yourself miserable now for a future that either will come (and you’ll have been miserable for no reason up until then) or will never come (and you’ll always be miserabl...

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