The Secret to a Better Life

Want the secret to a better life? To understand the secret, let's do an exercise. Start by concentrating on a better life than you have now. Make the picture as detailed as possible. Be honest with yourself about what you think is better.

What do you see? Look at what you are doing. See what you have. Identify what you are thinking. Specify how you are acting. Take your time and develop a vivid mental picture or video of your better life.

Please take enough time to create a vivid picture so that you can write down what you saw.

Get a sheet of paper and write down what your better life looked like. Describe only one item at a time. Number each item as you write it down.

Carefully review each item you listed and circle the ones you are convinced would create a better life. If any additional items come to mind that weren’t in your picture, write them down and identify them with a number. You may have the secret to a better life in your picture!

Categorize Your BETTER Life

Look at your list and write the number of each item in one of the four boxes below. You can have something in more than one box but do your best to fit each into only one box.

Which One(s) Are a BETTER Life?

The four categories above need to be prioritized to help you determine whether you are truly envisioning a better life or an illusion.

Consider each and prioritize the four categories with a ranking of 1 to 4, where 1 is the best. After doing that, verify whether your prioritization aligns with the information stated below.

Things

Things you possess are temporary improvements at best, not the secret to a better life.  There is always something that can top it. If a bigger house would make you happy, getting one might satisfy you for a while. But sooner or later, you will have problems with the plumbing, or walls that need new paint, or doorknobs falling off.  

Things aren’t evil; it is whether you are trusting that the thing or even the person will provide you with satisfaction and contentment. This is an easy trap to fall into because reality and experience tell you the thing won’t be satisfying in the long term, but your faulty thinking tells you, “It hasn’t worked in the past, but it might this time,” and that drives your desire to have it. Ultimately, for most, following the feelings is the path of least resistance. And, once again, you are deceived, and the desired satisfaction and contentment are unfulfilled.

Physical

Physical improvements are also temporary.  No matter how beautiful, fit, and healthy you become, your body will eventually succumb to the effects of time. And, ultimately, physical death will win. No plastic surgeon can stop this from happening.

Relationships

Now we need to address the categories of the mental and relational.  How many items did you have in each? Of course, you knew that things and physical categories are temporal, but hopefully, you were honest in describing your ideal life picture anyway.

While we are concerned with relationships, remember that human relationships aren’t permanent. People come and go, whether by choice, circumstances, or death. There are even Biblical implications that the relationships on earth are not the same in eternity. Developing great relationships is an excellent focus, but remember Robert Fritz’s great statement, “It takes 2 to say yes, and only 1 to say no.” While relationships are an excellent opportunity for a better life, they are dependent on others’ choices.

Mental

So, one category is left – mental.  Is this the secret to a better life? While this may be the most important category, it too has its limitations. It depends on what you think about. Your mind can be used for great evil and destruction if not focused on truth and guided by Godly thinking.  Better to be an untaught, God-fearing child than a scholarly atheist.

The Best Order

With the best order being Mental, Relations, Physical, and Things, how does your picture of a better life really look? As long as the world is corrupt and blighted by sin, none of these things will last or truly satisfy. Of course, the only opportunity you have for a better life is if you possess most of the items listed in the Mental category, and those are related to Godly thinking and values.

Instead, significant energy and time are wasted on Things, Physical, Relations, and bad Mental items. Much time is spent on what could be owned, what could be better physically, and who would make us happy. Even the small things, like a few pounds less weight, a little more hair (or less hair), add up to a significant expenditure of time and energy. You can make a big deal about so many tiny and unimportant things.

It is time to look at real transformation, not just for a better life, but for the BEST life. Change your thinking to God’s view and do life differently.