The big 50-year assessment

I turned 50 this April. The Big 50 is a significant milestone in my life and anyone’s life, I imagine. I guess it is true what they say, age is just a number, but more importantly, it is a mindset. I take my birthday like the end-of-year performance review at work. I sit with myself and review my achievements versus missed goals.

Here are some actionable ideas (hey, I am an engineer) that reflect my learning thus far. Remember, any day is perfect for building the rest of your life.

Love yourself

You should be your top priority, beyond your parents, spouse, kids or anyone else. Loving and caring for yourself means caring for your well-being, from physical and emotional to psychological growth. This awareness will help you know your boundaries, have standards, and never sacrifice your well-being to please others, and you will be able to love others for the right reasons.

Set a vision

Your vision is your compass in life, and it will help you make decisions and filter out people and things in a much easier way. Each of us has four quadrants in our lives — work/career, health/body, personal and spiritual — so your vision should be higher than all the four areas, acting as an umbrella on top.

Have good intentions

Your intentions direct your goals in each quadrant. They must be goals that touch your heart and move your passion. They should guide you in creating plans for each intention under each quadrant. You might set the following intention: “I intend to have a healthy lifestyle and be fit.”

Set goals

You should set a few goals, ideally three to five, under each intention. For example, if one of your intentions is to have a healthy and fit body, then your goals could include eating healthy, working out daily, calculating calories, and cutting down on carbs. Goals must be measurable to track your progress.

Create your personal brand

Each of us is a brand name with character, values, reputation, attributes, and a set of perceptions in the minds of those around us. Your personal brand reflects your value among your peers, family and friends. Of course, you can only create a personal brand if you have a vision, intentions and goals.

Focus on self improvement and self growth to adjust and adapt to be more flexible when life gets hard and
use that hardness as a stepping stone to the next level of your life.

Life has many universal laws, and many things happen to us regardless of who we are, our religion, culture, country or ethnic background. Here are some of them:

Embrace Murphy’s Law

If anything can go wrong, it will go wrong. Incorporate this law as early as possible, and aim for the best but prepare to handle the tough times when they hit, and they will hit.

Be kind

The world is challenging for all of us, and we all have our struggles, so try to be a source of cheerfulness and give people the benefit of the doubt. Do not be naive, and learn to read people to know the good ones from the bad ones. Kindness is like energy, it never goes away, and you will always get it back.

Persistence makes perfect

Focus on self-improvement and self-growth to adjust and adapt to be more flexible when life gets hard and use that hardness as a stepping stone to the next level of your life. Be patient and persistent about it, as such change takes time. In the epic movie, “The Founder,” in the excellent ending scene, Ray Kroc talks about his success and the reason for it: “… one word, persistence.”

Master your thoughts

Your thoughts dictate your emotions, mood, energy and vibrations. So if you feel sad and sorry for yourself, it will enhance that feeling and make you miserable, and if you fill your heart with contentment and faith, your subconscious mind will take it as a sign to lift you and make you pass through the hardship.

Sharing is caring

The joy and contented feeling you get when you give, share and care for others is universal, and we all get a kick out of it. While you are at it, if you find someone who calculates time only when you are by their side, never let the person go.

Karma is real

If you put out good, you will get it back in loads. If you put bad energy out there, be sure it will come back in loads too. No action will go unnoticed, and you will be rewarded or punished, depending on what you put out there.

Finally, remember this is your only life, and there are no extra lives and no rehearsals. It is only this one, and “Game Over” can show up on your screen anytime. The bright side is that every day you wake up can be a new beginning, so make it count.

• Rakan Tarabzoni is the chief operating officer of the FII Institute. He began his career in business management at Procter & Gamble. He later moved to Microsoft, then to the Public Investment Fund as head of Corporate Communications. Tarabzoni established a personal blog on self-development and growth in 2011 under his name www.RakanTarabzoni.com.