Three months have passed since I’ve written anything and it feels like a burden to write something again. So, I’m thinking about starting small, with a short article about things that have helped me until now — core values examples, perspectives, and mindsets that I’m living my life by.

1. Feeling others’ vibe and being able to absorb it is crucial

For me, as a copywriter or coach, is really important to get the vibe of others. It helps me to empathize more with the person I’m talking and to deliver value that’s related to their needs.

Here’s an example. In copywriting, I’m always trying to have a 10-15 mins talk with the client not about the product their selling, but about their business vision. Why? Because getting them to talk about their business vision is more personal than talking about some of their many products. And when the talk gets personal, that’s when the vibe is showing off.

2. Speaking loud and clear, and expressing yourself as specifically as you can

There are many people whose communication process is based on hopes and thoughts. Don’t be one of them.

Many times, I ask people to express themselves more so I can understand them better. Right away I get answers like ‘I was hoping you will get it anyway.’ That’s not communication because communication is supposed to happen between two people, not between you and yourself.

But more important than that is your attitude when you express yourself. Try to do it as friendly as possible. Yelling at people will only break your relationships.

3. Finding creative ways to overcome obstacles, not only for yourself but for others too

Being able to help yourself is amazing but being able to help others is a way of living.

During my adventure through life, until now I’ve found that people are so fucking passionate but they struggle to monetize their passions. That’s where the ability to find creative ways to overcome obstacles really matters. If you connect that ability to your passion, you’ll find yourself helping others with what you love doing.

4. Letting your mind fly away to lala land so you can learn how to focus

One of the ways I’ve found truly impactful for my creative process is to let my mind fly away whenever it’s needed. The trick is to become conscious of it.

When you are conscious of your fears, you can actually fight your fears. When you are conscious of your health conditions, you can actually do some research and improve it.

The same goes for focus. When you are conscious of how much you unfocus, you can actually learn how to become focused.

Even now, when I’m writing this article, I’m thinking about many other things and I don’t punish myself for it — but I’m trying to not think about dumb stuff. This way, if an interesting thought appears, I write it down and try to use it later on.

5. Challenge yourself to force the change of a habit or mindset

For me, challenges are so powerful they make me do anything. But it doesn’t mean that if you challenge me to do something stupid I’ll do it.

Challenges are so powerful in my life, last year I did so many great things:

Ran 250km (155 miles);

Did 90 mins of cold showers;

Read books / listened to podcasts for 65 hours;

Wrote a book of 53.000 words;

Went to dancing classes and danced for 27-30 hours;

Bicycled 414km (257 miles);

Meditated for 37 hours;

Climbed 25.000 staircases;

Did 2700 squats.

» Relatable: The Power Of 30-Day Challenges

The power of 30-day challenges will help you become the constructor of an exceptional lifestyle. Experiment new ways of overcoming your comfort zone.

The point is, challenges are making me do things because they force me into doing things. And I recommend you to spice your life with some challenges this way: think about the things you really want to do in your life and then treat them as challenges (this is probably one of the core values examples that I value the most).

6. Have the courage to do what is right

Oftentimes, you’ll find yourself in not so comfortable situations. You’ll have to quit your job, get out of a relationship or do something completely opposite to others’ expectations.

Right in those moments, you’ll have to have the courage to stand up for what you feel is the right thing to do.

Don’t get distracted by others’ actions or words and don’t get involved in things you don’t need. Most people are doing it because they want others to see them doing it. Others are doing it because they want to see themselves doing it. But only a few are only doing it because it feels right.

7. Don’t give a shit about your obstacles

When talking about obstacles, I talk about static things. But people have “the amazing ability” to give dynamic properties to obstacles.

Imagine you are walking and every 10 minutes you pick up a small stone (the size of a nail) and you put it in your pocket. The first five stones won’t even weight so you won’t feel anything different. But the more stones you pick up, the heavier the pocket will feel.

The stones are the obstacles you encounter. The walking is how you experience life. And the pocket is your emotional health.

Don’t give obstacles a dynamic aspect because they will stick around for the rest of your life.

8. Optimism

I love my optimism and its powerful ability to drag me up whenever I’m low. This is one of those core values examples that I always share with other people.

But what is optimism? Is it a genuine positive perspective towards life? For me, it’s more like knowing things will always be ok in the end and experiences aren’t good or bad, they are just lessons.

So, being an optimist has taught me that I don’t have a shitty life or an amazing life — I only have shitty moments and amazing moments because life is made of moments which purpose is to improve me as a person.

» Relatable: 4 Myths About Optimism To Better Understand Optimists

Over the years I’ve discovered that people see optimism differently than I do. What others see is mostly related to some myths about optimism.

9. Force people into doing greater things

I believe that we have two types of brains: the useless and the useful.

Most of the times we are using the useless one. For example, when you want to do something but you’re thinking about the obstacles that may appear or you’re coming up with excuses.

Forcing people into doing greater things is going to activate their useful brain and help them build toward the things they desire.

10. Believe you can help anyone change

Though all the odds may be against me, I truly believe I can help anyone change and become better.

But it doesn’t mean I’m willing to help everyone.

This mindset is serving me in being able to see improvements in others and give them the tools they need to become better people. Nevertheless, I don’t help everyone become better because not everyone wants that or has the courage to step out of their comfort zone.

11. Generating cool opportunities as a result of finding people with whom you resonate

At the first point, I was talking about feeling others’ vibe. That vibe is also going to tell you how well you can connect with someone.

Finding people with the same core values examples, principles, and mindsets as yours is an amazing accomplishment. Simply because you’ll find it easier to work with people who see life the way you do.

» Relatable: How To Find The Right People For Your Needs

Finding the right people is about knowing what you want and finding those who are able to match your needs. Just one person can’t match all of our needs.

12. When there’s a crisis, force yourself to laugh about it

Nowadays it’s so easy to get distracted. Even more, it’s easier to get distracted by the negative things out there.

In fact, it’s so easy to get distracted by the negative things, we use this as a method to keep ourselves inside the comfort zone. We don’t travel because we are afraid someone will do something bad to us. We don’t experience new things because we don’t want to feel unsafe.

We are all afraid. But when I feel fear, I force myself to laugh about it so I can see its positive side.

13. Learn to generate energy mechanically

Many people are waiting for something interesting to happen in their life so they can build on that and gain momentum.

Unfortunately, those moments are rare and if you wait for them to happen you may waste your life. Instead, learn how to mechanically generate the energy you need so you can build the things you desire without conditioning them.

After all, the things we do first are always mechanical. Nothing comes naturally at first.

Do you have any core values examples that you want to share? Do it below.

With love and optimism,

David

Follow @davidtheoptimist on Instagram