Why’d you get out of bed this morning? It’s a tough question, especially when you’re in the act itself. What it’s really getting at is two fold:

• What drives you?
• If you can’t answer the first part, then why are you bothering to get out of bed?

Now, there’s no wrong answer to part one. It’s your life; you get to decide what drives you. It’s the second part that should hit home. You shouldn’t just be going to work; you should be working towards something. It’s all too easy to forget sometimes, which is why it’s often necessary to proactively remind yourself why you do what you do–lest you get stuck in a rut or lose sight of the light, leaving you to wander that tunnel blindly.

This is where rebranding your day comes in. Think of slogans like, “Fake it ’til you make it.” Next time your in a foul mood, try smiling for a while. You’ll start off feeling ridiculous, but you’ll be smiling in earnest in just a few hours. If you’re still alive, chances are high that you want to be. Figure out why, focus on that, and make your day about it. Life isn’t about trudging from one basic need to the next. When it starts to feel that way, take a step back, a deep breath, count to ten–whatever you have to do, get some perspective. Life is like surfing. You can ride the waves, or you can get tumbled–it’s your choice.

A Goal Is a Dream with a Deadline
Figure out what you want from life. If your answer is nothing, then–again–why’d you even get out bed? Now, break down how you’re going to get there. This is an extremely intimidating task–suddenly you’ve decided to grab the reins rather than simply going through the motions. You’ll be better for it, I promise.

Starting by writing it out works very well, but staring at a blank sheet of paper won’t get you anywhere except discouraged. Start getting down ideas. Ask yourself what drives you. Figure out what you want, and start writing out ways to get it.

Be Realistic
I use a little lesson I picked up from Existentialist philosophy: the idea of facticity versus transcendence. Facticity is what you cannot change; transcendence is what you can change. Identifying too much with one or the other leads to despair.

Say, for example, you were born without legs. You can’t change this, which puts it into the category of facticity. If you decide your goal in life is to win the 100-meter dash in the Olympics, you’re identifying too much with your transcendence. You’re setting yourself up for failure and a life of despair and depression. If, on the other hand, you decide that because you don’t have any legs you’re a cripple incapable of accomplishing anything, you’re identifying too much with your facticity. Again, you’ve slipped into despair.

This example is extreme, but it gets the point across. Balancing your facticity and transcendence is a constant struggle. Ambition demands you push the limits of your facticity, and ambition is what gets you out of bed every morning. You desire to do something, accomplish something.

Education as a Means to Transcendence
Most every important life goal is going to involve success. If your goal in life is something abstract, like being happy, it’ll break down into requirements like eliminating stress by living well and within your means. In our society, that requires money. To get money, you need a job. To maintain the happiness part of the goal, you need a job you like. This is where education comes in.

You can get a high quality education online and keep your current job while your earning that degree. You can take advantage of a local community college, where night classes are offered more often than in traditional universities. The fact of the matter is, more education makes you look better to employers and succeeding in whatever school program you choose makes you feel proud of yourself.

It’s not going to be easy, but nothing that’s truly worth it is ever easy–the difficulty adds value. When you wake up tomorrow, get that special glint in you eye that says, “I’m in control, and I am going to succeed.” Go forth and achieve.