Below is one of Brendon Burchard’s frameworks for, what I believe to be, a solid model for how to live your life. As a human striving to be more than what you are right now, you should ask yourself the questions below:

1. Beat Down or Build Up
   
   Are you talking negatively about people or are you elevating people?
   
2. Reaction or Intention
   
   Do you react to situations or can you deal with them in a more mature way?
   
3. Avoid or Approach
   
   Are complex problems (or even confrontation) swept under the rug or approached head on with your full attention?
   
4. Fear or Faith
   
   Is fear the driver or is faith running your life?
   
5. Mimicry or Mastery
   
   Are you going to continue to be someone that operates according to the status quo or someone that believes in your ability to be extraordinary?
   
6. Take or Give
   
   Do you take more than you give?
   
7. Force or Flow
   
   Is your life in constant chaos or can you choose to approach things with grace or maybe to choose an entirely different path?

You could run through this list daily and reflect on each of the areas and ask yourself these questions and get some direct benefit. 

I have to catch myself being guilty of #3 (avoidance) and #4 (fear). Avoidance was a coping skill that I was raised with and it is really hard to break, but I strive to do so. And, fear, which is the root of almost every negative thought, can get me when I think about my responsibilities to my family or when I think about being vulnerable.

Asking the questions to myself in 2023, I have made amazing progress with #1 (Beat Down) and #2 (Reaction). For Beat Down, I know that it is really really hard, but try this: every time you catch yourself speaking negatively about someone, stop it and swap it with something positive (Spot, Stop, Swap^₁). If that doesn’t work, just go on a one week cleanse in which you don’t speak about another person at all (unless you have to for logistics). That will give you an idea of how much you talk about people.

For Reaction, I contribute everything to meditation. A daily practice will change your life.

Book Recommendations: High Performance Habits, The Four Agreements, Think Like a Monk

_{1. Think Like a Monk by Jay Shetty}