When I’m tired and every day feels challenging, I remind myself that this is my path, and I must summon the strength, courage, and determination because I know that what awaits me at the finish line is worth every drop of sweat, and sometimes even tears. In each of my articles, I emphasize that success is not achieved overnight. Success is the result of our consistent actions over an extended period, eventually leading us to victory. Systematic action is the key here, with a consistent schedule of actions aimed at our goals, which is necessary to fulfill our dreams. However, it was only after several years of working with a well-thought-out calendar, in which I scheduled daily tasks to bring me closer to my goals, that I truly grasped the significance of this approach. It turns out that a daily schedule and daily rituals enable us not only to work towards our future but also to fully embrace the present, which is desired by many as ‘here and now.’

Thanks to a well-developed plan and systematic, repetitive activities, we become familiar with their course. Knowing what comes next allows us to focus on the present moment and experience it fully, as we’re not constantly thinking about ‘what to do next.’ In my e-book, ‘Organize Your Life,’ I discuss the importance of planning even seemingly mundane activities, such as personal hygiene. Without going into extensive detail, which spans several pages, the repetition of processes during, for example, a shower enables us to focus on the present moment, feeling the water flowing down our bodies, the scent of the shower gel, and the warmth on our skin. In contrast, when we’re in the shower, our thoughts often drift to the following day and creating lists of tasks. The schedule is not meant to create a new obsession or area of control but to help us avoid a constant race of thoughts.

No matter how much you’d like everything to stay the same, time moves on inexorably—whether you like it or not. If you don’t change with reality, you’ll turn to stone like a statue: motionless, left only with the habit of replaying what you didn’t do.

Staff in care homes often say those places are filled with regret over missed chances and the bitterness of time wasted. In almost every interview with older entrepreneurs, millionaires, or simply happy people, the same idea appears: “Take risks while you can. Say yes to challenges while they arise.” And although they’re seen as bold, many admit they regret above all that they didn’t take enough risks.

I love reading fantasy romances with a political undertone. The lands of Faerie are picturesque, enchanting, and cruel all at once. There’s something about them that draws me in and doesn’t let go. One of my favorite series is A Court of Thorns and Roses. At first glance, it might seem like a typical piece of women’s fiction — a modern fairytale filled with handsome princes, a damsel in distress, and a looming war between wicked kings and noble warriors. Yet, a careful reader soon discovers the story’s depth and complexity.

Feyre, the main heroine, and her family are starving in the midst of a harsh winter. There’s no game left in the nearby woods, so she dares to venture further — into the forbidden lands, dangerously close to the wall that separates the human world from Faerie. There, she manages to hunt a deer and kills a massive wolf, sensing that it’s no ordinary beast. For this act, she is taken beyond the wall — as reparation for the life she took.

At first, the story seems simple. But if you look deeper, you’ll realize that Feyre’s physical hunger was accompanied by a hunger of the mind and soul. As she says, “Hunger had brought me further from home than I usually risked.”

Feyre longed for freedom, love, knowledge, and change. The author masterfully illustrates that it was this very hunger that set everything in motion. Without it, Feyre would never have entered the forest. Without it, she would never have taken the risk. Without it, she would never have broken her own pattern of behavior.

Now, let’s replace the word hunger with need: “Need had brought me further from home than I usually risked.”

How often do you feel the urge to change, to free yourself from something or someone, to travel, to learn something new — yet do nothing about it? Most likely because it’s just a desire, not yet a true need. We can suppress it easily because we’re not yet hungry enough.

It’s only when the hunger grows strong that we finally break through our resistance. Only when we hit rock bottom — when we become spiritually undernourished — do we begin to move forward, beyond the borders of our comfort zone. After all, what could be worse than the numbness in which we currently exist?

Is it the end of the life we once knew — the safe, structured, predictable one? Perhaps it is. But if that end is inevitable, then whether we wait or act, it will find us anyway. And if there’s nothing left to lose, we might as well follow that need — in search of the nourishment we’ve long denied ourselves.

We can rely on our intuition, our longing, and our inner sense of worth — on the quiet conviction that pushes us forward, into the unknown.