When was the last time you did something different? If you really can’t think of anything, let me share a quote with you from Benjamin Franklin: “If you do tomorrow what you did today, you will get tomorrow what you got today.” Make sense? Should we be surprised when we become disappointed for not achieving different results in life when our actions are to repeat daily over and over? We get a great idea, but we don’t act on them, just let the imagination slide. An opportunity, an invite from friends to watch a movie, but we decline and stay at home. We take holidays from work but use it to sleep in or do chores around the house, not to get out and see what the world offers.

After reading this, I implore you to think to yourself, What can I do differently today? Or tomorrow for you late-night readers! Big or small, I want you to feel a zest for life as it is. After all, variety is the spice of life. No, I’m not saying today’s the day to pull a sickie for work and get sucked into a Harry Potter movie marathon locked up at home—sounds attractive to me too, but work with me. Let’s get out there, drive to the next town twenty minutes away, wander around, looking at the different shops. Have a coffee and lunch at a different café, treat yourself, invite a friend. If you’ve never traveled far, get online and search for somewhere to fly to. Get out, experience life, and gain new perspectives. They say people get the travel bug. I think people catch the love of life and start traveling away to see all the beauty and experiences you can have out in the world, and you should too.

Everyone has dreams. What are yours? If you don’t have any, create some. What draws your full attention in life? Each morning or night, ignoring everything else going on around you, stop to think of just one action you can take that day that will push you one step closer to your dreams. It may take 365 focused steps, one every day of the year. They could be as simple as talking to a certain person, writing something, traveling away to study, being mindful and saving money daily for it. Suddenly, you are stepping away from your norm, finding purpose each day, focusing on your dreams.

Happy people in the world thrive from doing something different. It’s what makes them stand out, be talked about, looked up to, and great to be around. You are unique and authentic, so go after whatever your heart ticks for. Just remember to achieve progress and happiness by waking up each morning and thinking of one action that will push you forward…one action that will get you doing something different.