Do you want to lead a happy, successful and balanced life, yet often find you lack the energy, time and motivation to do everything you'd like?
Sometimes the choices you make lead you even further away from goals. Following are ten practical and do-able suggestions for guiding your daily choices. Incorporating them into your life will bring a renewed sense of vitality and wellbeing; greater contentment with where you're at; more enthusiasm for where you're going; and a restored sense of balance in your life - less the stress!
1. Take Daily Actions toward Inspiring Goals
Having a goal that inspires you makes life much more fun and exciting. It doesn't matter how small your action is, but if you commit to doing one thing every day that moves you closer toward your goal, you'll feel a much greater sense of fulfilment and purpose.
2. Nourish Your Body Better
You can't do your best if you are low in energy or sick. If you take your health for granted and neglect your body it will eventually catch up on you. Nourishing your body with nutritious and fresh food washed down with plenty of water will give you increased vitality and stamina to accomplish your goals and better health and longevity in the longer term. As for your favorite 'not so healthy' treats, practice moderation.
3. Give up Complaining for Doing
Is there something you find yourself continually complaining about or annoyed by - a negative person, a situation, a dripping tap, or a noisy car? If so, ask yourself, "Is there something I can do so I won't need to tolerate this anymore?" If so, do it! Perhaps you need to have a conversation with someone to address an issue - do it now. Otherwise, if it can't be remedied, decide to accept it since complaining only perpetuates your suffering and drains those who have to listen to you.
4. Choose Uplifting Company
On that note, choose to spend as much time as possible with uplifting people who are positive about life and encourage you to live yours fully. Their energy is contagious and so too is that of 'energy drainers'. Minimize the time you spend with people who are forever whining about things, zapping you of your energy and enthusiasm.
5. Plan Ahead and Prioritize
There will never be enough time to do everything but there will always be enough time to do the most important things. However, using your time effectively requires that you clearly define your values and goals, and plan ahead. Consistently ask yourself "What is the highest value use of my time that will make the biggest difference in the longer term?" Don't fall into the trap of letting the urgent things continually distract you from the important.
6. Take "Time Out" for Just You
Nothing is more important than taking regular time out to catch your breath and 'regroup'. One simple yet effective de-stressing technique is to practice "conscious breathing", particularly when you're feeling overwhelmed, hurried or anxious. The simple act of just watching yourself breath slows and deepens your breathing. This extra oxygen in your lungs reduces your pulse and lowers your blood pressure so your heart doesn't have to work so hard.
Another habit to enrich your life is putting time aside daily, even just five minutes, to sit in silence. This will help clear your mind and rejuvenate your spirit. Finally, try journaling to provide greater clarity on where you are, where you want to go and the best way to get there.
7. Don't Over-Commit Yourself
By prioritizing the most important things in your life it is easier to say 'no' to things that are not aligned with what you value most. Before you say 'yes' to something, first consider what it will require you to say 'no' to. You are doing a disservice to everyone, yourself included, when you take on too much and get stressed out by trying to please everyone.
8. Nurture Your Relationships
Relationships are one of the richest sources of joy in our lives yet often the time we invest in them doesn't reflect their importance to us. Make a commitment to spend more time with those you value most in your life. This may require scheduling time in your diary rather than just waiting for a day when you (or they) have nothing else on. Practice listening more and speaking less, allowing yourself to be fully present and open to receiving the richness the time you share offers.
9. Exercise - Use the 1% Rule
You spend about 30% of your week sleeping so it seems reasonable that you could put aside just 1% of your week to exercise. That works out to be three ½ hour sessions (believe me, I've done the math). Exercise not only increases your energy but it reduces your blood pressure, keeps your heart in better shape and the 'feel good' endorphins it releases improve your mood. It's a no-brainer - so stop making excuses and get moving… today!
10. Let Go of Perfection
Focusing on what isn't 100% perfect in your life diminishes your ability to feel contentment and appreciation for all that is wonderful. Also if you need to have everything perfect before you move on to anything else you will get very little done. Give up doing what you believe others think you 'should' be doing or striving to achieve some arbitrary assessment of perfection. Instead, continually ask yourself, "What really and truly matters to me?"
By Margie Warrell
