02 Feb Zest
Posted at 19:08h
in General
At the start of each new year, we are always full of zest and ready to tackle challenges and opportunities head-on!! Thanks to Marc and Angel Hack Life for the inspiration (see original post here), I have added my thoughts and additions to the things we can all do DAILY, in order to avoid unnecessary headaches, heartache and regrets as we journey through each of the 365 days…
- Be right where you are. Happiness is letting go of what you think your life is supposed to look like right now and appreciating it for everything that it is.
- Consider how incredibly fortunate you are to be here at this moment. Then get going and make the very best out of that good fortune.
- Tell yourself, “I am ENOUGH!” anytime you begin to feel like you aren’t. What you do in life ultimately comes out of who you believe you are. In other words, it’s not what you say to everyone else that determines your life; it’s what you whisper to yourself that has the greatest power.
- Whatever you do, do it with love and passion, with full attention and awareness. Be present and put all you have into even the smallest of acts.
- Avoid sinking into the comfortable mediocrity of doing nothing (which is always the easiest option). Challenge yourself to live with the passion and richness you deserve.
- Say “no” to good things when you must, so you are able to say “yes” to important things. We can’t do it all. Be mindful and choose wisely.
- Again and again, remind yourself why. With a strong enough reason why you’ll be able to do what’s required at any time and in any circumstance.
- Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith. How disappointed would you be to get to the end of your life and discover you were made to enjoy life while all you did was doubt it?
- Stop being afraid of what could go wrong and start thinking about what could go right.
- Stop focusing on how inconvenient life is, and start focusing on something positive you can do in response.
- Give yourself some extra space. Take a deep breath when you need one. Sometimes you need to distance yourself for a while to see things clearly again.
- Be mindful. Stress comes from the way you react, not the way life is. Adjust your attitude and the stress is gone. You control the way you look at life. Right this moment, your thoughts are setting the direction for your day. Choose thoughts that lead to the day you most desire to live today.
- Let things be less than perfect. Do not dwell so much on creating the perfect life that you forget to live a great one.
- As much as feasibly possible, enjoy yourself every step of the way. It’s not selfish to enjoy life. What’s selfish is to insist on being negative despite all the positive possibilities available to you.
- Set an example. Treat everyone with kindness and respect, even those who are rude to you – not because they are nice, but because you are. In other words, don’t be lazy and make judgments about people. Be kind. Ask about their stories. Listen. Be humble. Be open. Be teachable. Be a good neighbour.
- Pay attention to people’s actions. People may not always tell you how they feel about you, but they will always show you.
- Spend a lot more time with those who make you smile and a lot less time with those who you feel pressured to impress.
- Walk away from drama gracefully. Wherever there’s lots of drama, there’s usually lots of lying and manipulation.
- Simplify wherever and whenever possible. Clear the clutter in your physical and mental space. Instead of figuring out how to make ends meet, work on having fewer ends.
- If all else fails, the best advice I’ve found is still just to “sleep on it.” Everything changes in the morning.
Photo by The Creative Exchange on Unsplash