In today’s world, staying in a good mood can be a struggle. On top of all of our daily stress, we have plenty of sources in media, and social media, bringing us the world’s stress. Just keeping our head above water can be a challenge.
Fortunately for us, there are a few steps listed above that can help us reduce our stress and increase our joy. If you need more, check out my first book, A Happy Life for Busy People. Available on Amazon.
5 simple steps. Sunlight, exercise, good food, gratitude and sleep. If you can develop habits to work these 5 items into your life, your stress will reduce and life will be so much more enjoyable.
It seems there is so much talk in the ‘hustle culture’ of giving 120% every day. While I am a proponent of hard work, which you could see from a few posts ago, there needs to be balance. I can see some of you ready to disagree.
Here is why I think the ‘grind until you drop’ mentality is flawed. When we push ourselves to failure, there are lots of possibilities mistakes to occur. The closer you get to burn out, the more likely this becomes. When you show up on the verge of collapse, you are more likely to say or treat someone harshly. This can cause damage that takes time, or may never, be healed.
Another reason is becoming disenfranchised. You will lose the drive and desire to achieve you goal. You will start to view it as something that drains you instead of drives you. This will slow or kill your progress all together.
Lastly, is the amount of healing time. If you pause before you burn out it will take a lot less time to heal than if you push to collapse. It may be easier to understand this concept if we think physically. If you catch and treat an injury early, the damage can be less and the healing can be done quicker. The same is true mentally and emotionally.
This is not permission for you to be lazy. There is a big difference between healthy self-care and sloth. I’m just saying catch your mental health early, make it a priority and act accordingly.
It would seem that far too many people are complaining about where they are in life without working to change it. Maybe it is having a year of isolation that has people forgetting they are not entitled to anything. You get what you earn in life. If you want more, or something better, the solution is simple – work harder.
Another important aspect to remember about this is entitlement leads to a lack of control. When you are waiting for the world to change for you, essentially you are putting control of your life in the world’s hands. The world, in this case, is everyone and everything else. Is that who you want controlling your life? Everyone and everything else? Not me! I want to control my own fate. Working hard and having ownership over your decisions and mistakes is what makes life yours.
I am not taking to you, I’m talking with you. I have been there. Complaining the world wasn’t fair. It often isn’t. Waiting for others or my situation to change. It never did. Do you know where that got me? Nowhere! It actually had me falling behind those who accepted life as it was and then worked to change themselves and improve for the better.
What did you feel when you read the quote on this picture? Did it make you smile? It was just a simple greeting, but it warms the heart. Can you imagine how others would feel if you sent them a message like this?
In a world filled with divisive messages and fear and hate, why not send more messages like this? Each one is a little do of positivity. It might be just what someone needs to brighten their day. I encourage you to send out several cheerful greetings daily. See how people respond.
It can be hard to go through the challenges in life. Right now where I live, there are people who have lost everything in the floods we have had recently. It can seem like there is no rain why we must go through what challenges us. Even in the worst of situations, there is a point.
I have never quite heard it this way, but I like the analogy. Our scars, be there physical or emotional, can be a guiding light to others. As we use them in this way, it also helps us heal. In my book, Living the Dream, I chronicle the stories of people who were the victims of different forms of abuse. They use their experience to help others with their healing journey.
No matter what challenge you are going through, or what scars life has left you with, you can use that to help others either avoid the same pain, or share how to make it through.
This is Tanya, a dear friend of Margie and me. She is currently in the city of Las Vegas at a singing championship. She was the winner of the state and now will be taking on the country. In our small group of friends, which can be more like a family, we cheer each other on.
Actually, it is more than that. When one of us wins, we all win. With Tanya‘s state championship, we were so proud it felt like we all won. To us, because she won it felt like a part of us did too. I know not only Margie and I,but her charming and talented husband Montel and all of our group will be cheering her on. When she finally returns it will be as a winner. This will be true no matter how the competition goes. For all of us, she will be our champion. We could not think of a better example of not only talent, but a great human being, to represent us!
When someone you care about achieves a great accomplishment, you should celebrate as if it was your own. When someone means a lot to you their wins should feel like a little bit of you won too. As far as Tanya is concerned, a little bit of all of us went to Las Vegas with her. We are proud of how far she has come and excited to see how far she will go!
People are looking for the secret to an amazing life. That is the purpose of this website. Part of an amazing life is keeping your mood up. Doing so with pharmaceutical products leads to side effects and other undesirable aspects.
Working out not only outperformed many of these products, but it also helps you physically. A two-for-one if you like. Certainly every form of therapy has its purpose, but if you can take one actin that will help you in many ways, why not do it?
How many of us kick ourselves over mistakes we have made years ago? If you are human, most likely you do. We all have things we wish we would have said or done differently. Sadly, no amount of self-torture will allow us to go back in time and correct our mistakes.
Here is what we can do to at least modify those actions and words that were less than our best. We can use that regret to fuel our improvement in the present. I am not a fan of hanging on to regret. A little bit of pain upon reflection can keep us from making those same mistakes.
Today, take any pain and regret you have about the past and use it to turn your mistakes into lessons! It is the only way you can help fix the past as well as set the future up for success!
This is a picture I took at the Wisconsin State Fair. As you can see, there are lots of people gathered together in the name of fun. It would make sense that statistically they would differ in race, politics and religion. Probably in a host of other categories as well.
Later in the night, Margie and I hosted our weekly DJ show as well. Same story, only on a slightly smaller scale. Many different people there, but all gathered to have fun.
My question is this – If it works for a DJ show and for the great Wisconsin State Fair, why can’t it work for life in general? Can you imagine if we all were focused on how to gather and have as much fun in life as we could? People sharing their secrets for having fun on the morning commute or going to the dentist? Life would be amazing. Just a thought of what is possible.
This is a rather simple phrase from one of the smarter, more accomplished men of our day. Leo did a lot in his day. Inventions, painting, and some science. He had a well-spent life. This seems like one of those phrases that are a little too big for most of us to figure out. How does one lead a well- spent life?
As usual, we make it a little more complicated than need be. What kind of life we are living is not something we stop and contemplate on a daily basis. What we can do is ask ourselves, at the end of each day,“Did I spend this day well?” Were we productive? Did we take actions towards our goals?
A well-spent day is about far more than productivity. We should ask ourselves, “Did I inspire and encourage anyone today?” How did we treat the people we came in contact with? Did we practice self-care? A productive day can look different to everyone.
If we put enough of these days together, it will have us feeling peaceful when the end of our life is drawing near. Ask yourself, did you spend your day well today?
SECRET 2 AN AMAZING LIFE 