As we approach the weekend, let make sure to schedule some time for self-care. I am a guilty as anyone when it comes to using the weekend to getting to chores we were too busy for duringthe week. We must remember in order to get the most productive version of ourselves, it requires maintenance.
If this still isn’t making sense to you, perhaps this analogywill help. It is like driving your car and insisting you cannot spend the time or expense for an oil change. Sooner or later, your car will break down and force you to stop. At that point it will take a lot longer than an oil change and be a lot more expensive.
Give yourself a little self-care this weekend. Whether that is a quiet walk in nature or a lively coffee with friends. Think of it as an oil change for your mind, body and spirit.
Today is Friday the 13th. Many people view this day as a scary superstition. Do you know what I think is scary? Walking around with a dirty mind. No, not that kind of dirty mind. One that is filled with negativity and unnecessary worry. We are all a little guilty of that at times. If we look around at the world we are living in, it is no wonder. News, some things on the internet, even members of our social circle can have us seeing the storm in every rainbow.
What is the big deal about having dirt in your mind? Not much if you clear it out. If left to fester long enough, like real dirt, the consequences can start to mount up. It will affect your mental health. You may find yourself more on edge. You might experience brain fog or have difficulty concentrating. This can only add to the negative experiences in your life. Keep it up long enough and you will see physical results. You will feel tired and run down. You might develop ulcers or have a depressed immune system.
How on earth can you clean your mind? It is not like you can stick a cleaning brush in your brain. Consuming any kind of bleach product is not recommend, despite what you may have heard. Above we have some really good ideas. I would like to touch on a few. I would love to hear your suggestions as well. We can all benefit from sharing our ideas.
The first is to take a hard look at your social circle. I devote an entire section to this in my book, Living the Dream. It amazes me how many people tell me social media is negative. What they see is only drama and negativity. The same is said for what they hear from people. I stare at them blankly and ask them who controls what they see on their social media page? If there are people and pages that do not bring you joy, get rid of them! Better yet, add pages that bring joy to your heart. That could be things that make you smile or even just hobbies you enjoy. As for people? Keep your circle small. If someone is a constant source of drama, limit or eliminate the time you are around them. Better yet, spend more time around people you find uplifting!
Above you will see other amazing suggestions. These range from meditating to going for a walk in nature. I would love to not only hear which one is your favorite, but if you have any suggestion or ideas which help clear your mind.
It is hump day. The middle of the week and our energy might be starting to fade. One of my life quests is to find healthy sources of energy. In the life of a blog writer/author/DJ who also happens to work 50+ hours a week at his day job, sleep is rarely in smoke supply.
Imagine my excitement when I came across this list earlier this week. It was not only a great reminder of the many different healthy sources of energy, but the fact that energy depletion can be far more than physical. You can be depleted in one area and it can manifest itself as a physical lack of energy.
Take the example of studying for an exam. Nothing really physically taxing about that. Pushing a key on a keyboard, or turning the page of a book. You won’t strain a hamstring doing that. It will leave you mentally drained and you may very well need a nap after. Here’s what I find draining – political ads.Regardless of party, they are always like the chicken little “the sky is falling” theme. Sucks the life out of your soul after a while.
Next time you’re tired, before you grab a coffee or energy drink, make sure you try one of the items above. The source of your exhaustion could be mental, emotional, physical or even spiritual. Make sure to hydrate, grab a power nap, but maybe focus on gratitude and love as well.
Which one of the items on the list energizesyou the most?
As you begin to read this blog, look at the battery indicator on your cell phone. How much do you have left? In my case, as I write this I have 94%. That is pretty good since the plug doesn’t want to stay in the charger anymore. That is a story for a different day. The neat thing is, it lets you know how much energy your device has left. As it starts to get low, it even changes colors from green to yellow, and finally to red. Same with the gas tank in your car. The closer the needle moves to ‘E’ the less energy you have left. This knowledge comes in handy. We know when we have to charge our phones, or fill the tank in our car.
As the cell phone battery symbol gets lower and the needle gets closer to empty on our cars, we know time is running short. You would think this would mean that nobody would ever run out of a charge or out of gas. You and I both know that is not so. There are people who are constantly doing one or the other. Sometimes even both! Not sure if they are bad at estimating how much time they have left, or just not very observant. Either way, there are people who seem to be having these problems often. You know the type.
If you find yourself with an almost dead battery on your phone, are you going to call up your friend just to chat? Probably not. Are you going to watch silly cat videos? I would guess not until you are near a charger. Same with a low gas tank. Are you going to drive around the block or take the scenic route to your destination? No. You are going to think of ways to save on gas until you find yourself at the pump. What on earth does any of this have to do with self-improvement and how can you use this to improve your life? Let us look.
How many times have we heard someone say, “I am running out of gas.” or “My battery is dead.” They are not talking about their car or phone. No, they are talking about their own energy level. There are far more of them than the people who run out of gas in the middle of the freeway. We don’t have gages on our bodies that show how much energy we have left. We just need to pay attention to their warnings. Just like a cell phone will start to slow down as the battery gets weak, so does our performance start to slip as our energy falter. We need self-care as much as a phone needs a charger, or a car needs a gas pump.
This could be a nap, a quick meditation or a day of pampering. One of the best ways is to conserve your energy as it starts to slip. Worrying about your neighbors business, world politics or arguing about sports is as productive as taking a scenic route when your gas tank is almost empty. Learning not to bother with what doesn’t matter, especially when our energy is low, can save us from having a dead battery of our own. Practicing good self-care can make sure it is charged and we can be productive and of value to others.
This may be an analogy that has been repeated all too often in self-improvement circles, but it has value in repeating. As you are given a safety talk in an airplane, they tell you to secure your oxygen mask before helping other around you. Why? You are really unable to help anyone if you are unable to breathe yourself. How many of us forget to apply this common sense knowledge to the rest of our life? It is easy to put our own mental, and often physical, health at risk for the benefits of others. Done long enough and we could have a breakdown, either a mental or physical.
Here is something else to consider. A slightly different lesson to be had in all of this. Do you know what happens when everyone puts their own masks on? You have a bunch of people breathing. That is always good. What happens if you have a plane full of people who are more concerned how Bob puts on his mask, or how Betty’s hair looks when she places the mask over her face? Suddenly, they find themselves struggling with their own breathing.
In a quick recap, here are the two lessons to be had in our airplane service talk. First lesson. If you do not take care of your own mental and physical health, you will be ill-equipped to assist anyone in theirs. Dare I say, the better your mental and physical health, the better you will be able to help others. This being said, an investment in yourself is also an investment in the well-being of those you care about. Second lesson. Focusing on others lives instead of your own, only causes pain and suffering for yourself in the long run. Make sure your life is in order before spending too much time worrying about what Bob or Betty are doing in their lives. Sense our life is one never ending journey to improve ourselves…you guessed it…don’t worry about what others are doing. Just focus on being the best version of yourself and you will have an amazing life.
As I write this, we are in the middle of a wicked snow storm. My lovely lady and I stopped at the store to grab a few things last night. It was packed. People were shopping like the world was ending. Another reason I would love to become a best-selling author and move to San Diego, but I digress.
A thought came to me as I watched people with their carts full of supplies. Why do we not prepare, at least with the same enthusiasm, for the storms of life? We act as if self-care, and the things that go with it, are for when we need them. In essence, we wait for the storm to arrive before we act.
Why not act like all of the crazy shoppers and prepare for the storms of life? Compose a list of songs that lift your spirits and save them in a Playlist. Have a list of movies that make you laugh. Have a collection of inspiring books.Whatever other items will help you make it through the storms of life.
Here is what I know for sure. The storms of life can come during any season and often with less warning than any extreme weather. We need to have preparations for our mind and spirit just as we have for any storm.
Have you ever had a day where you feel like this? Not quite like a murdering doll, but where if how you felt on the inside could be seen, you might resemble this lovely character? I know I have. With many responsibilities, even enjoyable ones, comes much stress. When I have to fit in the day job, the gym and writing in one day , that can be rather stressful. I barely have enough energy to show my lovely lady how important she is to me. That only adds further stress.
What do you do when you feel burned out? Another reason why working on self-improvement and self-care is so important to start, and start now. If you get to the point of feeling burned out, the last thing you are going to want to do is spend mental energy on how to rid yourself of those feelings. What I can suggest is to start a self-care book. This is an activity that will be featured in my upcoming fourth book. In your self-care book, you can list everything that brings you feelings of peace, health and happiness. In other words, everything that refreshes your spirit. This can be songs that inspire you. Movies that make you laugh or energize you. It can be places you like to go, whether that is a park, a coffee shop or some place to eat. This self-care book can be updated as you discover new items to add. For me, who struggles during the long cold winter, this can be a life-saver. Place this book somewhere it can easily be accessed.
When you are feeling burned out, sad, uninspired or any of the other unpleasant emotions, pull out your self-care book and engage in one, or several, of the activities. When you find something that really brings joy, or inner peace, to your heart, pull out the book and add it. Having this resource available takes the thinking out of helping yourself. Composing the book is actually a fun activity. You can even ask your friends, family and spouse for ideas. You can do it together as a couple or as a family.
Today begins the month of October. Many of us spend this month watching scary movies and putting up decorations of ghosts, goblins and such. We read scary stories and dress up for Halloween. Here is a scary thought that I would like to share with you today. The quote above says it all. Do not forget this month, while you are thinking about what type of candy would bring a smile to the faces of the children that come to your door, to think about what would bring a smile to your face as well
The truly scary part in life is that many of us do not make ourselves, and by default our happiness, a priority. We worry about what we must do at work to keep the boss happy. We worry about what we have to do at home to keep the spouse and/or the family happy. We worry about our friends, our relatives and those we care about. This is all good, but without keeping our own well-being in mind, it can lead to disaster. It can have us feeling like we have a drained battery. It can have us trying to fill someone’s cup from our empty pitcher. Whatever analogy works for you. The fact is that the better we take care of ourselves, the better we can take care of those around us.
This is so true. Even those who love us and really want the best for us, can often have a bad day. They can be preoccupied with their own life challenges. We must remember to spend some time each day dedicated to making sure our own happiness and inner peace are intact. Doing so will provide us the best opportunity to serve others and do so in a way that feels good, not draining. In fact, feeling drained or overwhelmed is often the way the body is signaling to us that we need to spend a little more time on self-care. That is not to say we should become self-absorbed, but that we should spend some of our life making ourselves a priority. This will not only allow us to serve others better, but increase the quality of our life as we do so.
Mark Twain was an unusual character. He did,however, have some good wisdom. In the quote above he touches on something very important. Most of the things we worry about never happen. This is actually very harmful.
Above you will see the physical effects of stress and worry on the body. As you can see, this affects more than just the butterflies in the stomach. Done for a prolonged period, it can cause problems with your heart,immune system, digestive tract, cause joint pain and even decrease your sexual performance!
Worry can spur us to take precautions that do help us. If you have a history of heart problems in your family, that worry may keep you following a healthy diet and exercise regimen. This is good. If you lay awake in bed every night fearing that you might fall over with a heart attack, this will not only keep you awake, but as we saw earlier, it may actually lead to a heart attack!
Indulging in worry is like drinking poison for your body. What is the cure? There is no “one size fits all” action to take. Generally, meditation 🧘♂️ and exercise are two things that can help everyone improve their anxiety level. Diet, who you surround yourself with as well as considering talking to atherapist can be helpful. If you find yourself full of worry, you may doing yourself more harm than you realize. Take some self-care to help reduce your worry and anxiety today. Your body and life will thank you.
Here is something very important I have learned by having followers in, and talking to, people in over 200 countries – we all have basically the same issues. Sure, there might be slight differences in the nuances, but the core issues tend to be the same. We are going to take a quick look at the six listed above and how they can dramatically improve our life. Who wants to make their life a lot less stressful while making it a lot more productive? I can safely assume we all have our hands up for that one if we are reading from a blog called Secret2anamazinglife.
We are going to go through these quickly for the sake of keeping this post short. You are welcome to research a little more on your own, or just incorporate them into your life and reap the benefits. Exercise is a word many people either fear or think they don’t have time for. Exercise does not have to mean hours in the gym several days a week. It can be a walk after dinner. It can be zumba class, a pick up basketball game or even water aerobics if your joints are sore. Whatever you enjoy and are likely to stick to. One thing I promise you will discover is not only the feel-good chemicals that are scientifically proven to be released in your body with physical exertion, but also a sense of pride in your accomplishment and the improvements in your body. Do whatever you enjoy.
Meditation. Another word that has far too much baggage attached to it. Meditation does not mean sitting in the lotus position (something my body is not capable of at the moment) on a beach, like the lady in the picture above. No, meditation can take so many forms. Essentially, meditation is being present. This may sound easy, and in essence it is. What is tricky is how many distractions we face in the world today. That is why I suggest a walk in nature leaving your phone in the car or at the very least, turning it off. Walking in nature has its own benefits, but being fully present is something that is missing in today’s world. Even taking a few moments, closing our eyes and paying attention to our breath for a few minutes can do wonders. Throw an inspiring word like ‘peace’ or ‘relax’ in the exhale is even better. Find whatever type of meditation works for you. Done a few days in a row and stress will begin to melt away.
Reading. This is something not a lot of us do in today’s world. Yet, there is more information, on more subjects, available today than every before! Want to become more attractive? There are things to read on that. Want to learn more about your job and increase your chances of a promotion? Yep, there are things to read on that subject. Do you want to increase the joy and reduce the stress in your life? You can read the book the wonderful lady is reading in the picture above. It can be a paperback, an ebook, articles online or any other source. Sitting down reading will allow us to learn a host of information we desire. It also helps us to slow down and be more present.
Reading is great for learning about others and the world around us, but what about learning about ourself? Why do we do the foolish things we do? Why do we always date the people who seem so wrong for us? How come we don’t take actions that will get us ahead? If you want to learn the answers to these questions, hire the greatest therapist of all time – a journal. You can learn so much about yourself just by writing down your thoughts. In addition, it clears space in your head when you are feeling overwhelmed. Often, just writing things down will allow you to gain some clarity and see patterns in your life you may have missed by attempting to keep everything in your head.
We have done entire posts about the importance of self-care. If you want to bring the best to others, you have to be the best version of yourself. The only way to accomplish this is to care for yourself and make sure you are 100%. The better shape you are in, the more you can help others. Self-care may seem selfish on the surface, but it is often the best thing that you can do to serve others. Which, is why we are here in the first place, to serve our fellow humans. (and animals.) Make sure you take the time to practice some self care. If doing so comes with any feelings of guilt, remember that the better you are, the better you can help others.
To accomplish any of these items quicker, and to make sure they stick as habits in your life, make sure you are having fun. That is the whole point in life. If you are not enjoying your life, you are wasting your life. You can have fun exercising, as we pointed out in that section. Find ways to look forward to meditation and journaling. Make self-care something to treat yourself with. Pick a good book, like Living the Dream, to look forward to reading a little bit of every day. The more enjoyable you make any of the items we have listed, the more likely they are to be effective. Coming up with ways to make them fun is enjoyable as well!
Put the six items in this blog into action and there is no way you will not be living a more amazing life. I would love to hear about actions you take in any or all of the categories! All of us are looking for new ideas to make our life more positive and rewarding. Sharing how you do, could give us that idea! In everything you do, remember to have fun!
SECRET 2 AN AMAZING LIFE 