A quick reminder to create a balance in your life. We hear a lot about work/ life balance. We also hear a lot about how important it is to hustle, or grind. Then, we are also told how important it is to practice self-care and focus on creating joy in our life.
Which one of these is true? I believe they all are. You must have work life balance. That doesn’t always mean things will be 50/50. Some days you might have to work more. Some days are there to relax. Just make sure you have an ample supply of both.
Even on the days that have focused effort, make sure you are grateful and happy for how far you have come. You can both be satisfiedwith your life so far while still wanting more. Remember, without enough balance, anything just falls down. Life is the same way.
Today’s post will feature a deep dive into an answer to a question I posed to several friends and associates. The question was, “What, in your opinion, makes for a truly fulfilling life?” We will take a deeper dive into the answer featured in today’s post. This includes looking at how we can implement their ideas for fulfillment into our own life. This will allow all of us to wake up with a greater sense of inner peace and joy. If these answers inspire you, and you would like to share your own feeling on what makes life fulfilling, feel free to do so in the comments below. You could be featured in a future post or in my next book! Now let us take a look at today’s answer!
Today’s answer comes from my good friend Kurt. I’m not going to post his entire answer for the sake of brevity. His answer, like many Kurt will give, involves a great deal of thought. He is a man of many talents. Kurt is a DJ, an author and an entrepreneur. If you get a chance, I highly recommend his book, Nothing is Everything, which you can purchase on Amazon. I promise it will be both entertaining as well as enlightening. Just like a conversation with Kurt is.
Now for Kurt’s answer. He put fourth that in order to live a truly fulfilling life, one must remain true to yourself. Although, often with the best of intentions, others will advise you as to what makes a fulfilling life, you still must decide for yourself. While it is true that things such as gratitude, contributions, and appreciation for your friends and family are all good places to start,they are not what works for everyone.
When I asked the question “What makes for a fulfilling life?” I received many different answers. In fact, none of them were the same. They may have shared certain aspects with each other, but they were as unique as the people givingthem. Trying to feel fulfillment by using another person’s definition of the word is like trying to put a round peg in a square hole.
Yes, self-care is important. What that means to you can be as different as night and day to your neighbor, your friends, or even your spouse. A personal exampleis Margie and me. When I need self-care I head to the gym or out in nature for a vigorous hike. These things she views as a stressful chore. Her, on the other hand, likes to go shopping, often at stores filled with people. This is something I find stressful.
Telling Margie to go to the gym to relax just because that works for me makes no more sense than me going to a crowded store to go shopping. That is just fine. It is important to realize that staying true to ourselves, our priorities, and our inner nature arevital to living afulfilling life.
How about you? Have you ever found yourself trying to be fulfilled in something that someone else, or society, has told you that you should find fulfillment in? Have you discovered that didn’t work for you? Did it make you feel like something might have been wrong with you? It is time to throw that thinking and those feelings of guilt in the trash. Find fulfillment in your own unique way. Your source of fulfillment is as special and individual as you are!
We have been doing a great job at looking at what many of the readers of this blog find to be a fulfilling life. We will get back to that and look at some more amazing answers very soon. As the week starts and the pressures begin, I wanted to look at something that may get overlooked or pushed to the back burner. That is what the quote above says. Make sure you do something silly and fun that serves no other purpose than make you happy.
A lot of what gets in the way of this is the guilt people feel when it comes to spending any time in non-productive activities. As important as self-discipline is, it is equally as important to balance that with some fun and relaxation. One of the great ways to do this is to include people in your life who embody this trait. In my own life, I have been blessed with a lovely lady who is the poster child for silly. She is always a great reminder to spend some time on silly fun. It lowers blood pressure, increases feel good hormones in the body and reduces stress.
For those who still feel a little guilty, remember that all of this increases creativity. When you are constantly working hard, you can wind up burnt out. It is so important to let off a little steam and do something that puts a smile on your face. It could be singing and dancing to your favorite song. It could be walking in nature and taking time to look at the birds, trees and listen to the wind. It could be listening to some jokes on your phone or computer. Whatever works for you. Just remember to include moments of this throughout your day.
It is a new year, and time to start some new habits. One of yours maybe to invest more. When we think of investing we often think of stocks, bonds and other financial terms. The best investment you can make is none of these. The best investment you can make is in you! Without strong mental, physical and emotional health, none of the material stuff matters.
Take a look at some of the possible investments listed above. Most of them are things we indulge in if we have time. This year – make time. The stronger foundation we build, the more we can accomplish and bring to the world. Investing in yourself will pay off in bringing a better version to those you love.
Which one of the investments above sound best to you? Let us know in the comments below.
As the holidays get into full swing, our calendar becomes full. We are running around shopping for others. Perhaps we are at home cooking for others. There are still the usual commitments on top of that. What gets lost in the shuffle is time for ourselves. This doesn’t only happen during the holidays either. Life moves at such a rapid pace we can wear ourselves out trying to keep up. One job that we cannot slack on is loving ourselves. It is of the utmost importance.
Loving yourself does not involve arrogance. What it does involve is self-care. We need to take care of our health so we can show up for life and for those we care about as the best version of ourselves. It involves making ourselves a priority. Knowing that we may not be able to attend every holiday party we are invited to. We may not have the finances to buy gifts for everyone we would want to. That’s ok. By taking care of ourselves, we allow others to do the same. By loving ourselves, we demonstrate that we feel we deserve that love. We also learn what makes us feel loved. This is important when others wish to make us feel loved. In fact, if we do not love ourselves, we can make it impossible to feel that we deserve love from others.
Loving ourselves allows us to really appreciate and fully receive the love that others share with us. When your spouse tells you that you look attractive, but you are used to putting yourself down, it can be hard to believe much less appreciate. When you know that you have beautiful qualities, that compliment from your loved one is much easier to believe. When you can fully receive a compliment, it not only makes you feel better, but the one giving you the compliment as well. Think of it. If you tell someone they look nice and they always respond, “No I do not!” How likely are you to continue to compliment them? If they respond, “Thank you so much for saying so. That really means a lot.” How much better would you feel knowing that they appreciated your compliment.
It is your duty to love yourself. This does not mean you have to be perfect. It means that you are doing the best you can and showing up for others the best you can. You might have things about yourself that you don’t like, that is fine. Those things might be what someone else loves. You are an amazing soul and realizing that will not only benefit you but everyone else that you share life with. Don’t they deserve that? Don’t you?
One of my favorite quotes. It can feel impossible to make time for ourselves in this busy world. It is not only a great idea, but a necessity. I equate it to never getting the oil changed in your car because you do not have the time. What happens? Eventually, your car will break down. Not only will you be forced to spend the time it takes to repair everything that will have went wrong, but it will be far more expensive than had you just spent the time and money on an oil change.
Our bodies are much the same. If we do not take the time to indulge in self-care, our bodies, mind and spirit may collapse. Then we will not only need time for self-care, but perhaps some therapy or time for healing. It will end up being a more expensive endeavor from a time, and perhaps money, standpoint. It would be a far more intelligent investment upfront. Same with our physical health. If we do not spend time on eating healthy and fitness, we will need to spend time of sickness and disease when our body breaks down. Think of that next time you want a twinkie or skip a workout.
Let us make time for wellness, so we will not be forced to make time for illness. One additional added bonus is that we get to choose the time we spend on wellness. When sickness comes up, it is usually not at a time that is convenient for us or our life. How can you take some time for wellness in your life today?
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.
SECRET 2 AN AMAZING LIFE 