“If you are loving your life, celebrate it. If your life is no longer fitting you, change it.”
If you are not feeling good about where your life is right now, or if you just want to add more spark, here are 9 ideas to help:
Let go of your past – No matter how much you think about it. No matter how much it angers you, hurts you, or disappoints you, it cannot be undone. Unfortunately, that’s the harsh reality. So forgive yourself for being in the wrong place (mentally or physically), at the wrong time. Make peace with it and move on. I know it’s easier said than done. I’ve been there on more occasions than I would like to think about. Don’t let one chapter ruin your life story. Every day you get to write something new. You can start writing about what you learned from that dreadful time. Don’t get writers’ block. Keep moving forward.
Delete negative mental chatter – Negative mental chatter is so sly, often it is hiding in plain sight. When you find yourself in a bad place, examine the thoughts swimming in your mind. All of those thoughts that begin with, “I can’t…” “I’m sick of…” “I never…” “there’s no way…” are the beginning of phrases that don’t support you. I’m sure you can discover some other words that you hear in your mind regularly that don’t serve you. Your words are your affirmations. Become aware of what you are claiming. “I’ll never get it right.” Is that really what you want to claim for yourself? Delete that and replace it with something like, “Up until now, I thought I would never get it right. But now I know better.” It takes conscious effort to notice and change those thoughts, but it is so well worth it. This, alone, can change your life.
Identify your life stealers – identify 2 things that suck the life out of you. For example, a negative person. Since your job is not to change another person, you may want to take them out of your life. Another example for me is sugar. Despite the fact that I have a love affair with sugar, it does not treat me well. What are 2 things that you need to eliminate from your life?
Expect good every day – When you’re in a down slump, it’s very easy to forget to look on the bright side. When things don’t go the way you planned or wished, you can begin anticipating the worst. Flip that script by waking up visualizing what you want to experience each day. Then your day starts with lovely expectations, rather than doom and gloom. Make sure you are feeding your mind healthy food.
Minimize the time snatchers – It is so easy to get caught up with a time snatcher and before you know it there is no time left to do what you planned. Don’t allow things like social media, television, and games to snatch your time away. When you put these things down, you have more time to pick up things that can help you change your life.
Drink water – Our brain and heart are composed of 73% water, and our lungs are about 83% water. Our skin contains 64% water, our muscles and kidneys are 79%, and even our bones are 31% water. From that perspective, it becomes clear why water is such a vital part of maintaining our wellbeing. Water makes such a difference for our skin, digestion, blood circulation, nutrition, energy, and body temperature.
Sleep – Yes, it can be challenging to get that 7 to 9 hours of sleep, especially when you have so many things to keep you occupied – family, friends, TV, research, social media, etc. Weigh the pros and cons. Sleep preserves your brain function, supports your immune system, is good for your heart. Lack of sleep compromises your immune system and contributes to the decline of your brain, body, and heart.
Get a mentor – A mentor can help you to fine-tune and realize your life dream. Your mentor may be a coach, a therapist, a role model, or even a friend who can provide you with guidance, insights, and accountability that can challenge and enable you to live your best life.
Love yourself – This should go without saying, however, when you are not happy with your life, you are not happy with yourself. This is when it becomes easy to criticize yourself, beat yourself up and spiral into an abyss of self-hatred, unworthiness, and depression. Don’t go there. Here’s an exercise a therapist gave me 40 years ago. Look at yourself in the mirror and repeat out loud, “I love myself,” over and over. You may be surprised by what comes up for you.
When you glance at each item on this list, the overall theme is to Love Yourself. The focus is on doing what’s right for you. No other person or thing can make it right for you. You have the power within you to make this your best chapter yet.
Sending you lots of Love & Light,