Be a good listener, but don’t be afraid to speak up.
Forgive, but don’t forget.
Find a way to positively contribute to others every single day.
Lastly, don’t pay attention to how others think or feel about you. That’s their issue. This is not to confuse being mean or rude to others. Do what you believe to be right, which includes treating others with respect and being nice. But don’t change who you are or how you act because you think people will respond better to it. Most people will like you more for being genuine, which means you’ll make mistakes sometimes, but at least you’re not a robot. At least you’ll be real. And if you do make a mistake or realize you’ve wronged someone, own up to it. Apologize.
You can influence others, but you can’t control them. Others can influence you, but they can’t control you. You get to decide what you do or don’t do. Don’t blame someone else for “making” you do something or feel some way. They may have influence over you, but only you get to determine if they control you or not.
Let’s take that a step further and apply it to life circumstances. We don’t get to control what happens in our environment. We can influence it to an extent and it can influence us but we don’t control it and it doesn’t control us.
Don’t blame the economy, the government, the president, your boss, or anyone else for something that isn’t right in your life. They’re only a small part of the problem. The bigger part of the problem is your attitude and your actions.
The good news is that if you’re the majority of the problem, you’re also the majority of the solution. Work on fixing yourself and your life will get better. No matter the circumstances, you can always try to improve your situation by improving your attitude, being prepared, working hard, and being kind to others. If you do this everyday, you’ll soon find out that outside circumstances eventually have less and less influence (and absolutely no control) on your life.
Exercise is a preventative medicine. As is food and sleep…how you treat your body has a wholistic effect on the other aspects of your life.
When you feel good, you perform well. When you feel bad, you perform poorly.
Regularly exercising, eating well, and getting enough sleep are keys to feeling better about yourself. They give you confidence in how you look, they make you feel stronger, you’re less likely to get injured, and you’ll have more energy throughout the day. If you see other people when working out, it fills a relational gap that many people experience as well.
Everybody thinks of the physical benefits to your body when you work out and eat well, such as reducing your risk for developing type two diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and slowing down the aging process. But equally as important is how exercising and eating well can affect your attitude and mindset.
When you move with purpose, it does a couple of things for you. It releases endorphins, which make you feel good, and it gives you a sense of accomplishment, which also makes you feel good. Throw in the fact that those who exercise regularly are more resilient when facing challenges (they are used to doing something hard every day) and developing discipline (going/getting things done even when you don’t want to), which transfer over into your work life and personal life.
Fueling your body with the right nutrition is another key element to feeling good. Whether you’re trying to lose weight, get ready for beach season, or just want more energy/to feel healthier, having a diet that supports your body and your goals is important. Why sabotage yourself by fueling your body with ineffective “foods?”
The third physical element to feeling better is sleep. Sleeping helps to stave off colds, to let your mind think clearly, and to help your body recover from the workouts we mentioned above. You need a certain amount of sleep (quantity), but I feel that how much you get is less important than the quality that you get. I’d rather sleep straight through the night for 6 hours than have 8 hours of interrupted sleep all night. Naps are great, but not feasible for most (and this goes back to the quantity issue – naps should supplement your high quality sleep). Always go for quality over quantity.
Lastly, you need to support all three of these physical ways of improving your health by approaching each with a positive mindset. Your mind is so powerful and your body will often feel what your mind is telling it. So if you wake up and you think that you’re tired or sore, that you “hate” working out or that eating healthy “sucks,” all of it is affecting how you feel. You will be far less likely to continue eating correctly or exercising regularly if you have a negative attitude. And if you really do think that way, tell yourself otherwise. Lie to yourself until you feel good. Keep telling yourself how much you love working out, or that you enjoy the healthy food that is fueling your body, that you’re not tired. Don’t use excuses to fall back on bad habits. Exercise is medicine. So is nutrition. Use these to look, act, feel, and perform better. You won’t regret it.
Lastly, I’d like to leave you with a quote from Plato. He said, “Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it.” So, today, tomorrow, and most days for the rest of your life, go out and exercise, eat well, and get some sleep. You will be all the better for it.
“Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it.” – Plato
You don’t “have to” do something. You “get to” do it. It is a privilege that you are able to take care of whatever task you are assigned with doing. There are many people out there less fortunate than you are. So your 3-month old is having trouble sleeping at night, crying, and keeping you awake? Well, you are blessed with the opportunity to console him/her. There are plenty of people in the world who desperately want children and, for whatever reason, are unable to have them. You had a fight with your parents? Some people have lost their parents prematurely.
Think about the big picture. Why stress over something so small like “having” to do something? Will this affect you next week? What about next year? Will you even remember this event in 10 years? Make the most of life. Enjoy it. Don’t sweat the small stuff.
Embrace challenge. Work on mindset. Your situation becomes as good or as bad as you tell yourself. Manage your emotions/beliefs.
Be ok with boredom. Notice what you’re thinking of. Use this to your advantage. Be creative. Don’t have too much structure. Be flexible. “Be like water.”
Take action. Learning/acquiring new information is good, but doesn’t do much for you if you don’t act on what you learned.
Live to fight another day. Don’t give up. Be persistent. Things may not have gone your way this time, but if you keep chipping away at success (steadily/consistently), you will get there.
“Failure” is final. You don’t fail unless you quit. Use the experience from disappointment to learn from and gain in the future.
