Your guide to a healthier perspective of life
We’re all dying – whether it’s slowly or quickly. We all have an expiration date. But we can help delay that date and prolong our lives by improving ourselves daily. We can eat better, exercise regularly, read more, become more resilient, less stressed, etc, etc.
What are you doing today to grow yourself?
Be aware of how much money you need to live the kind of life you want.
Do you have enough money to pay for healthy food, pay your mortgage payment, pay your utilities (water, gas, electric), pay for your vehicle upkeep (gas, tires, oil changes, etc), and pay for some niceties? Do you have enough money to add to your 6-month emergency fund and to go towards investing in your future?
Don’t get caught up trying to keep up with the Joneses. Don’t get caught with lifestyle creep. Don’t get caught buying things that bring you no value – no happiness, no enjoyment, that hinder your health, etc.
But also, if you’re not a “spender,” don’t always get caught up in trying to accumulate “more.” It’s talked about less frequently because less people have this issue. But why are you always chasing money? When will enough be enough (especially if you never spend it or use it)?
Money is a tool. We can use it to improve our lives. But it shouldn’t be our main focus. Work so that you can live. Don’t live so you can work…there is more to life than just working. Don’t miss out on all that the world has to offer.
Reading about something is not the same as experiencing it. A lot can be learned from reading, so this is not trying to discredit reading at all. But being a part of something/experiencing it is completely different than looking at it from the outside-in.
For example, I can read about D-Day, but I will never know what a soldier experienced during that battle. Or I can read about Yellowstone National Park is, but I can only imagine what it’s like to see it in person.
Read often and read broadly. It’s nice to have a good knowledge base of many subjects. But be humble enough to know that just because you’ve read about something doesn’t mean that you truly understand it. Go experience things as often as you can. When it comes to trying something new or going somewhere you’ve never been before, say yes. Because there is no substitute for experience.
People will change as a result of the circumstances that surround them. We all do, and we all should, as our priorities change.
If you are the same person now that you were 10 years ago, ask yourself, why? Are you still learning and growing? Do you only care for yourself or do you have others to care for now? It’s OK that people change over the years. If they didn’t, that wouldn’t be normal. I would hope that your beliefs from when you’re 18 years old and not allowed to legally drink change when you’re a 30-year old with kids, a 50-year old starting to think about retirement, or a 75-year old thinking about the future of your grandkids when you’re gone.
Your core values, morals, and ethics should be constant. But don’t demonize a person for changing their mind on specific topics. As they are presented more information, they should be receptive to changing their thoughts based on the new information they’ve received.