7 Behaviors That Make Life Easier and More Fulfilling

Do you feel like your life is unfulfilling and overly full of challenges? If so, you’ll be happy to know that you can make changes, starting today, to turn your life around! Creating a wonderful life is the result of consistently doing things that support your happiness and fulfillment.

Avoid stressful challenges and enjoy your life more with these behaviors:

1. Be proactive. Avoid waiting until you’re forced to take action. Plan ahead. Many of life’s challenges are easily managed if you deal with them quickly. Most of life’s difficulties are preventable.

• For example, you know that your car needs regular oil changes. A natural result of not changing the oil is a ruined car. You can prevent this challenge simply by changing your oil on time. If you can’t afford to have the oil changed, learn how to do it yourself. This is one task anyone can learn.
• Being proactive also applies to any task that you’re aware of ahead of time, such as projects and reports at your job. Waiting until the last minute to do something ensures that when you finally do it, you’ll be full of stress and won’t do your best work, both of which can cause further challenges.
• Set goals, write them down, and take action to achieve them. Do something each day to bring you a little closer to the life you desire.
  

1. Pay attention to your diet and fitness. It’s easy to gain 50 pounds one pound at a time. A poor diet can ruin your health with imperceptible changes, a little at a time.

• Keep an eye on your weight and set a hard limit. Once you’ve reached that limit, it’s time for serious action. You can’t weigh 250 pounds if you never allow yourself to weigh over 150.
• Start feeding your body the nutrition it craves for peak performance. Make changes a little at a time. For example, add a vegetable or fruit to each meal. Make something homemade with organic ingredients instead of buying processed food. Do this often enough, and you’ll develop a taste preference for delicious, healthy food.
  

1. Minimize time watching TV or surfing the internet. TV, the internet, and your smart phone are all great ways of wasting your precious time. Consider all the other, more productive, things you could be doing instead.

• Imagine if you spend three hours each day split between exercising, learning a musical instrument, and running an online business instead of watching YouTube videos. How would your life be different after five years? You can determine today how your life will be in the future.
  

1. Save money consistently. Having secure finances is crucial. One unfortunate incident, such as blown transmission in your car, can be catastrophic if you don’t have any money in the bank. Keep in mind that you can’t work forever. Sooner or later you’ll be forced to live off your savings and social security.

• Start a savings account today and add to it each week. You can start small and, once you get into the habit of saving consistently, begin a program of increasing your savings.
• Start investing. A great start is an index fund. Find one that you can get into with small payments and add to your investment each month. You can get started with as little as $25.
  

1. Consider the actual value to you of your purchases. Buy things you need, rather than things you want due to the impulse of the moment. It’s difficult to save money if you routinely make unnecessary purchases. These items rarely bring true enjoyment anyway.
   
2. Make decisions. Making decisions can be scary and feel restrictive. You might not want to take that much responsibility for your life. But even a poor decision is often better than no decision at all. Without decisions, your fate is determined by luck.
   
3. Maintain friendships. Friends drift away unless you make an effort to maintain your friendships. As you get older, there can be fewer opportunities to make new friends. Keeping a friendship alive takes effort, but it’s less work than finding and nurturing a new friendship. There are few things better in life than an old friend.

A few bad habits can create a very hard life. A few effective habits can reward you greatly. Strive to develop habits that support your happiness. Be proactive, make your health a priority, use your time wisely, and be responsible with your finances. An exciting life with minimal distress can be yours.

3 Quick Ways to Boost Your Self-Esteem

Self-esteem is basically about having a positive and realistic sense of who you are. You like yourself and understand your strengths. You believe in your abilities and recognize the areas where you could use a little more work.

While your childhood experiences influence your level of self-esteem, there’s a lot you can do as an adult to boost your confidence. Study these tips for building up your sense of self-worth, and apply them to your own circumstances.

Practice Your Faith

For many of us, our spiritual faith defines who we are and our purpose in life. Let your faith show you how valuable you are, and how precious your life is.

Meditate and pray. Set aside time each day to connect with the divine. Create a quiet space where you can sit down and still your mind.

Read inspirational messages. Pick up a few books by a spiritual leader you admire. If you’re looking for new ideas, browse online and ask your friends what they’re reading.

Discuss your beliefs. Clarify your thinking and challenge your assumptions by talking with others. You’ll deepen your understanding of your faith and discover how to put your beliefs into action.

Embrace your individuality. Your faith will help you to respect your unique gifts and give you the courage to be yourself. Authenticity is the basis of true confidence.

Appreciate Your Accomplishments

Each action we take reinforces our self-esteem or tears it down. Learn to make choices that will help you to take care of yourself.

1. Make a list. Think about your past victories and the patterns that they suggest. Maybe you perform well when you collaborate with others or narrow your focus to a few top priorities.
2. Align your actions with your values. Think about what you value and how your actions support your core beliefs. Examine which choices cause stress or create peace of mind for you.

Take risks. Feeling confident and capable allows you to reach beyond your comfort zone. Audition for a part in the next production at your local community theater or volunteer for a tough assignment at work.

Persevere through obstacles. It’s easy to say you have a goal, but tougher to see it through to completion. High self-esteem helps you to overcome setbacks because you know that you’re worth the effort.

Cultivate Social Support

While we’re ultimately responsible for developing our own self-esteem, our interactions with others play a powerful role. Use your relationships to strengthen your belief in yourself.

1. Turn to your family. Rely on family rituals that contribute to your sense of self-worth, and work on changing the dynamics that seem counterproductive. You may decide to hold family meetings so you can agree on house rules and cut down on bickering.
2. Deepen your friendships. Are your daily interactions mostly about work? Disclose your inner thoughts to let others know you and communicate on a more profound level.

Evaluate your romantic life. How you perceive yourself has a powerful impact on how you handle dating and marriage. Talk with your partner about what you can do to respect each other’s feelings.

Play with your dog. For a quick fix, look at yourself through your dog’s eyes. Your dog thinks you’re great, so let them teach you to have more compassion for yourself. Many studies show that pet owners tend to have higher self-esteem.

Love and accept yourself for who you are. As you build your self-esteem, you’ll be more likely to make sound decisions and fulfill your goals. You’ll know that you are worthy of respect and dignity.

14 Practical Ways to Enhance Yourself

You probably worry about improving your finances and your landscaping, but do you ever give time and attention to improving yourself? Are you as knowledgeable, capable, and healthy as you can possibly be? Time spent on self-development is never wasted. Since time is limited, it’s essential that you spend that time wisely.

Enhance yourself and live a life you love:

1. Try a new hobby. Try something outside your normal scope of activities. Join a ping-pong league or learn how to paint with water colors. Stretch yourself beyond your current boundaries.
2. Contribute to your community. Consider volunteering a few hours of your time each week. You’ll help others, feel good about yourself, and make new friends.
3. Get at least seven hours of sleep. Science has shown that everyone performs better after seven hours of sleep than they do on less. Create evening routines that contribute to sound sleep and get to bed at a reasonable time each night.
   
4. Take on one of your fears. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a fear of clowns, spiders, public speaking, or heights. Get a book on phobias and try to help yourself. Get professional help if necessary. Conquering one fear can bring you a new confidence that forges through anything.
5. Read something new each day. Reading is convenient, useful, and economical. There’s little that can’t be learned from reading. Schedule your reading time and develop a reading list. Most importantly, make an effort to apply what you learn. Knowledge is useless if unused.
6. Learn a new language. You could be practical and learn Spanish or attempt something more exotic like Japanese or Persian. People that know more than one language are fascinating. There are many free language exchanges available online. You can help someone learn English while they’re teaching you French.
7. Use your artistic talents. Make time for writing, photography, music, painting, or other artistic pursuit. Even if you believe you have zero artistic ability, it’s still worth the time. What form of art interests you the most?
8. Create a new habit that supports the life you desire. It might be eating a healthy breakfast or going for a walk after work. Maybe you want to read or meditate for 15 minutes each day. Focus on one habit and make it permanent.
9. Make a new friend. You can never have too many friends, but your life rarely changes when you hang around the same people every day. Find a new friend outside of your normal circle of people.
10. Take a class. Learn something new from an expert and surround yourself with like-minded people. You’ll broaden your horizons and increase the size of your social circle.
11. Start a blog. Share your experiences and expertise with others. You might even make a second career out of it.
12. Get in shape. Make small improvements to your diet and exercise habits and finally get the body and confidence that you deserve.
13. Learn how to meditate. Mindfulness and meditation are all the rage. There are many benefits, both physical and psychological, for those that meditate regularly.
14. Take a trip to someplace new. Why are you waiting to take that trip of a lifetime? Time is ticking away. Get online and book a trip today.

Self-development can be fun! Increasing your capabilities doesn’t have to be like studying for a calculus test. It’s as much about having experiences as it is about gaining knowledge. Give yourself the attention you deserve. The more life skills and talents you develop, the more you’ll be able to appreciate and enjoy everything life has to offer.

Why is Change so Challenging?

Over 80% of New Year’s resolutions are abandoned within a week. If change were easy, we’d all be wealthy, fit, and happy. It’s frustrating when you know what you want to do, but you can’t get yourself to do it consistently. If the new behavior would obviously be of benefit, why isn’t that change easy to make?

Change is challenging for several reasons:

1. Habits are strong and pervasive. The average person has far more habits than they realize. Each morning, you wake up and follow the same routine. You take the same path to work. You think the same thoughts as you did the day before. Much of your day and night is a repeat of the last 500.

• When you feel bored, you soothe yourself in the same 2-3 ways each time. You only eat a few foods regularly. You talk to the same people.
• Habits avoid thinking. They’re done automatically. Anything that minimizes thinking seems to be your brain’s preference. The fewer decisions, the better.
• To change, you must be certain that change is in your best interest. Otherwise, your habits will always win.

1. Change is hard because it’s uncomfortable. You already know how to lose 25 pounds or how to find a better job. But the thought of taking the actions necessary to accomplish those goals creates discomfort.
2. What you’re doing is already working, sort of. Your brain is preoccupied with your survival. Our brains are programmed to resist change, because what you’re doing is allowing you to live. Any change could potentially lead to death. You might be unhappy today, but you’re still alive!

• Most of us prefer misery than facing uncertainty.

1. You’ve tried to change in the past and failed. You’re no dummy. If you’ve tried to change several times and failed, part of you says, “Obviously, I can’t change. What’s the use in trying?”

It isn’t easy to change, but change is possible. The primary issue keeping you from following through on your plan to change is attempting to change too much, too soon. Smaller changes are easier to accomplish and to maintain.

How You Can Change

Change is possible with an effective approach:

1. Be prepared to change. Expect that change will be challenging. Your odds of success improve if you’re prepared. Have a plan.
2. Start small. To minimize the discomfort that change creates, only change a little each week. Meditating for two minutes each day is easier than starting with 60 minutes. The key is to get in the habit of doing the new behavior each day.
3. Have patience. It can take months to make a change permanent. It’s often quoted that a new habit requires 30 days to instill. That’s not true. Studies show that it can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months, depending on the habit and the person.
4. Be willing to change yourself and face the consequences. Changing yourself is scary, because you don’t know what the results will be. Accept that your life will change in some way. Discomfort isn’t always a bad thing.
5. Expect to relapse. Falling off the wagon is to be expected. Attempt to enhance your approach and keep going. Aim for 90% compliance. That’s all you need. Perfection is an illusion that will only serve to destroy your confidence.

Change requires patience with yourself. Understand why it’s so challenging to change and choose to make changes slowly and incrementally. Imagine how much you could change over a few years if you changed just a tiny amount each week. The results would be staggering! How much have you changed over the last few years? Give slow change a chance.