No matter who you are, where you live or what your occupation, the world around is getting faster and more hectic every day, which means people in America are getting more stressed every day. At times, you can find yourself racing to get to work or get home before the kids, and your kids have more after-school activities and get-togethers than ever before. It seems there is more traffic, longer lines at the grocery store, fewer vacations, and never enough time to spend with those you love. Quality time is necessary for a good life because it allows you to define who you are. Here at Naples Vitality, we are happy to help you cultivate a mindset re-evaluation to help you live life to the fullest.
The result of this 21st-century lifestyle is that people sometimes have a low sense of worth and low self-esteem because they don’t feel free to be content with themselves. All too often, you are judged by your performance, which means that there is a constant comparison of everything from hairstyles and clothes to careers, cars, and homes. When a person lives with this much critique, it makes it difficult to allow your real self to come forth and be who you were born to be. No two people are exactly alike; you were born unique, so being the best version of you is what makes you the happiest and most fulfilled.
So, to stop the madness and slow down the rat race, gearing your lifestyle to bring positive results is the best solution. By taking time to identify and organize your life, you’ll find that a sense of peace and calm comes about even when you’re in the midst of a hectic board meeting or traffic that hasn’t moved in 30 minutes!
Here are 10 ways to help keep your life on the upside, so you can be the person you were created to be, living a happy, satisfying lifestyle.
1. Appreciate the little things – When you’re stuck in the middle of the week, it may seem overwhelming. The cell phone always knows where you are and when to ring at the most inopportune times. The key is to learn to slow down during the day. For example, park your car at the edge of the parking lot and walk to the store. This gives you four or five minutes to breathe, to stretch your legs and allow the blood and oxygen to flow through your body. This gives you a few minutes alone to prioritize and organize the rest of your day. By doing this, you allow your brain to decide which things are the most important to complete for today and which you can put aside until tomorrow! This can serve to make you happier, more organized, and more successful at getting things accomplished.
2. Make lists – Take five minutes in the morning or the night before and make short lists of what you need to do the next day, what you need to purchase, and people you may need to call. Put the list in your purse or pocket, so you can easily glance at it, and remember – it’s not about crossing off all the items. It’s about staying organized.
3. Eat better – This may sound like a cliche, but if you are eating clean, healthy, nutritious foods during your day, your body will function at its best. It can only work with what you give it, so start with a couple of these tips and create better fuel for your system. A) Cut down on processed and chemically-filled foods. They affect your brain, slowing it down as well as causing your body to function improperly. Try switching a few of those fast food lunches with a salad or healthy sub. B) Drink three bottles or eight glasses of water throughout the day. You’d never be able to drive your car without gas; water is necessary for the brain and every organ in the body, and it washes out the impurities that come from the environment. Coke, coffee, and energy drinks can’t do that!
4. Find a hobby – Find something apart from work to develop skills that give your life a richer meaning. So many people get stuck in work or study and go home routine, repeating the cycle until they that life will always be boring. Find things that make you happy, such as writing, reading, coaching a kids’ sport, even traveling. The hobby may change from year to year, but that’s what life is about!
5. Don’t keep your feelings locked up – Many people go through the day avoiding their feelings because then they’d have to process them, and most people think there is no time or they don’t want to bother people. But feelings are significant, and everybody experiences sadness, anger, disappointment, love and happiness, and everybody needs to share them. If they are kept inside, they will be stuffed down, only create depression, or burst out at inopportune times. Keeping a journal, either in a notebook or online, will also help to sort out the day-to-day feelings, but it’s not the same as sharing with a friend or associate.
6. Focus on the things you can control – Don’t spend time worrying about the things you are powerless over. All this does is create unnecessary stress, making you feel anxious. Instead, try to acknowledge the things that are beyond your control, such as the rain or what time you have to be at work, and focus your efforts on what you can control. Try breaking those situations into smaller tasks and focus on those. Part of life is understanding that you are able to choose the things that you think are important.
7. Surround yourself with positive people – What this means is not to allow the people who disagree with you and your success to influence you. Sure, there might be those neighbors or family members who tempt you against your better instincts, but, search out the friends, family and other people who are positive and on the road to living a happy life. This will give you a greater sense of wellbeing and help you move towards your goals. Also, socializing with people who are for you and not against you will allow you to have fun and relax while being in a safe environment.
8. Paying it forward or giving back – Caring enough to give to another human being or a cause that you have found helpful is one of the best ways to let love and compassion to flow through your life. Without those, it’s impossible to have healthy relationships or to truly feel good about yourself. There will always be people who have more or less than you, but when you give your time or finances to help another expecting nothing in return, you keep the flow going.
9. Review your life regularly – Life is going fast, and the older you get the faster it goes. It pays to take an hour every year or twice a year to evaluate the progress you’ve made. Is there anything that needs changing? Do you want to go back to school to get a better job? Do you want to take a special vacation with the family? Make your goals and dreams clear by writing them down, and see how much closer you get to them because you can see what to do next. The path becomes much clearer, and you can improve the areas where it’s needed. This allows you to be real and make adjustments to stay on your path.
10. Don’t give up! – If you are one of those people who feels dejected when you fail at something, learn to use this failure to create success! Learn from your mistakes, and you build self-esteem instead of losing it.
These 10 tips give you that mindset re-evaluation that needs to be updated on a regular basis, so you feel better and are more positive. Start with one or two, and as you feel the positive effects beginning to work, add another, and another. They will help you to organize and improve your lifestyle, so you’ll be happier and have richer relationships. If you have any questions or would like to talk with someone on our team about applying these tips to be more positive, feel free to make an appointment with Naples Vitality! At our convenient location in Naples, FL, we will be happy to answer any of your questions about mindset re-evaluation. Contact us today to set up your consultation – we look forward to speaking with you!