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How to Live Your Best Life Starting Today

How to Live Your Best Life Starting Today

As human beings, one of our deepest-rooted desires is to have a meaningful and happy existence. You’ve probably heard of the saying, “Live your best life.” It’s good advice.

We all want to feel connected to both ourselves and others. We want to feel that we’re part of something important and that we’re making a difference in the world.

We want to look back at our lives and our achievements and be proud. In short, we want what the saying says: to live our best lives.

But what does it really mean to live your best life?

You are a unique individual, so living your best life is exclusive to you. Your best life will reflect your true values. It will be made up of what makes you happy and will be colored by what making a difference means to you.

What Stops You From Living Your Best Life?

While living your best life is all about you, what other people think can have an impact on your quest to live your best life.

Social media, for example, puts us under a lot of pressure. There are specific expectations of what “happy” looks like, and we’re under pressure to conform to what society expects.

For example, we are pressured to look a certain way, wear the “right” clothes, have exciting adventures with eye-catching friends, eat ethical and healthy food, and do charity work.

These are only a few of society’s expectations. It’s a long list.

Social media claims to connect us, but often it can do the opposite.

We can spend so much time worrying about what other people are doing, trying to live the life that society expects of us, that it can be easy to lose track of what makes us happy and what our best life actually looks like.

3 Questions to Ask About Living Your Best Life

For me, in the moments we faced death during that harrowing experience on the plane, I became intensely aware of these three questions by which I was judging how my life had been up to that point.

HOW AM I EXPERIENCING LOVE?

The love I felt in that moment for my husband, our loved ones who were on the ground, and all others in the world was truly profound. I became aware that love—both my ability to receive it and share it—matters more than anything else.

HOW AUTHENTICALLY AM I SHARING MY UNIQUE GIFT?

We each have a unique gift—the unique energy and essence that is who we really are. Each person has a unique gift to offer that no one else can or ever will again.

Living our best life means finding creative ways to share our best selves, whether in our work, our creative hobbies, or simply how we live.

WHAT AM I GRATEFUL FOR?

It’s easy to focus on our worries and anxieties or the distractions of everyday life. However, when we remember our own mortality, we realize that each moment is a gift.

What matters most in the big picture perspective of our lives is very personal. However, figuring it out is how we uncover our formula for living our best lives.

Start the Journey

What does it look like to live your best life? The following are some practical tips and tools to move from living your current life to living your best life.

1. BE THE BEST VERSION OF YOURSELF

To live your best life, you must be the best version of yourself. Don’t try to be something or someone else. Don’t try to be what other people want you to be.

Focus on who you want to be. Play to your strengths and be proud of what makes you different. You are brilliant.

Gretchen Rubin, in her book Happiness Project, created her own commandments. The first one was “Be Gretchen.” This gave her permission to follow her gut feeling and make up her own rules.

For example, she stopped forcing herself to enjoy parties, cocktails, and fashion just because that’s what she thought society expected.

So, inspired by Gretchen, create your own commandment: “Be more YOU,” and remind yourself of this every day, unapologetically.

2. OBSERVE YOURSELF

To work out what the best you looks like, you must get to know yourself better. It’s your best life after all – not anyone else’s.

Start to notice how you respond to various situations. What are your habits? What makes you happy? What frustrates you? How do you behave under pressure? What gives you energy? What drains you?

Spend a week simply noticing. Write your observations down so you remember.

3. IDENTIFY YOUR BAD HABITS

As part of your observations, start to notice your bad habits. Consider the things that don’t ultimately make you feel good.

Does scrolling mindlessly through Instagram make you happy? For 5 minutes, perhaps, but for longer?

That last glass of wine was delicious, but do you pay the price later?

That chocolate was enjoyable at the moment, but now that the sugar high is over, are you feeling regretful?

Observe yourself first. Then, start to deliberately do more of the things that make you happy and give you energy.

At the same time, work on reducing then eliminating the habits that squander your time, drain your energy, and ultimately don’t make you happy.

4. SET INTENTIONS

After having thought about what makes you happy and what drains your energy, focus on what living the best life looks like for you.

One of the keys to this is being intentional about it. When you deliberately set intentions, you are more likely to act with purpose and drive.

Setting intentions is different from setting goals. Goals are your list of things you want to achieve. You can set them daily, monthly, yearly, or a combination.

A common practice is to define goals and write them down. This makes them more tangible and makes you more accountable, therefore, making the goals more likely to happen.

The subtle yet important difference between goals and intentions is that when setting intentions, you decide what kind of positive feelings and emotions you are seeking.

For example, “This week, my intention is to approach my admin tasks with gusto in order to complete them more quickly.”

Intentions can be more motivating than goals because if you don’t achieve your goal, it can feel like a failure and can ultimately hold you back.

If you don’t achieve your intention to approach something in a specific way, you can more easily regroup and have another try.

Write down your intentions every month, week, or day, using whichever time frame works best for you.

For example, “I intend to enjoy going swimming three times this week” or “I intend to assertively build my network in my local area this month.”

Setting intentions gives you something to focus on, and it also helps to manage the feeling of being overwhelmed that often happens when we set ourselves goals.

5. VISUALIZE LIVING YOUR BEST LIFE

Visualization can help you to cement your intentions. It involves visualizing how it would feel to live your best life once you achieve it.

It can help you to further establish what you want and allow you to settle into a positive mindset.

To visualize, first choose your focus. Choose a specific intention and how you will feel once it is accomplished. Then, take the time to daydream and allow your imagination to wander.

For example, if your intention is going swimming three times a week, imagine what you will look and feel like:

    • What will you wear?
    • How do you get there?
    • What time of day do you go?
    • How do you feel when you’re in the water?
    • How do you feel afterward?

Ask yourself these little questions and allow yourself to feel the same feelings you would feel if you were currently fulfilling your intention.

16 Ways to Live Your Best Life

Now that you’ve decided and visualized what your best life looks like, let’s look at some more practical steps you can take to achieve it.

1. FOCUS

Whatever you do, focus. If you swim, swim. If you study, study. Multitasking is a myth. It’s not possible to do more than one thing at a time well. Focused work is the least tiresome and the most productive type of work.

Michael LeBouf, the author of The Millionaire in You, said,

“Winners focus, losers spray.”

2. TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR TAKING ACTION

Taking action can feel scary. We fear failure, but we can also fear success. It can be easy to feel too busy to achieve your intentions.

However, you have the choice to take action and live your best life or stay the same. It’s up to you, so take responsibility to take action.

3. LIVE IN THE PRESENT

Every day is a new opportunity to live your best life. We so often get stuck because we put things off.

We can think, “When I’ve lost 10 lbs I’ll go swimming,” or “When I feel more confident I’ll look for a new job,” or “When I get my new running shoes I’ll start running.”

How about starting from where you are? How about using what you already have?

We often put off taking action until we have the newest phone/camera/game/course/book/shoes as if they are the keys to happiness. In the process, we forget about what we already have.

Grab the camera that you have, put on your old running shoes. Go and do something interesting today with what you’ve got. Fancier gadgets, better clothes, or a slimmer body won’t make you better. Action will.

4. PRACTICE MINDFULNESS

Research has revealed that a simple way to be happier and live your best life comes from developing the ability to fully experience each moment. Mindfulness is the ability to observe the present moment without judging it.

Mindfulness has many impressive benefits for physical and mental health. Diabetic patients who were taught mindfulness skills experienced lower blood sugar and increased happiness.[1]

Mindfulness on the job has been proven to reduce exhaustion and increase job satisfaction.[2]

Mindfulness is not difficult to learn and is something we can do in a moment. Right now, take a deep breath, and notice how the breath feels as it is going into your lungs.

How does your body feel? Are your muscles stiff or relaxed? Do you feel warm or cold? Use your five senses to describe your immediate experience.

Use your five senses to describe how your body feels and your immediate experience. This is all it takes to be fully present.

5. DECLUTTER

This applies to the environment you live in as well as the people you spend time with. Use Marie Kondo’s decluttering method of asking, “Does it bring you joy?”

If your answer is yes, you keep the item. If you hesitate or say no, you donate it or throw it out. Simple.

This also applies to people. If there are people in your life that make you feel bad, drain your energy, and don’t bring you joy, let go of them.

Instead, spend time with the people and activities that give you energy and make you feel good.

6. RELISH THE SIMPLE THINGS

When we’re busy, we can forget to appreciate what we have. Take time to focus on the simple things. Even when you’re feeling low, there’s always something to be grateful for.

In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness.[4] Be deliberate in being grateful for what you do have, rather than resentful of what you don’t.

7. JOURNALING

Journaling is simply writing your thoughts down.

According to the University of Rochester Medical Center, writing your thoughts and feelings down on paper not only helps you get your thoughts in order, but it can also help ease symptoms of depression and manage stress and anxiety.[5]

In the chaos of life, it is easy to overthink, feel anxious, or not appreciate what you do have. Journaling can help you manage your thoughts and feelings and productively cope with life.

Be curious and keep learning. Ask more questions and keep pushing yourself to step outside of your comfort zone and learn.

What are you interested in or curious about? Perhaps it’s learning more about where you live, or reading up on a particular topic? Maybe it’s traveling to a new town or country?

According to Dan Pink’s research, learning is a key motivator.[6] Whether you feel like you’ve gotten stuck in a boring routine or you’re stressed by the tasks of daily life, learning something new is a way to step outside yourself and your comfort zone.

Create a bucket list of all the things you’d like to do and learn and the places you’d like to go to, and start ticking them off.

8. MAKE SOMEONE’S DAY

Being kind to others makes them feel good, and it also releases chemicals in your body that make you feel good. Think about a time you gave someone a gift that they loved. How did you feel?

You don’t have to start giving people gifts to make someone’s day. Think about small, thoughtful gestures: a genuine compliment, opening the door, offering to help someone.

All these things can make a big difference in someone’s day.

9. LOOK AFTER YOUR BODY

Eat what nourishes you, including plenty of vegetables and fruit and food that’s natural and unprocessed. Drink plenty of water.

Exercise because you like it, not because you’re supposed to go to the gym.

Reject the idea that you have to push yourself really hard at exercise, and instead try out a variety of things – for example, walking the dog, gardening, yoga, swimming, or dancing.

Find what you enjoy. When you enjoy something, you’ll be motivated to do it more.

Get good rest! We’re all different in terms of the amount of sleep that we need. However, most adults need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep.

If you’re not getting that much, then check out healthy sleep tips from the Sleep Foundation.

10. MANAGE YOUR INNER CRITIC

Most people have an inner critic that tells them they are not good enough, that they’re a fraud, and that they are going to be found out.

This happens especially when we step out of our comfort zone and change things. If you are living your best life, your inner critic likes to jeopardize that.

The next time it appears, acknowledge what’s happening and call it out. Whatever it is telling you, list all the reasons it’s wrong.

11. BE PREPARED TO CHANGE THE PLAN

You may have set intentions to live your best life. However, life is not linear, nor does it work in lists. You must expect to be flexible and change the plan as life throws things at you.

The end game remains the same: to live your best life. It’s just the route to get there that will inevitably change.

12. LEARN TO FLOW

One of the most powerful ways to connect with our true selves and experience positive emotions is through flow.

Flow is like mindfulness in action. Flow is when we are so engrossed in what we are doing that we get into a zone and stop thinking about anything else. We can experience this when playing an instrument, playing a sport, creating artwork, writing an essay, reading a book, etc.

Being in flow increases our happiness, helps us reach optimal performance, and boosts our creativity.

According to researcher Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and author of Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, one of the best things about flow is it puts happiness in our control.[8] Rather than being happy because of outer events, we are in flow as a result of an inner experience we create for ourselves.

Find things that transfer your mind to a flow state in order to start working toward living your best life.

13. HIT THE RESET BUTTON (OFTEN)

Sometimes, life sends us curveballs we aren’t prepared for. It’s important to know how to get back to the center—to who we are and to reconnect with our goals and priorities. If you ever find yourself feeling off-course or negative, imagine hitting a pause button.

It only takes a minute to re-focus. Some great tips for resetting include stretching, taking a deep breath, setting goals or intentions, and then beginning again.

Knowing how to reset our energy is important when it comes to navigating minor distractions and major life changes for personal growth.

14. COMMIT TO YOUR CONNECTIONS

The COVID-19 pandemic showed us firsthand how important our social connections are. Community is an important factor in how happy we are with our lives, and our long-term well-being and health.

If you feel disconnected or like you want to strengthen your sense of belonging and improve your life, consider calling a different friend each day; joining a church or spiritual group, support group, or book club; or exploring cultural or community events that might be attended by other people with shared interests

To reconnect with favorite friends, try scheduling a weekly hike, coffee hour, Zoom call, happy hour, or email/text check-in.

We get what we put out there. Show up when people you love ask for help or seek connection. Let go and create healthy boundaries with people who drain your energy.

15. MOVE YOUR BODY

Exercise is an important key to staying healthy and happy and reaching your full potential. Research shows exercise can prevent depression, limit long-term illness, improve our moods, and increase our longevity.[9]

We now know that it’s not only exercise that matters, but also how we hold and move our bodies when we are going through the motion of our lives, including working at our desks. Recent research shows that simply sitting up straight can make us more likely to think positive thoughts about ourselves and what is possible for our lives.[10]

16. SPEND TIME IN NATURE

One of the best ways to live our best lives is to spend time in nature. From the benefits of vitamin D from sunlight, to simply getting outside of our own world and connecting with something greater, the benefits of nature are well-established.[11]

The more we learn, the more we realize how important it is to protect our natural spaces, parks, and trees, not just for our enjoyment, but also for our physical and mental well-being.

Conclusion

Live each day like it counts, and remember, it’s your choice. Your best life is unique to you. Don’t compare yourself to others – focus on living your best life, and enjoy the learning, exploration, and experiences along the way.

Source: lifehack.com ~ By: Lucy Bower ~ Image: Canva Pro

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Top 5 Ways to Live Your Best Life Now

Ways to Live Your Best Life Now

1. Live in the present moment

Living in the present moment may be more difficult than it appears. Humans spend the majority of their time dwelling on the past or future because of our conditioning. Learning how to live in the moment can improve your general well-being and enjoyment of life. We can practice Mindfulness by looking around or stopping to “smell the flowers,” according to popular belief. By taking a moment to breathe in your current reality, you can fully immerse yourself in it and take notice of things that you might have overlooked before.

Although it may appear to be a simple process, multitasking is really difficult to master. During the day, juggling many things and diverting your attention to numerous distractions simultaneously prevents you from being fully present. You can recall details you might have overlooked by focusing your attention on one thing at a time rather than attempting to do multiple things at the same time. This also allows you to be grateful for what is going on and appreciate the details of that moment. Writing down things you are grateful for is also a great way to focus on the positive elements of your life and what is happening currently. This will allow you to accept the way things are and let go of the things that you cannot control.

Here are some techniques that help with practicing mindfulness before you look at your phone and start your day according to Daily Practices by Mindful…

    1. When you wake up in the morning, sit in your chair or bed, close your eyes and concentrate on the sensations of your body and around you.
    2. Start your day with three deep breaths, in through your nose and out through your mouth.
    3. Set your intention for the day by asking simple questions
    4. How might I show up today to have the best impact?
    5. What quality of mind do I want to strengthen and develop?
    6. What do I need to take better care of myself?
    7. During difficult moments, how might I be more compassionate to others and myself?
    8. How might I feel more connected and fulfilled?

During your day, check-in with yourself! Take a moment, take a breath and revisit your intention questions

2. Do Things You Love

What makes us happier than doing things we enjoy? We all have a finite amount of time to spend on anything, and we’re all aware of how important it is to be efficient with our time. Spend your days wisely by thinking about how you use your time and where you spend it. The things you do, and your surroundings have an impact on how much pleasure you get and how valuable you feel. You want to spend more time engaged in activities that contribute to your enjoyment and provide energy instead of taking it away.

Nature is a great way to heal yourself! According to Dr. Susanne Preston, a Clinical Mental Health Counseling instructor at South University, Virginia Beach “being outside and spending time in nature is good for a person’s mental health, as it allows them to de-stress.”

“Research has shown that spending time in nature has been associated with decreased levels of mental illness, with the strongest links to reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety, in addition to increased self-esteem,” Preston says.

Exploring and experimenting in your environment is a great channel for growth. Plus, you might find that you enhance your life with a new love for gardening or rock climbing.

3. Take care of your mental and physical health

Self-care is self-love! Taking care of yourself is the opposite of selfish and can look very different from person to person. It should inspire, enlighten and encourage you to live a life that makes you happy. By caring for yourself, you may live life more confidently, effectively, and enthusiastically.

Taking care of your physical self seems like a basic concept but is often overlooked. Physical self-care involves caring for yourself in terms of what you are consuming, how much exercise you are getting, your sleep habits, and making sure you are not just feeling good, but you are looking good as well. Physical activity is great for reducing stress, lowering health issue risks, managing your weight, and improving your mood. Physical health and mental health go hand in hand.

Your mental health matters! Often, mental health is overlooked. Now more than ever, it’s critical to look after your mental health in the face of the pandemic’s uncertainty. You can take care of your mental health by pinpointing what it is that you struggle with and asking for help. Researchers have discovered “that our brains have what’s known as “neural plasticity.” This means they could create new connections between nerve cells, allowing your brain to reroute, rewire, and grow. It also means your brain can climb out of those negative thought pattern rabbit holes and “rewrite” them to improve well-being.”

4. Build/repair meaningful connections

Meaningful relationships are at the very core of a happy human experience. We all want to be surrounded by people that bring meaning and love into our life. By being open and vulnerable, we can allow these types of relationships to take root in our life. Meaningful relationships do not happen overnight, they take time. We must give energy, time, and add value to these relationships for them to work.

Although they can be challenging, the quality of these relationships directly impacts the quality of our lives. Relationships must be nurtured and given our attention in-order to grow, otherwise they will only fall away.

5. Set healthy boundaries with yourself

Being an adult means setting boundaries for yourself. To keep yourself accountable, safe and healthy you must set boundaries and systems that aim to provide you with the best plan for happiness moving forward. By establishing these boundaries for yourself, even when they are not particularly enjoyable at that moment, you create a system that allows you to create a healthy structure for your life and monitor your behavior.

Boundaries are what keep you from staying out all night, eating fast food every night, and adding structure and discipline to your life which adds to your overall happiness. Setting boundaries is a sign that you love and respect yourself and want to keep yourself healthy at the cost of possible gratification. Boundaries add structure and keep your life in harmony.

Boundaries are different for everyone as our limits and needs differ for everybody. Determining your boundaries is up to you. Some examples of boundaries you can have with yourself include…

    • Limiting indoor screen time
    • No phones before bed
    • Not staying out late
    • Not drinking or eating in excess
    • Not eating out every night

Living your best life means becoming the best version of yourself, mentally and physically. Your mental and physical health go hand in hand and taking time to love and care for both of those elements of you is crucial to living a happy life. If you are struggling with your mental health, seek help! You are not alone and deserve to feel your best.

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What Does It Mean To Live Your Best Life?

What Does It Mean To Live Your Best Life?

What does it mean to live your best life? This is a question that many people ask themselves when they are going through difficult times, or even times in which they feel are good but could be better.

There are so many things that can help anyone enhance their life to the fullest extent, like giving up social media, releasing expectations, and living in the now. But many other things are subjective and will vary from person to person.

Overall, there are 16 things you can personally do that will help lead you to living your best life. So read on to discover what it means and how you can do it!

What Does It Mean To Live Your Best Life? Discover Meaning, Motivation, and Support

The phrase “live your best life” may have been used many times prior to this, but its fame came from Oprah in 2005 when it was on the cover of O Magazine. Since then, it’s been used online, in self-help books, and in music of all genres.

Your best life is the one that you design for yourself. It’s about living your ideal life by making choices to be happy, healthy, and successful. Everyone’s best life is different, so your best life is unique to you and your story. What “living my best life” means for one person might not be the ideal at all for another.

There are certain aspects of a best life that apply to everyone, though, such as meaningful connections with others and contributing to your community in a meaningful way.

16 Steps to Living Your Best Life

The ideal way of living your best life is by putting in the work on a consistent basis because it’s not easy and there are always going to be challenges along the way. These 15 in-depth steps will help you stay on track and build the life of your dreams.

1) Discover your best self and embrace your strengths

What kind of person do you want to be? What are the best qualities that you would like to embody in order to live a happy life? The first step is discovering who you are by exploring what makes you tick and being honest with yourself about how your past has shaped your present. After this, explore what kind of best life you want to build in the future and what best qualities are needed to accomplish this feat.

You can do this through a self-reflection routine such as journaling, self-hypnosis guided visualization. This means knowing yourself in and out. Self-reflection doesn’t come naturally for some people, but it is absolutely necessary for living your best life.

2) Think about what you need in life.

What do you need? What are you lacking? You might need money or time to do what makes your best life. You might need to work on your stress management.

Do you have a job that makes it impossible for you to spend time with your family? Maybe this is why you’re feeling exhausted and unfulfilled at the end of each day. If being with your loved ones is important, then maybe you need a job that will allow you to work fewer hours.

3) Think about who you want to be around.

What kind of people do you enjoy spending time with? When you examine the type of person you like to have in your life you can see what you want to be like best. Do you love being around creative and inspiring people? Then live with that type of person or surround yourself with them as much as possible.

Do you enjoy spending time with laid back, humorous individuals who have a good sense of adventure? Think about the people who inspire, motivate, or bring out the best parts of yourself, whether they are a friend, your children, or your soulmate. Identify them and take steps towards living with or near these types. Make sure they are present so you can say “I’m living my best life”.

4) Get off social media

But you also want to choose how you interact with your favorite people. Social media is so detrimental to our mental health that it is definitely recommended that you limit or remove social media from your life altogether.

Basically, whenever you use social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or Tiktok, you think you’re getting a boost of self-esteem and self-worth, but in the end it makes you feel worse. Higher use of the platforms are actually associated with “anxiety, depression, and even physical ailments“.

That’s not the kind of life you want to be living! Be very selective about the social media platforms you choose to engage in, and how long you spend on those sites. The more you’re off the screen, the more you can live in the present moment.

5) Do things that are uncomfortable

Once you have a basis for who you are, what you’re best at, and who you want to be around, it’s time to get out of your comfort zone. Growth never happens in our comfort zone, so it’s crucial to be willing to try new things.

– Learn a language that you’ve never tried before
– Volunteer at a cause of charity near and dear to your heart
– Take a risk and tell someone how you feel about them

The best way to live your best life is by trying something new every day. You never know what you don’t like until you try it.

6) Practice gratitude

It’s easy to get frustrated when this ideal life you’re trying to build is taking a long time or doesn’t seem to progress. One way to counter that is by practicing gratitude. Gratitude is the practice that helps you see all the good things in your life. Think about what is going right, rather than what’s wrong or not as you want it to be.

You can also focus on how far you’ve come. On this journey, you will make tremendous progress, but it doesn’t always feel like you’re making progress fast enough. It’s good to take a step back and think about how far you’ve come already, so that the little things don’t bother you as much.

But be careful! Gratitude doesn’t mean that you look at how others have it worse than you. Only compare yourself to where you were yesterday.

7) Be frugal

When you’re trying to build this ideal, magical life, it can be tempting to spend all your money on things to make life better, easier, or more appealing to others.

But the truth is that these are just distractions from your true goal of living life to the fullest. Being frugal and saving money can make a big difference in the best life you can live. To save money, do your best to not use credit cards or get into debt and avoid eating out at restaurants all the time. You’ll be surprised how quickly you see savings grow!

Also, don’t forget to practice money affirmations!

8) Treat your body right.

An important step in building your ideal life is to prioritize your health. This means eating well and exercising.

Start by improving your diet to nourish your body. Choose nutritious foods that will fill you up without making you feel weighed down, like fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains and lean proteins (like chicken or fish). Experiment with different recipes to find one that best suits your taste buds while still keeping your best interests in mind, too.

When it comes to exercise, the best thing you can do is start small. Even just a few minutes of activity each day will help your body stay happy and healthy, as well as give you the opportunity to build up stamina so that exercise becomes more enjoyable over time. You might also choose an easy form of physical activity like walking or gardening and work your way up from there.

Good health and success are connected, so make sure you’re taking care of your body.

9) Make peace with your past.

This may very well be one of the most difficult tasks on your path to living your best life. You can’t move forward if you’re still holding on to things that happened in the past. Examining your past, your trauma, your mistakes, and the things you regret are not for the faint of heart.

This can be a messy, painful process. You may need to seek therapy and help from friends or family members in order to make peace with your past. But once you have made it through the other side of this process, you will find that not only does life seem a little less daunting, but also fulfilling on some new level.

10) Set goals.

Setting goals is a critical step in living the best life for you. Goals give you something to work toward even if they seem too difficult. They also help get your life on track by making sure that all aspects of your life are taken care of, including finances and career goals. You can set goals for anything from saving money to going on a date or traveling the world – it’s up to you!

When you’re living your best life, you want goals that are realistic yet push your life to new heights.

11) Believe in Yourself

Do not skip this step! You cannot proceed to build your best life if you don’t believe it’s attainable for you. Loving ourselves is a key factor in making anything possible.

– Consider your best attributes and skills
– Reflect on what you want to achieve and how it will make you feel when it is completed

It’s time that we start believing in ourselves, as hard as this may seem at times. If we don’t believe in ourselves then who else will?

12) Release any expectations you have.

In other words, you’ll need to be accepting of the outcome. We grasp onto all sorts of ideals, dreams, and even people, thinking that if we live without them, that we’ve somehow failed. That end destination, that end goal becomes so essential to our being that we lose living in the moment and so many joyful, wonderful things pass us by on the journey because we were so fixated on something else.

But sometimes, when we’re focused on the journey and life gives us something different, we discover that it was actually better. Giving up your expectations for living your best life can be hard, but it can also be liberating.

13) Make the world a better place for others.

If there is something I believe in ardently it is that people are not meant to be islands. We don’t live for only ourselves. Independence is a myth. We’re meant to live together with others, supporting each other and working together.

Making someone else happy, relieving their suffering, and working toward a better future for our children are ways that we can bring our special unique talents to benefit the lives of others.

14) Live in the present moment.

We set goals for the future and think about this ideal future we’re creating, but the problem comes when we spend too much time in that future ideal world.

A part of releasing expectations is living in the present moment. Truly living life in the present moment means to live in the best of now.

Living in the present moment means to enjoy what’s happening right now and not worry about anything else. You are able to live your best when you’re living presently.

15) Know what motivates you.

Knowing what motivates you is an important step in living your best life. When you know what motivates you, you’re more likely to stay inspired and motivated even in the most draining of circumstances.

No one’s path to success was a straight line. You’re bound to have ups and downs. When your journey is getting difficult, you might feel down, depressed, or unmotivated.

But when you know what gets your motivation going, you can implement those things and help yourself move forward. Some things that might motivate you? A brisk walk in the woods, revisiting some of your favorite memories, or a talk with a friend. Find those simple joys to keep you going.

16) Make a bucket list.

When it comes to living boldly, you don’t want to leave anything out! Making a bucket list helps you remember all the things you want to do and experience. Living your best life now happens by making a list of everything on it that will make for best memories with friends, family or even just solo!

Create some time each week (or day) where you can check off an item from your bucket list, if it’s a small task.

For the bigger tasks, like skydiving, staying overnight in a haunted castle, or traveling to all 7 continents, make sure you plan! Give yourself plenty of time and resources, and stay focused. These can help you stay motivated as well.

Conclusion

Living your best life takes planning and a lot of self-reflection. But when you do, you’ll find that it’s worth the effort.

It’s time to live the best that you choose! Use these 15 steps to lead yourself to your own fulfilling and satisfactory life and stay there!

I’m still working on living my best life.

Source: wildsimplejoy.com  By: Dawn Elizabeth ~ Image: Canva Pro

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9 Practical Tips For Living Your Best Life Now

Practical Tips For Living Your Best Life

“Living your best life” may make you think of lounging on the beach. Or maybe you imagine yourself power-walking down a busy street in a hot pink suit. Likely, your dream life falls somewhere in between. Living your best life essentially means living a life that makes you happy and also one that allows you to be at your full potential. It’s about being intentional with the way you choose to live and living life on your own terms.

It also means leveling up to be the best version of yourself that you can possibly be. But getting there requires that you master both the internal and external factors that could prevent you from living your best life.

Regardless of what your personal and financial goals are, these 9 tips will help you start living a fantastic and intentional life!

1. Find your purpose

Finding out what matters most to you is the best way to begin your journey to living life well. Here are some important things that may help:

Visualize

Picture yourself living your best life. Think about your surroundings—your location in the world, your house or office, and also the people around you. Also envision what you’re wearing, and what you’re doing throughout the day or week.

Most importantly, imagine how you feel while living the life of your dreams. If you’re stuck on getting a clear picture, try a few different visualization exercises.

It might help to journal, doodle, or talk it out with someone you trust. This all helps you develop the right mindset.

Once you visualize what your life looks like, you can work backward and set concrete goals to get you there.

Ask questions and reflect

Humans thrive when they feel useful and like they’re part of something bigger than themselves.

So ask yourself what lights you up. Equally as important is to not ruminate on the things (or people) you always dread. Incorporate more of the good and avoid as much of the bad as possible.

One useful way to figure out your purpose is the Ikigai framework. By reflecting on your likes and skills, as well as what the world needs and how you might get paid, you’ll have a better idea of how to combine everything you uniquely bring to the world.

If you’re not great at self-reflection, ask 3-5 of the people closest to you what they think you’re great at or how you make them feel. From there, work out how you can live life with more purpose.

2. Aim for growth

It’s much easier—and sometimes less painful—to stay in our comfort zones. But when you don’t risk any growth, there’s rarely a reward.

Go after that promotion or raise. Experiment with investing (as long as your emergency fund is full).

Try the side hustle that’s been lingering in the back of your mind. Or maybe you should write that book you’ve always wanted to share with the world. Save for that vacation you’ve been dreaming of.

No matter what fires you up, growth is the common factor. When you’re living your best life, you are consistently growing and becoming better.

3. Prioritize health

Health is wealth, baby. Not only will you save thousands of dollars by avoiding medical bills, but your health is also the biggest contributor (or barrier) to accomplishing your goals.

Physical health

Take care of your physical health so you can be your best self.

Move your body in whatever way feels right to you, whether that’s yoga or weight lifting. Eat well and stay hydrated.

Sleep soundly for enough hours every night. Get to the bottom of any underlying issues you’ve procrastinated on or addressed with a temporary fix.

Mental health

Don’t forget about your mental health. Address anything that is causing you to stress, and make sure to regularly think about how you’re feeling.

Also, remember that you can change your mindset about anything from finance to career and more.

Boundaries

Set boundaries with loved ones and work. You may need to have a few tough conversations, or simply decide what you will and won’t accept in the future from others.

Good boundaries will help you to feel healthier and have better relationships with other people.

4. Take action

We have a single life to live, so thoughtful, intentional action is a much better approach than letting life pass you by. Learn to become your own advocate for what you need and want in order to have a happy life.

You should also feel empowered to act on behalf of causes that resonate with you or injustices you see.

So make it your mission to make decisions that align with your goals and beliefs, and then take action!

5. Figure out your finances

No, money can’t buy happiness, but yes, money matters! Here are some ideas to help you gain control of your money.

Save and spend smartly

You should aim to live below your means and earn as much as you need to live out all your dreams.

This might mean taking care of yourself, providing for others, or even leaving a legacy of wealth for future generations.

A great place to start is to create a budget that helps you to know where all your money is going each month. Then you can decide how to organize your finances for the upcoming years.

Consider the future

Decide what kind of life you want in the future. You can then use that information to create a retirement plan or build wealth.

In addition, make financial goals with the future in mind. It will help you to properly plan and know what to do with your money in the present.

Money can be such a sensitive, painful part of life, but it doesn’t have to be. If you feel confident about your earning, spending, and investments, you’ll be free to live the life you want.

6. Nurture your environment

Be intentional with your surroundings and how they influence you. The people and objects around you can impact your mood and self-worth.

So make sure they’re contributing to your happiness and energy, not detracting from it.

Change your surroundings

Changing your environment can also give you a boost. Get outside in nature to enjoy life’s simple pleasures as often as possible.

Plan activity dates—solo, with a partner, or with friends—simply to try something completely new. The act of exploring and experimenting is enough to help you grow.

Plus, you might just discover something to add to your dream life that you never predicted, like a love of roller skating or cheese-making!

The ultimate environment shake-up is travel. Nothing puts life into perspective like stepping outside of the familiar.

Even if traveling isn’t possible, be a tourist in your own town. Look at the world around you with fresh eyes. It’ll help you check how well-aligned you are with living your best life.

Organize your home

Your home is a huge part of your environment, so it’s important to stay organized.

There are many easy ways to do this.

Make a cleaning schedule so your space always feels fresh. Take the time to create a system for paperwork. Get rid of items you don’t need to avoid clutter.

Do whatever works for you so you feel good when you’re at home.

Stay organized with a planner or calendar

There’s nothing worse than missing appointments or forgetting birthdays because of disorganization. To avoid this, get a paper planner or use a digital calendar if you want.

Mark down important dates and tasks you need to complete. And use your planner for everything and take it everywhere with you. Then you’ll never be stuck wondering if you forgot to do something.

7. Consider your routine

Create a routine or break one, depending on how you’re doing. You might need some structure to stay committed to your goals and ideal life. That’s where a shiny new schedule can come in handy.

Or you might need to cut loose to actually enjoy the life you’re building. That’s where breaking the mold can help with creativity. Regardless, small habits add up quickly, so stay intentional in your daily life.

Make a wellness routine

Whether you have a daily schedule or not, most people can benefit from a wellness routine. Which is basically just a chance to check in on how you’re feeling and take some time for yourself.

You might include journaling, doing a face mask, free time, or budgeting, depending on what helps you feel your best.

A great place to start is to do a wellness check-in once a week at least, though you can do it more often if you want!

8. Serve others

Just like connecting to our internal purpose is important, building relationships with loved ones and also a community is essential for a full life.

For example, if you want a family, be the best partner and mother you can be. Or donate money or a special talent or skill to the causes you believe in. Volunteer time and attention to people and organizations that need you.

While you shouldn’t serve others at the expense of your own well-being, giving back may actually lead you to your best life faster.

9. Make gratitude an everyday practice

One of the best things to do is remember your blessings and appreciate the small things. You can also create more inspiration by making a list of things you appreciate about your life.

You might include inspirational quotes or motivational quotes, as well. These can help you remain positive.

Not only is gratitude one of the best self-care ideas and healthy habits, but it will also remind you every single day of what you already have that is great. The more you appreciate, the less you feel dissatisfied with your life, and you create a more positive mindset.

Ways you can tell if you’re living life to the fullest

While there are no “rules” to living life well, there are a few indicators that may tell you if you’re headed in the right direction.

A sense of peace

A peaceful and positive mindset is one way you can tell if you’re living your life in the best way. Never underestimate the power of positive thoughts and their ability to shape your life!

Clarity about goals and purpose

Knowing how you want to live your life and having a clear direction is a big sign that life is going well for you. If you are working towards your dreams and also living each day on purpose instead of going through the motions, that’s a good sign.

Good health

If you’re feeling physically and mentally healthy, that’s a great indicator of a life well lived.

While everyone has emotions like anxiety sometimes, it’s important that you feel mentally healthy overall.

Things like writing down your thoughts, being organized, and spending time outdoors can all improve mental health.

In addition, being in good physical health is also a sign that you are living your life in a great way! It could mean that you’ve broken bad habits and instead engaged in good ones like exercise and healthy eating.

Keeping yourself healthy will not only increase your enjoyment of your life in the present but also in the future.

Living your best life is totally possible!

Living your best life is not about what looks perfect for social media or what everyone says you “should” do. It’s about what you want and how you’re going to make it happen.

It’s also about simplifying your life in a way that works for you. So, go on—live your best life full of purpose and without any regrets.

Source: clevergirlfinance.com ~ By: By Ashlee Sang ~ Image: Canva Pro

Updated on June 5, 2023

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How to Stop Putting Pressure on Yourself

Stop Putting Pressure on Yourself

We face enough stress in life without putting more on ourselves, but that’s exactly what many of us do, in one way or another, sometimes without even realizing it. The first step toward easing off of yourself is to realize when you might be making things harder on yourself unnecessarily.

Without blaming yourself, why not learn what you can do to stop the self-sabotage and be your own strongest ally in stress relief? Here are some of the best ways to make the most of your life and cut down on self-imposed stress.

Understand High Achievement vs. Perfectionism

Many people slip into perfectionistic habits, not realizing that there is a better way to do their best without beating themselves along the way. Many perfectionists, on some level, believe that they need to attain perfection or they have failed; this belief can not only lead to stress, it can actually lead to less success than the attitude of a regular high-achiever!

An important first step is to recognize the difference between perfectionism and high-achievement and really understand why perfectionism is more a form of self-sabotage than an asset. When it comes to stress, “do your best” is better than “be perfect,” and in the long run, it’s healthier as well.

If you find yourself emotionally “holding onto” mistakes you’ve made, noticing more of what you’ve done wrong than what you’ve gotten right, and getting anxious when you do a good-but-not-perfect job, be aware that there is a better way.

Balance Being a Hard Worker and Type A Behavior

Working hard can lead to less stress if it translates into greater resources and a sense of accomplishment. “Type A” behavior, which can be associated with an extreme version of a strong work ethic, on the other hand, can be hard on your mental and physical health, as well as your relationships.

“Type A” people tend to experience health issues to a greater degree than the average enthusiastic and balanced hard workers, and can engage in behaviors that are less than healthy as well. You may not be able to change your personality, but you can soften the edges and shift your focus toward being more relaxed, and that can make all the difference.

Lead a Balanced Life

Leading a full life is great, but if you don’t live a balanced life, you can feel too stressed, too much of the time. How can you draw the line between being excitedly busy and overwhelmed?

You can start by paying attention to how you feel at the end of the day, at the end of a weekend (when you’re about to start a new week with new challenges), and taking a careful look at your life to see if you have enough time for maintaining self-care activities on a regular basis, including:

    • Engaging in regular exercise
    • Getting enough sleep
    • Nurturing relationships

Taking care of yourself is essential for stress management, and no other goals should be put above it, or you won’t be able to reach those goals as effectively—exhausted people lose momentum eventually.

Think Like an Optimistic, Not a Pessimist

Many people are afraid of positive thinking, likening it to a mental trick where you ignore important problems or valuable cues in life, and eventually, make mistakes that bring even more stress.

Actually, realistic positive thinking (focusing on the positive without completely ignoring and failing to address issues that require a response) can help you to be more effective in your life, and less stressed along the way.

One of the best positive thinking strategies you can adopt is optimistic thinking, which is a specific pattern of thinking that allows you to focus your attention on the accomplishments that maximize your confidence and allow you to do your best in the future.

Allow Yourself to Feel, Then Feel Better

You may have heard that it’s not healthy to “stuff your emotions” or to deny you feel the way you feel. This is true.

While it is important to find a balance between acknowledging your emotions and engaging in rumination, remaining in denial is not healthy either.

A more effective way to help yourself through stressful times is to become more aware of how you feel and why by journaling, talking things out with a close friend, or talking to a therapist if necessary, and then working toward engaging in activities that will give you a healthy emotional lift and moving on.

Accept Your Weaknesses, and Everyone Else’s

You may have known by the title of this article that a great way to relieve stress is to simply ease up on yourself—give yourself a break. You can also relieve stress by giving everyone else a break as well.

Don’t take things as personally, don’t hold onto grudges, and try to see the best in people by understanding how things may feel from their perspective. Learn to forgive yourself and others for past mistakes.

There are many effective ways to do this, but the loving-kindness meditation is one that incorporates the highly effective stress management tool of meditation in a way that helps lift your mood and helps you relax.

Source: verywellmind.com ~ By:  ~ Image: Canva Pro

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