No matter whom you put under a microscope, they will surely tell you that their main goal in life is to either be happy or to be happier. Whether or not perfect or pure happiness is attainable is one topic of discussion. That is the beauty of it all—there is always ways in which we can better our lives or our situations, as well as the lives and situations of others.
It’s best to start close to home and start with bettering your own life prior to tackling problems larger than you. Once you achieve a certain level of content, making a difference in the lives of others will become easier and more benevolent, selfless.
The way to better your life is to take control of as much of it as you can—keeping in mind, of course, that there is only so much that is controllable. All it takes is consistency and the stubbornness to keep at it. Here are 10 habits that you ought to adopt in order to have a better handle on your life and your future:
1. You Are What You Eat
Making sure that you are consuming the proper nutrients is a big part of feeling good. We too often try to fix our moods and our overall feeling by consuming that which we call “comfort foods”. The truth is that the best way to eat is by considering what will make you feel best down the line. Yes, those Buffalo wings do look amazing, but will eating that bucket of blue cheese along with them have you feeling light and energetic tomorrow? Or more like a slob?
The human body requires certain vitamins and enzymes. You must make sure that you are receiving all the nutrients that your body requires and minimizing all those parts that your body does not need in order to function maximally.
2. Hit The Gym Regularly
You don’t necessarily need to actually get yourself a gym membership, but you do need to form the habit of exercising each and every day. Not to say that you need to endure a grueling workout regimen, but you ought to do some sort of physical activity each day—and no, walking for 20 minutes does not count. If you do not have the time to get in a cardio workout or to do any calisthenics, then at the very least do some stretching.
3. Find Inner Peace—Meditate
Having the ability to slow down your mind almost on demand is an incredibly useful skill to acquire. Meditating every day will lower your level of stress, lower your blood pressure, increase your focus and increase your overall feeling of goodness. Meditation will help you feel more grounded and more in tune with reality. Just like our bodies, our minds need a break too.
4. Get Into The Habit Of Reading
Many people falsely believe that watching TV shows or documentaries can substitute for book reading. Reading books is not for the sole purpose of in taking information—it helps us maintain and expand our vocabularies. It works out important parts of our brain. Believe it or not, becoming an avid reader will improve your creativity, expand your knowledge storage capacity, reduce your stress, stave off dementia, better your reasoning skills, improve your memory, allow your brain to be more flexible and even enhance your senses.
5. Flex Your Social Muscle
Human beings are either blessed or cursed to have to function within a social structure—depending on your outlook on things. Regardless of your beliefs, having the ability to communicate properly, to portray your thoughts to another precisely and understand how the other will interpret your words and body language, are indispensible skills.
There is a sort of power and control to be gained when you master the art of communicating and develop the ability to predict a person’s reactions to several different methods of delivery. Practicing your social skills will increase your confidence and is bound to take you down some interesting roads otherwise unavailable to you.
6. Personal Maintenance
It is easy to forget how much work maintaining our appearance actually requires. Guys especially tend to overlook all that they ought to be doing in order to keep their bodies and their living environments neat and clean. If being neat and clean is not a priority, then it needs to become one. There is a certain peace that comes over you when having a tidy self-appearance and when surrounded by cleanliness and order.
The effect may very well differ from person to person, but I do not see how one could not benefit from putting effort into the way they look and into what they choose to surround themselves with. In the very least, the way that people perceive you will be with greater respect. Being able to keep outer order most often reflects inner order.
7. Get Your Rest
Being driven is great. Working yourself to the bone is stupid. Getting proper rest and sleep is key to working at maximum efficiency. There is a point at which the more you work, the less efficient your work becomes. Eventually, it becomes more efficient to take a break from everything and reboot before hopping back on that horse. Getting proper sleep every night is a great way to keep your efficiency levels high. When you begin to lack sleep, you start playing catch up and eventually end up finding yourself crashing.
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