Upgrade the five key areas of your life: Mind, Body, Soul, Relationship, and Business by getting these daily teachings delivered straight to your inbox.
Daily Teaching
“I don’t believe people are looking for the meaning of life as much as they are looking for the experience of being alive”~Joseph Campbell. Too many people are worried about putting their time into activities that won’t “lead to a career” or that they “won’t be any good at” or “is too much of a commitment.” With this mindset, people tend to only do the things expected of them, and ignore their passions and true desires. Lori Deschene discusses 40 ways to feel more alive. She breaks these 40 ways down into 4 categories:
- Say something you’ve been meaning say.
- Try something you’ve always wanted to try.
- Go somewhere you’ve always wanted to go.
- Do something you thought you couldn’t do.
If you read these suggestions and start with just two or three in each category, you will immediately start to see positive change in your life.
Learn all 40 ways.
There is so much differing data available about what to eat, what not to eat, and how much to eat. The sheer amount of this data can be overwhelming. The two main issues with eating healthy foods are taking the time to prepare the food and choosing which ingredients and how much of those ingredients to eat. This guide will help you with the second issue. You will be eating the right foods and feeling great in no time at all! Here are a few of the superfoods this guide discusses:
- Avocados
- Blueberries
- Broccoli
- Fatty fish
- Oats
- Spinach
- Nuts
- Yogurt
Check out this article to learn about these foods and more.
You will be eating the right foods and feeling great in no time at all!
Getting a good workout is impossible without a fancy gym membership, expensive workout shoes, and top-of-the-line equipment…right? WRONG. To get a great workout, all you need is an open space and confortable clothing. One great benefit about many of the exercises you can perform without equipment is that they can be done by anyone, irrespective of fitness level.
For a comprehensive list of these types of activities, check out this exercise guide to get started.
For most people, creativity is not something that comes naturally. It’s something that is developed over time, and if left unattended, it can really diminish. If you think you’re not creative as you want to be, I have some good news for you! In order to become more creative, all you have to do is try a couple of new things like working in a new place, adjusting your schedule, and allowing yourself to be distracted. By doing these things, you allow your mind to adjust new surroundings and to handle different tasks at different times. How does this improve creativity, you ask? Well, by going out of your normal routine, you allow your brain to experience different things so that it is forced to create “creative” ways to handle these new events.
When first starting out in the business world, a lot of people apply for a sales position. Not only do you learn a lot about how to communicate with people, but you also get many opportunities to grow and develop the ability to make money. Even if you’re not a salesperson, these tips can apply to just about anyone in many social situations!
- View each sales approach as an experience. Observe what speech patterns you have that work and don’t work. Adjust accordingly.
- Increase self-awareness. Depending on the person you’re talking to, it’s important to change your topics according to what they want to hear.
- Introduce “changeups” in your sales presentation. If your listeners are constantly tuning out or losing focus, it’s best to change your pace and your speech patterns to reel them back into focus.
- Repeat, repeat, repeat. People have short memories. Introduce an important point at the beginning of your talk and reinforce it throughout the conversation so that they don’t forget it!
- Go beyond expectation in everything you do. This applies not only to sales, but to everything in life. Doing more than necessary will make you stand out to others and it will also make you feel better!
Read more tips here
Solving a simple problem, like lighting a candle, can be solved with a simple solution: striking a match and touching it to the candlewick. Attempting to solve a complex problem with a simple solution does not work in the same way. Often times, attempting to solve a complex problem with a simple solution ends up causing another problem which needs another solution. You end up with an endless loop of problems and solutions. Ed Muzio explains a seven-step process to tackling these complex problems.
- Define the problem
- Collect data pertaining to the problem
- Analyze the cause
- Plan and implement a solution using the information from the above steps
- Evaluate your efforts
- Standardize your solution to fit similar problems
- Evaluate the process/system you have created
For more information and examples of this seven-step process, check out Ed Muzio’s video.
When you have nobody else, you still have your family. They are the ones that you run to in an emergency and they will always love you. It is important to show them the compassion that you deserve from them. This article highlights many ways that you can improve your relationship with your family. Here are just a few that stood out to me:
- Be committed. It is important to be committed to your family. Family comes first, so you have to be there for them when they need you.
- Communicate. Communication is key when it comes with family. Update them about your life and listen to them when they update you about theirs.
- Spend time together. Attend family events and invite them over for dinner or something, they’ll appreciate that.
Learn more about strengthening your relationships!
http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/publications/1229strengtheningfamilyrelationships
After reading these next two sentences, I want you to sit back, close your eyes, and just think.
What thoughts pop into your mind? Do you have control over these thoughts?
Okay, go ahead and close your eyes now. Think about the answers to those questions. Did you know there is a way to change the way you think when you give yourself to the time to just think? If any of these thoughts, feelings, or impulses are discomforting, there may be a solution for you. Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz, a neuropsychiatrist associated with UCLA has four steps that allow you to change the way you think and live more consciously.
- Re-label your thought, feeling, or impulse as separate from other thoughts
- Re-attribute what you want to change by calling it a new name–whatever sticks and helps you remember it
- Refocus your attention on replacing that bad tendency with a new one
- Revalue. Once you realize that there is a better way of thinking and living, you will realize that this old tendency is easier to avoid than you once thought.
To read more about changing the way your mind thinks, feels, and experiences, check out this article.
Now is the time to break out that old bike that has been gathering dust over the years. There are a multitude of health benefits you can receive from cycling. This overlooked exercise is good for your body in many ways. It strengthens your heart, muscles, and immune system. Cycling, along with swimming, is one of the few endurance exercises that works your muscles without putting extensive pressure and impact strain on your joints.
Check out Discovery Channel’s article for all the health benefits of cycling.
