Sometimes, we are our worst enemies and this manifests itself in various ways in our daily lives. Often we hear of and see people boasting of ‘Living Their Best Life’ on their social media pages, and when you come across these posts its literally a headscratcher, as the People posting about their best Lives are people you know and interact with, with and you see nothing but a toxic unfulfilled person, in your interactions.
Truth is, your observations and the person’s assertions can both be right. Remember, it is not for us to determine what is someone’s best life, as taken against the totality of that person’s experience, they may well be living their best life, and some are quite capable of doing this at the expense of others. So the trick to living your very best life, is to focus on you, your aspirations, family and the environment you nurture, the people you embrace in your quest for your better self.
We are our brother’s keeper, but we are not responsible for Policing their lives, life-style and or choices. We should give support where we can, when we can and allow each to make their own choices based on their own circumstances and or needs.
But to help you, find your better angel that will lead to you living your best Life, we have put together a 10-point plan, to assist you if this is your goal.
- Become More Health Conscious and get a membership to the Gym nearest to you. Walk a little, then upgrade to jogging. Play some squash; take some self-defence classes that have active exercise content; or you can learn to swim (if You can already). If You are a junk-food junkie, it’s time to give it up. From now on, try starting your day with a healthy breakfast instead of the heavy grease-laden foods you are accustomed to consuming. It’s also time to Give up Sweets and Sugar, especially processed Sugar. For a Natural Sweet high, try the natural fructose you get from Fruits.
And If you are a smoker, you simply must give up smoking. If not for the health benefits then for the social benefits – better-smelling breath, especially in the mornings. Makes you more desirable and you and your clothes will smell fresher, overall instead of smelling of stale cigarette smoke or rancid Cigar smoke.
- Give Yourself a New Look. Start with a new hairstyle, maybe a new colour, or just dye the greys; Get a new wardrobe; some new shoes, try some new accessories – Like A trailing scarf; some chunky jewellery; When you dress, do not dress to compete, but dress for comfort and for yourself. And make it be a celebration of your life!
- Give Your Home A Remake: If you have been living with the same furnishing and decor from way back when it’s time for a change. Give your home a new look, with some colour; rearrange your furnishings, add some indoor plants; add some colour to the outdoor gardens with some new plants. But do not go back for the Conventional look you had before, this time go for transformational.
- Invest In A New Range Of Perfumes/Parfums: Create a new identity, with your very own new range of perfumes. Believe it or not, perfume is one of those things that turn some men on And the reverse is also true, As studies have shown that some Women are more inclined to have a conversation with a man who’s sporting a lovely fragrance, than one who’s not. So, Male or Female, it’s time to turn up your attractiveness by turning up your perfume and or Parfum Game. But before you run out and buy a whole new collection of Scents, first take the time to invest in some research – Go out and do some testing,. Try different scents and see which one suits you best. And remember you should have different scents, the one for work, should not be the same one for playing; or an evening when seduction is on your mind. So it’s best you test Scents, to see which ones will enhance your mood and or lift your spirits and make you more adventurous. And never forget that most Scents, (Especially the Cheaper ones) will change during the course of wearing them, so you should also test to know this so you are not caught unprepared.
- Go Back To School: The very idea is daunting for many, but this step does not have to be a literal one. You do not have to literally go back to school, but the message here is that you should always be keen on learning new things, whether it’s about your Job, the Environment, Local politics, or simply upgrading your own education and or skills set, acquiring knowledge should be a lifelong pursuit. Practice turning off the Television and pick up a book instead. Broaden Your Horizon, by being more engaging. Be willing to engage a perfect stranger in conversation; Call up U-Tech and Sigh-up for a course. Or Check out the various Extra-Mural offerings and Online Courses now available. And become more active in local issues, politics and Civic concerns. Don’t just complain or bitch, become a part of the solution.
- Declutter Your Space: If you are like most of us, your home is probably struggling under the weight, of “stuff” you have acquired over the years, but have never been functional. It’s time to declutter. Have a ‘Yard-Sale’, Or take the stuff to a fleamarket, in both cases you could end up earning some extra money. Or you can simply just throw the junk out, and if you think you have valuable items but can’t be bothered with the tedious business of organizing a sale, call the Food For The Poor, Or The Salvation Army and Donate the Stuff. Once you rid yourself of clutter, the act will open up your space to welcome new blessings and new things. And you will be pleasantly surprised how much lighter you will feel emotionally.
- Re-assess Your Financial Standing: The time for happy-go-Lucky or carefree spending is long past, irrespective of your age, but especially, if you are no Spring Chicken. As we age, we need to be clear about our financial situation and some financial stocktaking is recommended to help us plan to continue living our best lives. So before you plan your next pleasure vacation; shopping spree, and or large improvement project, stop and take stock of your personal finances, to try and determine how liquid you really are; If you encounter an unexpected happenstance requiring a substantial cash outlay, would you be capable of not just handling the experience, but survive it financially? Time to inventorize your home, assets, and holdings, to get an idea of your actual worth. Whether or not you come out at the other end of that experience feeling financially secure, is of no consequence. What is now important is that you now begin planning to shore up your finances. Start by opening a new savings account (difficult tho it may be); Do a crash course in Stocks and Bonds and learn to trade, or hire a trader with a view of investing. If you have money to spend, do not spend it on baubles or fatuous experiences, buy jewellery that will last and maintain its value; invest in Art, Antiques etc. And it’s time you start your own household accounting system, so you know how much it costs to run your home.
8. Learn to Let Go: The inability to let go, of, things, of people of grudges, is probably one of our more dominant traits, even tho, we might say this aint so. Truth is We find letting go quite difficult and this sometimes leads to our own undoing and or robs us of infinite pleasure, happiness and or new experiences. So, to move on quit living in denial and simply let go. You have ‘Friends’ who take you for granted and or are never there for you emotionally, financially or even spiritually. No prob. Let them go! If they treat you as an option and not a priority, No Problem – Problem solved – Take Yourself away, remove their Option from you. Because someone is a blood relative does not necessarily translate into that person having your best interests at heart or meaning well. Time to stop making excuses for all the slights; the reports of nasty things being said behind your back; the lack of support, and or disrespect and just let go. No Weaning is necessary here, just quit cold turkey, and move on, as this behaviour and or attitude will never change. Just let them and all that emotional junk go. The same applies to the grudges you are holding. Let it go. Time to move on. Sadly for many holding grudges, those they are holding grudges against, are not even aware of your beef. Just let it go. Treat unhappy people, who always seek to make you unhappy; disrespect you or ‘jokingly’ try to put you down at every opportunity; Grudges and Bad experiences generally, the same way you treat the death of a dear one – Bury it and move on! Take time to grieve, if you need to. But let go and pack up and move the hell out of that space. This is one of the greatest things you could ever gift yourself.
9.Make Your Workplace Comfortable: There are way too many people who bitch and complain about their Jobs, aspects of their Job; their Bosses, Salaries and or Environment, totally unaware that they too are contributing to the toxicity of the workplace. If you are uncomfortable, with your current job and or existing working arrangements, then change your job and or the working arrangements. If you think you are overworked and underpaid, address it with your boss, ask for a raise, and or a reduced workload and leave the bellyaching elsewhere as it affects morale and productivity overall. Remember to be polite at all times, this reduces on-the-job friction, tension and cliques, that break down into factions and strife. Your Co-workers may not be your friends, but they sure are your colleagues so treat them with the respect you think you deserve, and go the extra mile when required. Never bad-mouth the Job, whilst on the Job; Never Bad Mouth your Boss with fellow employees, and Never, Never, bad-mouth a fellow employee with another employee, its not good office politics and makes for an unpleasant atmosphere.
10. Make Quality Time For Yourself And Your Family: Downtime, is probably one of the most undervalued attributes of self-care, That and Family Time. It is important that we do not treat “Me Time” and or “Family Time” as Options to be exercised when the time is ‘right’. The time is always right For Quality Allone Time, and or Family time and these must be budgeted for in the same manner and import you allocate Work and or Entertainment time in your weekly budgetary allotment.
Stop taking yourself and or your family for granted, and make yourself and your family, the Priority you all should be and treat it accordingly.
Me Time can be time spent re-charging your emotional and or educational batteries. It can be spiritual; and even physical such as pampering yourself. Family time is of equal importance and must never be rushed and or forced, as Family time requires that Quality time must be budgeted for, each member of the Family, Your Spouse Your Children and Any Extended Family Member such as a relative (s) living with you. Most modern on-the-go families, use Meal times such as dinner, or weekend meals for family time. This affords all some bonding time, but it might not provide the privacy needed to air some matters that need addressing by the Children and or relatives. So effort must be made to secure that private time with each family member to allow for this.
