Inspiring Info Archives - Page 8 of 9 - Start Early Today - Personal Transformation, Self Development, and Wisdom for a Better Life

Start early today

The fallacy of your persona; How to finally End Suffering and Find Permanent Peace

We are not our names, jobs and societal roles. These are merely constructs, concepts and stories. We are much bigger than we think we are. We are not our thoughts, actions & emotions. We are the awareness of the existence of all of these perceptions. Try thinking of a time before you existed and then towards a time that you don’t exist anymore, you can even bring your attention way towards outer space and see the earth as a blue marble. Who and what notices all of these experiences? Know the difference between your expanded consciousness and your egoic consciousness and knowing where to focus our attention will save us a lot of unnecessary misery.

Establish that you are not your identity/self image

Start the day by affirming this “I am eternal, immortal universal and infinite”. Much of our suffering comes from protecting the correctness, avoiding to learn, or running away from things that aren’t in congruent with our ego’s beliefs. Our ego’s beliefs are narrow, based on some teaching we picked up somewhere and why we believe them we can’t truly understand. In mindfulness, we can watch the ego’s biased choices, and opinions. Do not immediately entangle yourself or invest a whole lot of energy in protecting the ego’s position. Try to see things from a bird’s eye view and watch your ego’s murmurs diminish. If you entangle yourself with the ego’s demands, you will burn out and will never be at peace.

Suffering stems from your Self-Image. That you should be this and that and you can only be at peace when such and such has occurred. Sounds familiar? Here’s an essential truth, you can never control how others may react or think of you and you can never find peace outside of you. Be bigger than your identity, don’t take anything personally and too seriously. Make space to expand your being and to become part of all things. Treat everything with reverence and understanding. Imagine it’s the first day of school everyday, remember those days? We were so open and connected.

“We end up putting so much attention onto our image that we remain in a continuous state of protecting or improving our image in order to control how others see us.”

– Adyashanti

Let go of control

As much as we are invested in our self image, we are also addicted to control. Accept that control is an illusion and you immediately break free from the rigid requirements of your ego’s make beliefs. The trick here is to find balance and to know the extent of what you can control. You can devote yourself and try your best to plan a perfect picnic, but don’t get bummed if it unexpectedly rains. Show up with the best efforts you have and expect the higher power on how it will paint the picture. Mostly what we plan is very different from what the higher power has done laid for us. Be keen on picking up signs, be quick on learning the lesson, diligent in reading the messages, flexible in ways to progress and head on out with relentless yet gentle persistence.

“Incredible change happens in your life when you decide to take control of what you do have power over instead of craving control over what you don’t.”
– Steve Maraboli

Be flexible on your beliefs

The small part of you is attached to what it knows. It will do everything to protect and defend its correctness, comfort and pleasure. We will open ourselves up to new heights and become truly aligned with our purpose if we are not bound by should and shouldn’ts of our beliefs. Establish a bright line that keeps you aligned with your truest values and principles but keep the door open to new ways of thinking and going about things and how other people are. In practicing this openness, collaborations happen and births of new things become possible.

“That which yields is not always weak.”
– Jacqueline Carey

Stop thinking that everything outside of you is a threat

Have in inclusive mindset. Include yourself by listening, smiling and understanding. Nothing is a threat unless you make it so. Even in front of a wild animal, embody oneness. Tune in to the feeling of all life creating more life. In diversity there is evolution, are you growing with it or afraid of it? You were not afraid jumping into this human experience so why should anything be a threat to you? Listen to your inner knowing more than your ego. If a hunch is telling you to try something new, go for it before the ego pushes you back to comfort. So get used to a lot of unexpected stuff, unknown places & unusual people and accept them as part of one beating beautiful life. We just intersect and interact once in a while to push each other up to greater awareness. No big deal, we will all return to the one eternal consciousness anyways so appreciate all the variety you can while you are here.

You are not separate from everything you perceive outside of you. The sooner you understand and practice this the sooner you will find peace and eliminate suffering. Much of your suffering is in the mind only, learn the habit of constantly dropping stories you latch onto and you set yourself free.

“We are like islands in the sea, separate on the surface but connected in the deep.”

– William James

Stop believing the thoughts that make you suffer

We have learned to practice STOP in our previous entry. Stop, Take a deep breath, Observe & Proceed. Create space between your awareness and your thoughts. Our thoughts happen of themselves but our investment in them is where we trip. We get wrapped up and it puts us in a constrained limited world where the only reality is the world that makes us suffer.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Doing the work by Byron Katie really comes in handy in these challenging times. Ask these 4 questions in times when you are entangled in thoughts of suffering.

Is it true?
Is it absolutely true?
Who would you be without this thought?
What would it be like if I turn this around?

Conclusion

In studying the difference between our ego and awareness, we learn where our suffering comes from and know how to manage them through simple shifting of attention and some inquiry.

Our inner world and outer world are not separate. Transcend the illusion of separateness and you shall find peace. Go above the judgement of good & bad and you have accessed the space of non duality. Always be centered where all is in balance and equanimity. Here in lies your piece.

Although letting go of your beliefs might feel like dying, you are dying to give birth to a more peaceful version of yourself, one that is free from suffering, Christ like and carries joy every where you may roam.

Sharing is caring. Let’s raise the consciousness of humanity one small act at a time.

Mindfulness now; How to Live with Intention, Balance & Ease

“Life without a plan, As useless as the moment it began, Serves merely as a soil for discontent. To thrive in, an encumbrance ere half spent.”
– James Allen

You opened up your mind and tried many practices, ideologies, and activities but you still feel you aren’t where you are supposed to be. You work yourself to the point of burning out and still feel unfulfilled? No matter how hard you try there is always something lacking in your life. You do not need to look elsewhere for the answer is already with you. With just a minor tweak in your thinking, you are well on your way to living a better version of yourself. Your life’s worth is not dependent on what you do, what you produce, or what you have to give. It is how you feel about each moment in your life that adds up and make the quality of your life. So with these prompts, let’s make one of ease, simplicity, & impact.

Master your mornings

Make a commitment the night before. Decide the time of waking. Aim for 7-8 hours of sleep. Make sure you hit these crucial points upon waking.

Silence
Affirmation
Visualization
Tidy up
Movement
Identify Key 3 Key Actions that aligns with your last ng term goal

Mastering your mornings will speed up your self-actualization. You will learn a lot about yourself and you will build the type of person who can rise above the norm and is one of high performance and excellence. Before achieving greatness, start by mastering your mornings.

“Remember, the moment you accept total responsibility for everything in your life is the moment you claim the power to change anything in your life.”
– Hal Elrod

Break free from the constant urge to do something

After you have identified the person you intend to become, you will constantly be bombarded by distractions. Once you have decided on a particular thing, commit to it till it’s done. It’s always helpful to be specific. An example would be the law of 100, 100 push-ups, 100 articles, 100 emails, 100 paintings, it is up to you. You won’t have time for distractions because you have your blinders on focused on those 100 somethings that you have decided to put your focus on. It doesn’t need to be 100, the key here is to aim for a specific number to finish in a certain time frame for a certain amount of days. You get to design this so there will be no reason for it to not fit your lifestyle. Aren’t you psyched? What 100 of something are you aiming for?

When you feel the impulse to do something ask, does this help me in achieving the goal I have decided for myself?

“At the end of the day, you can’t control the results; you can only control your effort level and your focus.”
– Ben Zobrist

Drop in and deepen the moment

You can always drop in and be present even in the middle of your day-to-day activities. There is immense depth in each moment and it can be a gateway to eternity and total peace. You can drop into this state in he middle of washing dishes, doing laundry and cleaning. Carry presentness not only in your morning routine but all through out the day. Keep the expandedness you cultivated in your morning meditation, it is a space that will keep you safe from all ever changing external circumstances. Whenever feeling constrained, just drop in and know that you are much bigger than all that surrounds you.

“Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it.”
– Eckhart Tolle

Perform an act of kindness

What makes us suffer is our delusion of separateness. Often times we ask what is in it for us before doing anything. This leads to very little or no return in energy. Be giving in ways that you are unique and you shall be compensated in unexpected ways. Big heart = Big profit, Little heart = Little profit. We are not separate from each other and how we serve. Imagine your external as a mirror. You are helped as you help. You are glorified as you glorify. Inside of us is an infinite well of stamina and enthusiasm. So open up and don’t be stingy on what you can give, you have a lot.

“Be happy with what you have and are, be generous with both, and you won’t have to hunt for happiness.”
William Gladstone

Stop putting things off and face what needs facing

In living with intention, start being accountable for your situation. Start with little things, tidy up your personal space, be on time with your financial obligations, keep your kitchen organized and schedule those experiences that have been wanting to become reality. Face things as they are and the intensity of their overwhelm diminishes, put them off and it grows stronger from a lizard to a dragon. Nip it in the bud before it gets too beg and devours you. Most of them are really easy and just needs a little decisiveness and tenacity which you already have in you.

“Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today”
– Benjamin Franklin

Do more of the things that make you feel alive

Indulge your creativity. Cultivate the courage to create. What you are interested in right now is only a bridge to many doors of more curiosities that will lead to more skills and opportunities. A couple of hours of flow state a day will keep you balanced and keep you connected to your higher self, the real you. So whatever it may be, drawing, dancing, walking, cooking, engage in it and be one with it. Intend this important activity. A couple of hours of feeling truly alive will get you through any issues that might come across in your day.

“Keep taking time for yourself until you are you again.”
– Lalah Delia

Let go of the habit of revisiting old negative stories

Disrupt the pattern of replaying the same story. The mind only does this because it sticks to what it knows. It has found comfort in it’s own misery. Drop the old story, flip the narrative and start anew. Treat it like an old movie that you have grown out of. Today try writing a new screenplay, one of triumph, epic adventure and a guaranteed happy ending. All are just stories you tell yourself, why not make it a good one. Remember all we need is just a little intention and decisiveness. Decide that today is a good story and so it will be.

Write it on your heart
that every day is the best day in the year.
He is rich who owns the day, and no one owns the day
who allows it to be invaded with fret and anxiety.

“Finish every day and be done with it.
You have done what you could.
Some blunders and absurdities, no doubt crept in.
Forget them as soon as you can, tomorrow is a new day;
begin it well and serenely, with too high a spirit
to be cumbered with your old nonsense.”

“This new day is too dear,
with its hopes and invitations,
to waste a moment on the yesterdays.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Stop waiting for the ideal path to appear

The ideal path won’t be presented to you on a silver platter. The universe doesn’t owe you a framework to follow. Everything outside of you is in hazy wave form, you harden them into material form through thought and inspired action. Be open to paths to take in order to arrive closer to your north star. There are many ways to peel an orange. How you will arrive at your desired destination is up to you. One thing is for sure, you gotta move towards it. Just take that one single step forward each day and be aware of the changes along the way.

“Luck comes to a man who puts himself in the way of it. You went where something might be found and you found something, simple as that.”
– Louis L’amour

Maintain composure in the amidst change

Our natural state is one of balance. Work on your inner stability so strong that no external test can make you wobble. Do not take anything too seriously. Give everything space, allow them to be. Everything is just another one of those. You are one of billions who are having the same experience and actually if you are reading this, you are doing pretty good. You are taking charge in empowering yourself with tools to navigate this ever changing world. Strengthen your centeredness. It is best to establish this early in the morning.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose”
– Romans 8:28

Afterthoughts

Serenity can be accessed anytime of day. Nourish and nurture what your higher self or real self calls you to become. With dedication to your mission, commitment, diligence, watchfulness, energy and effort all can be attained. Work with the great power higher than ourselves. Make each day count by making the right choices. The power is in you, now.

Real-time Mindset Shifting tools when life Gets Overwhelming

Much has been said about shifting our mindsets through meditation, self care and retreats to fully disconnect to reconnect. But when we get thrown back into our day to day we immediately spiral back to our old ways falling pray to the tyranny of the mind. It doesn’t need to be this way. Equip yourself with these real-time tools that can be easily deployed when you notice you are being tempted to get caught up in your head.

Physiological Sigh

A tool popularized by Andrew Huberman, that has been discovered in the 1930’s. A deep nasal inhale followed by an extra inhale and extended exhale. Our lungs are not just two big bags of air but it is surrounded by millions of mini sacs that if we were to lay it out would cover an entire football field. Isn’t that fascinating?

Deep nasal inhale
Another inhale
Extended exhale
1 -3 times

It will instantly calm you down and what I love about this is you can do this real-time, no equipment, no audio, no meditation room, just straight up operating on your biology to get to balance. Once we get our chemicals balanced in the blood and in the brain we will operate with more clarity. Learn more here.

“Positive thinking is not about being delusional. It’s about learning how to take control of internal processing and knowing it’ll shape your external environment.”
Andrew D. Huberman

5 Second Rule

Popularized by Mel Robbins, It is the idea that you do a count down from 5 to 1 just like a rocket ship launch. If you have an instinct to move towards a goal you must physically move towards it in 5 seconds. If not the idea will stay in the brain and eventually you will be talked out of it by the brain because, you will have been persuaded by the mind’s reasonings protecting its comfort. The mind doesn’t like new things, and change, but the inner you is driven and destined yo evolve so commit to your actions using the 5 second rule. “The 5 Second Rule is simple. If you have an instinct to act on a goal, you must physically move within 5 seconds or your brain will kill it.

“If you have an instinct to act on a goal, you must physically move within 5 seconds or your brain will kill it.”
— Mel Robbins.

Why does this work? It is because of Metacognition. The ability to interrupt the sub conscious pattern and flips on your pre frontal cortex. The moment you start counting backwards you lean towards action, as you count, you skip the brain’s resistance to change. If you want something new to happen, you gotta start something you have never done. What is your gut telling you? Use the five second rule before you get talked out of it by your patterns. It’s like ripping a band aid off, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, off we go! Watch more here

Tapping (Emotional Freedom Technique)

Made famous by Poppy Delbridge. Is a technique combining tapping parts of the face and affirmations. Identify what is bothering you, affirm a solution and tap for 7 seconds the eyebrows, sides of the eyes, under the eyes, below the nose, the chin and the. The top of the head. It might seem a bit funny at first but, all we gotta do is try. Affirmations plus a specific activity such as tapping activates the Amygdala, the part of the brain which processes threats. Identifying what causes anxiety leads to clarity of solutions. The mere act of tapping too has the same effect of mindful body scan. Shifting away from the distress and towards ease and solution. We have meridians too all over our bodies which are path ways of life force which I think benefits from tapping. So when you are about to do something that scares you, tap away and affirm your power.

“The basic component of the Universe, energy, occurs in either materialized or un-materialized form. All that we see and feel is an expression of energy. All energy is the love of the Divine flowing through us. When we resist the flow of love, we experience discomfort. When we align with the love, we feel joyful and at peace.”
Arnold Patent

Grounding Object

It maybe helpful to have a grounding object like your favorite stone, a prayer card, a small bottle of essential oil. Something that you can touch and bring your attention to. I have a small obsidian stone that I keep in my pocket. We can embody the meaning behind the object; an example would be the obsidian stone being a highly-regarded protective stone, known for its ability to block, absorb, and transform negative energy. Obsidian is believed to be a stone of clarity, with the ability to release emotional, physical, and spiritual blockages, drawing out stress and tension. So from time to time during the day I reach down and touch the stone and automatically centers me back to the present. What is your grounding object?

“Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is a nobler art of leaving things undone…. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of nonessentials. ”
– Lin Yutang

Calming Imagery

I’m n whatever situation you may be. You can always pick a quiet spot, close your eyes and imagine your safe place. It can be a beach, a tranquil zen room or just out in nature. This soothes the anxiety response and shifts your attention to calm and safety. We get anxious because we believe that we are being limited or constrained by a certain situation, by using the power of calming imagery, consciousness expands and brings forth a stability.

“The thinking mind is best controlled by the imagination. ”
– Carson McCullers

Worry Time

Designating a time for worry. If anything that causes you to be anxious pops up, write it down and a lot a specific limited time to worry about it. An example would be “I will deal with this thing that is causing me anxiety at 6:00 – 6:15 pm”. In designating a specific time for it, you will then force yourself to come up with a solution for it on the time decided upon. You will not spend your whole day ruminating on it because you know that from 6:00 – 6:15 you will be dealing with it and will come up with a perfect solution. So whatever is bothering you, box it up in your head and put a label “to be opened at 6:00-6:15pm. A little time management goes a long way.

“He who every morning plans the transactions of that day and follows that plan carries a thread that will guide him through the labyrinth of the most busy life.”
– Victor Hugo

S.T.O.P.

Whenever you feel overwhelmed, use this acronym STOP. S is to literally stop what you are doing. T is to take a deep breath. O is observe yourself and surroundings and really assess the situation for what it is. P is for Proceed with compassion for self and others. I find this one very handy because sometimes all we really need to do is to Stop, and everything seems to revert to balance. I learned this one from Tara Brach.

“What would it be like if I could accept life–accept this moment–exactly as it is?”
– Tara Brach

R.A.I.N

The acronym RAIN is an easy-to-remember tool for bringing mindfulness and compassion to emotional difficulty.

Recognize what is going on;
Allow the experience to be there, just as it is; Investigate with interest and care;
Nurture with self-compassion.

You can take your time and explore RAIN as a stand-alone meditation or move through the steps whenever challenging feelings arise.

“Mindfulness is a pause – the space between stimulus and
response: that’s where choice
lies.”
– Tara Brach

Conclusion

Hope this post provided some tools for your kit. What’s more important is using these tools whenever challenged. We all know what we need to do but do we really put them to practice? I hope you be your best each day, track your progress and keep on getting better even 1 % a day goes a long way. I believe in you and together we can make this world a better place.

Home

Things You Might Have Taken For Granted

“I breathe in the fullness and richness of life.”
– Louise Hay

It is in our nature to always be looking for the next thing. The moment life presents us with something exciting may it be intrinsic or extrinsic in nature, our appreciation for it seems to always be fleeting. We binge watch entertainment, devour food, go from place to place and our minds are never here. We are always onto the next thing. This helps us in our expansion and growth but without making time to cherish what we already have we end up missing the point of our journey leaving us depleted and confused. It doesn’t need to be this way. With these simple reminders, may we appreciate the things we have done or have, filling our cups up with overflowing joy before we venture for anything more.

Your Uniqueness

What makes you different makes you special. It is the way we see this uniqueness that most people are misguided. Being different should not be frowned upon or feel bad about. Gone are the days of conformity, it served us back in the industrial age when people were trained to become factory workers. But with technology and automation, creativity and being different in the way you think is of prized value. Think of creative new ways of doing things. Evolve things that has been written, maybe give a traditional recipe a new twist. Being different should be shared and celebrated. You are a manifestation of the divine knowing itself as you go through life. You are unique, valued, needed and play a part in this great miracle of life. So, what’s unique about you and how will it add to the beauty of the world?

“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium, and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, nor how valuable, nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open.”
– Geneen Roth

All Your Experiences

You may think you did lots of things that were of no use and was a waste of your time. We take these experiences for granted, internships, minimum wage jobs, a friend you used to hang out with, activities you used to enjoy, hobbies you stopped pursuing. All of those contributed to who you are right now. So it is really helpful to look back and pick an experience that you might think was useless and take another look and find something in that experience that helped you. Remembering what we have learned keeps us from nature pushing us to relearn a certain lesson. All your experiences matter and should be valued, try thinking like this.

“The only source of knowledge is experience.”
– Albert Einstein

Daily Learnings

Each day there is a lesson to be learned. A lot of times hidden under our discomforts and judgements. Be in completion with the version of yourself yesterday in seeking these tiny valuable gems. It will lead you closer to the version of yourself you aspire to be. Maybe a more compassionate, understanding, open, flexible and creative. Try as much as you can, moment to moment, ask: “what is this trying to teach me?”.

“Learning never exhausts the mind.”
– Leonardo Da Vinci

Transitions

All of our time here are eternally happening moment to moment. All is now, always transitioning from this to that. Often times we project our thoughts to a certain situation that we tend to lose touch with the now. It is ok to plan and think ahead but always turn your attention to here. We can only design our future up to a certain extent, the real deal is what is happening right now. You, reading this, somewhere, transitioning to a version of yourself that is more present and grateful. Knowing that we are always transitioning, find and acknowledge beauty each and everywhere you look.

“The three realms of existence are as transient as autumn clouds.
The birth and death of beings go on like a dance show.
The lives of beings pass by like a flash of lightning in the sky,
Rushing down, like a cascading waterfall down a steep mountain.”
– The Buddha

The Familiar

We tend to take familiar things for granted but they are as important as the new and exciting ones. All we need to do is to see familiar things in an unfamiliar way. You might have taken the place you are in for granted, your talents perhaps? Daily routines may turn mundane and un eventful, but it would be of great advantage if we do some simple reframing. Your usual route might be reframed from “this is my route for years and I’m bored” to “the sky looked different today and the waters sparkled unlike any other day”. Do not take the “Familiar” for granted, it is there because it works and it serves you. What familiar thing in your daily life are you going to reframe as new?

I“t takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.”
– Alan Cohen

Your Body

Yes we are more than this meat suit made of flesh and bones but this is really where we most spend our time. This is where your spirit lives and it is your instrument for creation. It is sacred and never take your body for granted. Unleash its full potential by self care, exercise and proper diet. Make your inner light shine through your eyes and skin. Flow and be vibrant by raising your alkalinity through good thoughts, good food and applying best practices for self care. You can design your own rituals and regimen. Nourish and love your body, it will love you back a thousand folds.

“To keep the body in good health is a duty… otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.”
– Buddha

The Fact That You Are Reading This

The fact that you are reading this means you are practicing self care. You are taking charge of your personal growth, you are probably in your beautiful home, having tea and can breathe deeply and smile. You probably finished some degree and have a craft that sustains you or people who love you that has got your back. Approximately 700,000,000 million people aren’t educated enough to read so this is a good one to be thankful for.

“Seek the lofty by reading, hearing and seeing great work at some moment every day.”
-Thornton Wilder

Conclusion

Hope we give these insights the attention they deserve. Our lives are made up of these little things and you know what they say about little things…. They are not little.

Thanks for reading and have a great day.

https://www.makepurethyheart.com

Tony Robbins Best Quotes

“The power of positive thinking is the ability to generate a feeling of certainty in yourself when nothing in the environment supports you.”

“When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears.”

“If you can’t, you must. If you must, you can.”

“The only thing that’s keeping you from getting what you want is the story you keep telling yourself.”

“Your past does not equal your future.”

“Identify your problems, but give your power and energy to solutions.”

“Any time you sincerely want to make a change, the first thing you must do is to raise your standards.”

“The path to success is to take massive, determined action.”

“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.”

“Goals are like magnets. They’ll attract the things that make them come true.”

“People who fail focus on what they have to go through; people who succeed focus on what it will feel like at the end.”

“Persistence overshadows even talent as the most valuable resource shaping the quality of life.”

“If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.”

“It’s what you practice in private that you’ll be rewarded for in public.”

“In life you need either inspiration or desperation.”

“Every problem is a gift – without problems we would not grow.”

“It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.”

“You see, in life, lots of people know what to do, but few actually do what they know. Knowing is not enough! You must take action.”

“You don’t have to have a reason to feel good. You’re alive! You can feel good for no reason at all!”

“If you talk about it, it’s a dream. If you envision it, it’s possible. If you schedule it, it’s real.”

Starting the day With the right Mindset

Visualize being less stressed, more focused, and lighter every day gently walking towards your goals.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
– Aristotle

Set the tone of your day by practicing simple habits. Your mornings are your foundation. Make it a point that you establish and tackle your non negotiable commitments first before the urgencies take over and get the best of you.

The key here is to be intentional. Once you establish the importance of certain things, it will be easy for you to commit and follow through.

Present moment awareness before you touch your phone

Set a time for waking the night before. Spend first couple of hours of waking in silence. Observe your urges of checking your emails and notifications. This is because you are addicted to cheap dopamine. You get rewards for looking at updates because your brain constantly want something new. Low effort high reward but damaging in the long term and leaves you feeling empty when the scrolling stops. Try engaging in a more enriching and engaging activity; maybe non activity will give your brain a much needed reset.

“You may not be tired after all; you might just be exhausted from playing dopamine tennis with your brain.”
– Naval

Clear the mind of loop traps

Before engaging in any activity. Clear the head of loop traps. Observe your triggers, will you allow something that bothered you yesterday bother you today? Most of us hit the replay button of the same story. This is because the mind likes patterns and sticks to what it knows. With intention clear all caches and histories. Start on a new white smooth clear white canvas. Notice hunches and new possibilities. Don’t get trapped in cycles of nonsense. Take a deep breath, embody your truth and head on out with a new story to write.

“Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way.”
– Eduard De Bono

Luke warm water + Lemon

Skip the coffee, wait till after a couple of hours to optimize benefits of caffeine. Let your natural hormone cortisol spike up and level out first before adding caffeine to your system, this I learned from Andrew Huberman. Lemon water will alkalize your system, remove toxins that might have built up, vitamin c and it’s just refreshing and will give your day a zesty start.

“After you put your feet on the floor in the morning, immediately say this phrase, “It’s going to be a great day.” As you say these seven words, try to feel optimistic and positive.”
– Bj Fogg

Make your bed and tidy up your room

Pretend the person you are trying to impress is going to enter your room in 10 minutes. Watch how beautiful your room will get no time. Completing a task like this sets you up to take on more tasks with confidence. There’s a book called make your bed. Tidying up your room gives respect and reverence to your dwelling. It gives respect and reverence to your self. It is where you sleep and heal and it should be orderly and dandy like a modern zen retreat center. This will free up a lot of space in your mind. Your stuff and Knick knacks around you don’t only take up space in your room, they take up space in your head too. So tidy up, organize and put things away. This will help you a whole lot.

“That obstacle course is going to beat you every time unless you start taking some risks.”
– William McRaven Quotes from Make Your Bed

Gratitude

Cultivate a calm smile as you enumerate things you are grateful for. Gratitude relieves tension, induces serotonin, dopamine and endorphins. Focus on the fullness of life rather than what is lacking. Carry this mindset all throughout the day. This can even be done in 1 minute before getting up. Think of one person and one opportunity you are thankful for.

“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
– Melodie Beattie

3 key actions of the day

Turn your 10 to dos to 3 musts. These are important specific actions you need to accomplish to make the day a success. What 3 key actions do you need to do that will help you get closer to your long term goal.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
– H G Jackson

Make undistracted time and place

Our best focused work can be done in the morning. One study shows that we are distracted every 6 – 8 minutes and it takes another 22 minutes for a “task residue” to be fully dissolved. A little bit of intentionality and being specific with your undistracted time and place will be beneficial.

“ten-minute rule.” If I find myself wanting to check my phone as a pacification device when I can’t think of anything better to do, I tell myself it’s fine to give in, but not right now. I have to wait just ten minutes.”
– Nir Eyal

Prime for positivity

Set some time to commit to positivity. That today you will focus on solutions. That you will see the good side of things. You will focus on how you are learning and not how you are correct. Create this state that is above circumstances and be ready to tackle on the variables of the day.

“Once you start making the effort to “wake yourself up” – that is, be more mindful in your activities – you suddenly start appreciating
life a lot more.”
– Robert Biswas-yDiener

Conclusion

Our mindsets can make or break our day which makes up our week, months and years. A little effort and consistency goes a long way. We know so much information on how to become the best but the real game lies in the application of what we know.

More of my work here. MAKE PURE THY HEART ❤️‍🔥

Namaste 🙏

Empower your future; Ways to Take charge of your destiny

When we were young, we let our parents lay out the foundations of what we are to become. Gave us shelter, food and education. But there comes a time where your intrinsic motivation starts to spark and you gain awareness different from what you are told. A life that you might have seen from others that you strongly resonated with. For some households unique ideas are nourished and supported to some extent, but for some it is time to empower our vision and grab the bull by the horn and create lives worth pursuing.

No one will save you, tell you who you should be and what to do. It is time to hold yourself accountable for your where you stand and start creating the life that is meant for you. Here are some ways you can achieve them.

1. Have a Clear Vision

Take stock at where you are in your life. What what brought you here, to where you are and where would you like to be? Before you get all entangled in the endless to dos of your day, offer 5 minutes to really ask yourself what specific situation is ideal for you. Learn the skill of imagination. Everything you see around you has been imagined by someone brave enough to persist. Create a clear mental picture of you in your ideal day in your ideal body with your ideal relationships. If you are able to envision it, it is only a matter of time till it comes to fruition. Your mind’s capability to picture it is the power that will bring the in animate object to animate. Believe, plan, learn and course correct along the way. These mental pictures might change daily but one thing you need to keep consistent, it is your intentional imagining.

“There is nothing capricious in nature and the implanting of a desire indicates that its gratification is in the constitution of the creature that feel it.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

2. Write Things Down

Make a habit of writing things down. Your mind is a great receiver of information that might contain deeper insights on what you are about to do with regards to your higher mission. Be sensitive to what inspires you and what gets you curious. I’d like to call them “hits” when I get that feeling that “this might be something worth looking into a little bit deeper”. So never ignore a hunch. Write it down, investigate and wait till the power of right action and divine inspiration penetrates your whole being and you have no choice but to move your body towards it. Writing things down keeps your brain from ruminating on a thing that might be keeping you open for more data downloads. So get it out of your head, into paper and conjure up a good plan and deploy with intense focus and flow.

“Paper is to write things down that we need to remember. Our brains are used to think.”
– Albert Einstein

3. Make Short & Long Term Goals

Know the difference between urgent and important tasks. This is the Eisenhower matrix. Urgent: Tasks or activities that are time-sensitive and require immediate attention to avoid immediate consequences. Urgent activities typically support others in achieving their goals. Important: Tasks or activities that support strategic progress towards your personal and/or professional long-term goals.

Finish important tasks first before doing urgent tasks. We easily get wallowed up in the busyness of the day that we might appear productive but in reality it doesn’t move the needle towards our long term goals. Be strategic, time your tasks and rate yourself at the end of the day. Embody your future-self by writing down 3 key important actions that you will finish before 8am. Design a schedule that works for you and follow it. Empowering your future starts with these little steps.

“We all need lots of powerful long range goals to help us past the short-term obstacles”
– Jim Rohn

4. Let Go Of Something Good For Something Better

A habit might have been crucial for you to be where you are now but if you don’t change, nothing will change. Remember that designing your future requires a lot of editing and course correcting. Feel free to look at things that are not necessarily a bad habit but maybe something you can let go to make space for something better. Maybe let go of watching too much entertainment, it is good and relaxing but maybe try replacing it with reading or introspection. Maybe your job has brought you stability but have not challenged you enough to be fully fulfilled, you do not need to quit your job which sustains you, maybe letting go of inessential responsibilities in your job that don’t bring you joy can be a power move. It’s all about allocation. Apply the 80/20 principle.

“It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.”
– Tony Robins

5. Be Decisive

Decision comes from the word decisio which literally means to cut off. Know where you spend your time. Cut off unnecessary baggage. You might be carrying baggage in your head from the past and dread of the future. Create a single minded focus on how you will create your future and stay in that realm. When you notice the mind wandering, remind yourself of why you are creating your future and get back on track. Deliberate practice, you wanna be the person who can stand on your hands? Do the drills for 30 minutes daily for 66 days. Decision making is empowering and it will bring you places you never knew existed.

“Decision making is easy when your values are clear.”
– Roy Disney

6. Move The Body

This can’t be exaggerated enough. Create dopamine by doing some jumping jacks, lifting some dumbbells or going for a walk. Do a standing jog or do some simple stretches. This will activate your proprioceptors, you will know how to safely inhabit the body and will prime you for tip top performance.

“The primary and most beautiful of nature’s qualities is motion”
– Marquis De Sade

7. Put Money On It

if you invest money for a course or a business, it is more likely that you will follow through. A lot of us get excited when things are new but fail to be consistent or quit when things get boring. Do not easily be distracted with your mission and never hesitate to invest in yourself.

“It was character that got us out of bed, commitment that moved us into action, and discipline that enabled us to follow through.”
– Zig Ziglar

8. Know How You Will Serve

it’s all about serving other people or a great cause. What talents do you have that might be of service to an organization or community. If you give something of yourself, the universe will give it back to you ten folds in unexpected ways. Serve in ways that celebrates your character and your uniqueness. Pick an industry, take the course, print the brochure and head on out confident that this is only a small part of an expansive journey.

“I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.”
– Rabindranath Tagore

9. Get Proximal

The proximity principle in psychology describes the way relationships are formed between things close to one another. Position yourself where you are able to succeed and move up. Get yourself in the loop, engage with people in the industry you are in. Choose the city where your industry is thriving. So get as closest to the sun as you can be. Maybe intern for your dream mentor. Be open to people you can help and can help you. You’ll be surprised how things connect in the future.

“If you want to be successful, find someone who has achieved the results you want and copy what they do and you’ll achieve the same results.”
– Tony Robbins

Conclusion

These are only some of the ways you can take charge of the future. These only work when applied deliberately. What strategies are you gonna apply? Hope you find one that really works for you. You contain multitudes and there is no limit to what you can be, do or have.

Namaste 🙏

6 Mental Practices That Will Fundamentally Change the Way You Look Your Life

Much of our Peace and happiness comes not from outside of us but how we see and perceive a certain thing. The same is true for its counterpart, much of our pain and suffering is not outside of us but it is self inflicted. Know how to operate in harmony with the nature of your mind and new worlds of wonderful and beautiful things shall enter your world.

Are you bothered and irritated most of the time? Do you find yourself listening to your negative voices that talk non stop? The first important thing is to realize that you want this to change. Solutions need not be expensive and should come from outside of you like medication and therapy. You have the power to fix your mental health from the inside. Here are 6 key principles and how to integrate them into your day to day to further improve your mental well-being.

1. Become The Observer

learning this skill greatly increases your overall well-being. Seeing yourself as the awareness of your thoughts and behavior puts you in a position to control how you are going to respond with wider understanding and compassion.

To become the observer, take a deep breath and look at everything from a birds eye view. See yourself as a person undergoing a moment of experience right now. It may be eventful or non eventful. Pay attention to the things going on with or without your preferences. Like cars passing by, clouds appearing and disappearing, you can even see and feel the whole world happening without your participation.

Knowing this you relieve yourself of anxiety and realize that much of the things bothering you are really of no importance. All are just opinions of the mind and you can rise up and be bigger than its chatter.

“Nothing has such power to broaden the mind as the ability to investigate systematically and truly all that comes under thy observation in life.”
– Marcus Aurelius

2. Be Open To Accept

Accepting things that you cannot change and changing things that you can. I’m pretty sure we heard this one. Not accepting a situation or an idea creates resistance in your over all well-being. There are billions of people on earth with varying ideas and preferences, accepting the truth that we are all different opens us up for creative collaboration rather than the zero sum game of competition.

Get passed your initial reaction of dismissing an idea presented to you. Things come to your domain of familiarity for a reason. Take a moment to look at things and first observe how it feels, then accept it as it is. Nobody can force you to act on things against your will but it is vital to accept and respect the diverse sentiments of others.

Remember, your initial reaction mostly comes from the ego’s perspective of self preservation. Preserving something it holds of value, maybe its preferences, its comfort, its programming. They might be true to some extent but make time to inquire is this Universally an absolute truth from all angles?

Look to nature, as the mountain accepts the storm. Be like this. Widen your capability to accept. That is what we are here for, to grow in ways on how we perceive the beauty of everything and each and every moment.

Next time when you find yourself stuck in traffic, take a deep breath and have no feeling about it. Just do traffic with no opinions added. Just acceptance.

“Serenity comes when you trade expectations for acceptance.”
– Gautama Buddha

3. Declutter The Mind

Much like your closet and your desk, the mind tends to get cluttered. But instead of material things, it is often times overloaded with memories, concepts, programming, opinions and random thoughts. Anxious and confused state of being is just simply a lack of organization. The nature of the mind to paint pictures of doubt and threat is actually to our benefit, it lead us to think and evolve to what we are today. But not knowing how to use the mind will bring detriment instead of benefit. Evolution brought us here and it doesn’t end there, we still need to know how to operate in harmony with the brilliance of the mind. It is a double edged sword, like fire or technology, it can either make or break you.

“Your brain is a weights only three pounds but it processes 70,000 thoughts each day using 100 billion neurons that connect at more than 500 trillion points through synapses that travel 300 miles/hour.”
– Healthybrains.org

Can you wrap your head around these numbers? It is truly astounding. So now that we know how powerful our brains are, it is time to know how to use it. Your brain doesn’t stop thinking because it is its nature but you aren’t required to act on each and every one of them. Mind only gets cluttered when you believe each and every thought it comes across with. Declutter the mind by mindful breathing, noticing the thoughts and letting them pass by. One of my favorite phrases is “Be Engaged, Not Entangled”.

4. Cultivate Compassion

Most people are contaminated by negativity and this is not due to their destiny or the cards they were dealt with. It’s just they do not know yet that things could be different. Being judge mental and critical of self and others will raise up your stress levels and will do damage on your well being and relationships. Self compassion is a powerful coping mechanism that will change the way you see the world. Start by being compassionate with yourself. It all starts within you. I like to use Louise Haye’s meditation of imagining yourself and others as babies. This will immediately bring forth compassion because the nurturing nature of yourself will activate making you want to tend and take care of life. That no one is doing you wrong, a baby couldn’t do wrong, you are here to take care of the children in everyone you encounter. So give that a try.

Imagine the unconditional love of God for people, imagine the unconditional love of parent to child. It doesn’t reprimand nor judge. It is just there for you. This type of unconditional love is called Agape. You are able to access this Love within and only when it overflows then you share it with others.

Loving yourself First will diminish cumulative stress, foster better relationships, stand composed during tense situations. Cultivate this unconditional love for self and others and discover a version of your self that is calmer and stronger.

“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion,”
– The Dalai Lama 14

5. Enumerate Your Blessings

Let’s go deeper than counting your blessings. Enumerate and write them down. Write 3 things you are grateful for right now. Think of the things you have now and didn’t you just years ago only have them as desires? Celebrate your wins no matter how small. Being in the state of Gratitude opens you up for more blessings. It shifts your attention from what you don’t have to things that you have now and will have. Gratitude unshackles you from toxic spiraling negative thoughts. So take a break pursuing things you don’t have yet and focus and praise the things you have now.

“Being grateful all the time isn’t easy. But it’s when you least feel thankful that you are most in need of what gratitude can give you: perspective. Gratitude can transform any situation. It alters your vibration, moving you from negative energy to positive. It’s the quickest, easiest most powerful way to effect change in your life — this I know for sure.”
– Oprah Winfrey

6. Increase Your Aq (Adversity Quotient)

Your Adversity Quotient is your ability to overcome and endure obstacles to turn them into opportunities. If you choose to broaden your Aq, you will be more adaptable in stressful situations. Have an approach mindset instead of avoid, be proactive rather than reactive. The more hard things you can handle, the easier it gets in the future. Facing the truth, being accountable and responsible for the nearest task at hand for the greater good will help you increasing your Adversity Quotient. Remember, everything has a solution and can be progressed and fixed. Are you gonna give up or warrior up? The up is up to you. Face some challenges, voluntarily lift something heavy and you’ll be resilient and won’t be stressed easily.

“All the adversity I’ve had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me. You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.”
– Walt Disney

Conclusion

These 6 insights are of no use until practiced. Start with one and keep it on in your mind all throughout the day and know when to apply them. Knowledge is only power when applied. May you look at things with more compassion, gratitude, curiosity gaining resilience along the way.

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9 Ways To Get Motivated Today

Do you get the feeling in your gut that life is way more than what’s happening to you right now? Do you have a dream lifestyle or project that has been stuck on the shelf for “maybe next time”? Are you waiting for the right moment and circumstances for you to even start? Make a difference today by intentionally motivating yourself to walk the path of your dreams. Learning to motivate yourself will pay you huge dividends in the long run. And one thing is for sure, time will run no matter how you feel about it. Here are some simple tips that you can act upon today.

“You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.”
– George Lorimer

1. Create an Agreement with Self

if you create a transaction with yourself to get a certain thing done, the urgency of the matter increases. Make that deal with integrity and courage. An example would be, “I will reward myself with relaxation only after I get my bills sorted out”. Make a deal that you know you can fulfill. Therein lies freedom because you are the one setting that “deal”. You can start with “I won’t have a meal until I tidy up and have walked around the block.” Start with these simple agreements and increase their intensity and frequency with gentleness and ease. Be true to what you set out to do and abide by the law you have decreed upon yourself. Nobody can make you do things other than you.

“How much you love yourself and how you feel about yourself are directly proportionate to the quality and integrity of your word. When you are impeccable with your word, you feel good; you feel happy and at peace.”
– The Four Agreements

2. Embody Your Ideal

Your ideal self is the version of yourself you long to be. If you are able to desire it, it is law that you must be it. What most people miss is that they tend to push away their desires from them by saying “I will be this someday when things fall to place”. Change this inner mental talk to “I am embodying the version of my self that is ___________ right now and I’m constantly growing and changing becoming more of it daily”. When you feel that you are it, the universe agrees and conspires circumstances that you cannot achieve on your own.

“What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.“
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

3. Uplifting Inquiries

Here are 3 questions to ask in the morning.

What am I ___________ in my life right now?
What about it makes me so __________?
How can I be more of what I truly am?

Asking these simple questions focuses your attention to what matters to you. Nurturing a more intrinsic motivation. Fire up that inspiration of what you truly are. It is an inside job, meaning work on yourself first before engaging in anything external.

“The great secret is a controlled imagination and a well sustained attention firmly and repeatedly focused on the feeling of the wish fulfilled until it fills the mind and crowds all other ideas out of consciousness.”
– Neville Goddard

4. Move Goal Posts

Motivation dies easily when we get bored. What motivated you yesterday won’t motivate you today. Check up on your goals if are they aligned with what you are right now. Set short and long term adjustable goals. There are many paths, just go and move, you might fail but you will in the right direction with new lessons in your bag of experiences.

Be in constant open communication to your Higher self. What was meant for you yesterday might not be for today. Take note of the changes and take into consideration the commonalities as well. You will never run out of motivation if you are constantly defining and rediscovering yourself.

“What got you here won’t get you there”
– Marshall Goldsmith

5. Start Simple Small & Slow

Intrinsic motivation can be activated by starting small, simply and slowly. Running a marathon starts with putting your shoes on. That simple act of setting your shoes by the door or bedside primes you that you are committed to putting them on the next day. Start simply; publishing a book starts with finishing a page, a page is a whole lot simpler than getting a publisher, marketing and touring your book.

Doing things slowly increases your act’s potency. In each and every thing you do, if your whole mindset is motivated from within, and you do it if service to your higher purpose, it doesn’t matter how slow you write or practice. The important thing here is you are already becoming what you long to be. Walking slowly around the block you are being a runner, writing one page you are being a writer.

So start no matter how small, simple & slow. Daily practice will benefit you exponentially.

“Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it; he who doesn’t, pays it”.
– Albert Einstein

6. Mind Your Inputs

Take stock of what you have been consuming mentally. Where do you spend most of your time? What information are you letting into your consciousness? You are the average of the 5 people spend the most of your time with so who and what type of people are they? What podcasts are you listening to? Are they opening you up to new levels of consciousness? Are they challenging your beliefs? Your input is your output so fill up your consumption with quality life affirming ideas that you can integrate into your life. Let quality meaningful inputs motivate you to achieve what you set out to do.

“Your input determines your outlook. Your outlook determines your output, and your output determines your future.”
– Zig Ziglar

7. Listen to Positivity

Create a library of your favorite motivational talks. There is a lot out there and find the ones that truly speak to you. You can listen as you do household chores. You can listen to motivational, educational, inspiring talks. What you listen to you become. We are sponges ready to be absorbed with new waters of budding possibilities. If an insight hits you, jot it down and set a dedicated time to act upon your learnings.

“Stay close to anything that makes you glad you are alive.”
– Hafez

8. Imagine What Would It Be Like

Imagining what would it be like for you to have achieved your dream? Feel as if it already is. That is Faith. Get specific and be there in your minds eye. Best selling author? Sold out shows? What would it be like to be there? Close your eyes and sincerely imagine those thing happening right now. Imagining motivates you to be that you ought to be. There will be no rush to do, for you are in the knowingness that it already is. If you think and feel it, so it is. Motivation can come from knowing this truth.

“Imagination has full power of objective realization and every stage of man’s progress or regression is made by the exercise of imagination.”
– Neville Goddard

9. Decide Effortlessly

Knowing your why, priming yourself, getting clarity from imagining, you are now cutting off decision fatigue. You strategize your day on how you are going to accomplish certain things. You may limit them to 3 things that you agree to accomplish before the day ends and you have decided on these things the night before. The moment you wake up, each block of hour is intended for certain things and you won’t have time to negotiate in your head if you’re going to or not. You have decided the night before and today you are nothing but motivated to execute.

“More is lost by indecision than wrong decision. Indecision is the thief of opportunity. It will steal you blind.”
– Cicero

Conclusion

Motivation comes from within and should be planned the night before. Know what motivates you, what are your values, where are you moving towards. You create the results of your life and an approach mindset is better than to avoid. Get to the root of things and find out why you are what you are. Every changes even your goals, keep stillness as you motivate and climb your way towards the life of your dreams. Learn, grow and take rest.

Let’s get better together ❤️‍🔥

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What is Better than Happiness? 19 ways to transform your day

Happy comes from the root word Hap which means chance or good fortune. Its first meaning was recorded in 14c which means “luck” except for the Welsh which means “wise”.

Being lucky and being wise are quite different.
Don’t we rather be “wise” and take charge of our own luck? Naval Ravikant’s 4 types of luck is worth looking into.

You create your own luck by putting yourself in a position where luck can find you.

In his podcast Naval discusses four kinds of luck.

1-Blind Luck – This is pure dumb luck, fortune, or fate. Where were you born? Who are your parents? Stuff you have zero control over.
2-Luck from Hustling – Luck that comes from hard work and persistence. Opportunities are created through sheer energy and activity. Things get “stirred up” from the high amount of activity. The more activity you generate, the more opportunities that arise.
3-Luck From Preparation – Luck that comes from being prepared to act on an opportunity. Having the ability to spot an opportunity. Other people do not notice, but you are skilled and attuned to spotting an opportunity. You are sensitive to luck.
4-Luck From Your Unique Character – Luck that is generated because you have built a unique mindset or brand. Opportunities arise because you are one of the most qualified people to assist. Somebody else spots an opportunity and turns to you to assist because you are uniquely qualified. Someone else’s blind luck becomes your opportunity.

Source: https://www.michaeldmcgill.com/2021/04/24/how-to-create-your-own-luck/

There is also Joy which is defined to be the source of pleasure and happiness. Joy being an inner feeling rather than an outward expression which is happiness. We can simplify this concept with the oldest aphorism “As within so without” The duty here is to cultivate inward unconditional Joy and its outward expression will flow out effortlessly as happiness.

Let’s dive into these insights.

1. Learn Something New

Make a daily habit of learning something new. Learning fires up new neural connections in your brain. Keeping your brain healthy, opening up doors to other ventures and increases your value. So entertain your curiosity, it might lead to new wonderful places. Question the normal, open yourself up to new combinations of interests to get to know yourself even deeper. You can always let go if it doesn’t resonate. But always keep on trying new things, there is a lot out there, from cuisines to musical instruments to language to arts and crafts. Get comfortable with something new and get ready for better worlds. Remember that you contain multitudes.

2. Let go

Unload the things that don’t serve you. Imagine letting go of a heavy backpack. Letting go is acceptance of things you cannot change. Much of our suffering comes from voluntary forcing to carry things that don’t need carrying. So lighten up by surrendering some of the load to a higher power.

“Some of us think holding on makes us strong, but sometimes it is letting go.”
– Herman Hesse

3. Pay Attention to Little Things

Doing small things in a great way is an opportunity open to everyone in the present moment. Small acts have big impact, tidying up sets you up for success. Trimming your nails is a simple act of renewal. The little things are the big things. What little thing are you going to engage in with a big heart?

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”
– Arthur Ashe

4. Author Your Future

Take a moment to imagine what is possible for you within the next 6 months. What opportunities are you willing to take up on. Write down a strategic plan with specific actions. Set some SMART goals. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time Bound. Designing your future will provide confidence that you are in charge of your life and joy will inevitably be found.

“I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul”
– William Ernest Henley

5. Go To The Edge

The version of yourself that you are destined to be is on the other side of your comfort zone. Find the edge of your comfort, ask why you have set those boundaries and discover new worlds. On the edge you will feel truly alive, exhilarated and renewed. A constant rebuilding and polishing, a persistent joyful rebirth moment to moment. So meet that edge with gentle courage. Now isn’t that a joyful thing?

“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek”
– Joseph Campbell

6. Find Freedom

Too often we get too comfortable in limitations of our own making. Joy can be found in your freedom to discover yourself, your journey and your mission. Know your values, hold them close as you venture new worlds. Joy can be found in freedom.

“FREEDOM IS THE OPEN WINDOW THROUGH WHICH POURS THE SUNLIGHT OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT AND
HUMAN DIGNITY”
– Herbert Hoover

7. Live in the Moment

This is the heart of mindfulness. Bring yourself here. Listen to your breath. Scan sensations in the body. For each hour, spend 5 minutes to just be here. Nothing to change, nothing to do, just being. We are human beings after all, not human doings. You are here, just this. Just sitting. Practice this and notice the joy that is already in you. It has always been there we just need to intentionally live in the moment.

“Give yourself permission to allow this moment to be exactly as it is, and allow yourself to be exactly as you are.”
– Jon Kabat Zinn

8. Expand Your Awareness

Allow yourself to drop the story of “Me”, “mine” and “myself”. Your True self is beyond your persona and identity. When you let go of the story of “I need this to be such & such for happiness to happen”, You open up yourself to a majestic plane of consciousness where all is correct and dancing beautifully. Nature is one best tool for expanding the awareness. Try npr’s joy generator.

“We only know a tiny proportion about the complexity of the natural world. Wherever you look, there are still things we don’t know about and don’t understand. There are always new things to find out if you go looking for them.”
– David Attenborough

9. Envision The Best Outcome

Live in the positive expectancy of the best. Stay calm when things don’t go your way. Be not attached to the fruits of your labor. Just be consistent in acting as if the best has already happened. This is being pro active in creating inner joy first. There is also a concept called law of inverse transformation that I have learned from my favorite metaphysician Joseph Murphy.

“If a physical fact can produce a psychological state, a psychological state can produce a physical fact.”
– Joseph Murphy

10. Plan a Trip

It doesn’t need to be Paris or Tokyo. Just a change in environment to spice up your day to day. Take a long drive somewhere unusual. Maybe along the coastline or up in the mountains. Planning a trip creates something to look forward to. It is also a practice of designing your life. Plan ahead and be flexible to change. New places will bring forth dopamine and you will expand your domain of familiarity. Have a journal on hand because you might receive your aha moment as you cruise.

“Each day holds a surprise. But only if we expect it can we see, hear, or feel it when it comes to us. Let’s not be afraid to receive each day’s surprise, whether it comes to us as sorrow or as joy It will open a new place in our hearts, a place where we can welcome new friends and celebrate more fully our shared humanity.”
– Henri Nouwen

11. Accentuate what is Working

What has been working in your life? Too often we ruminate on the things that don’t work or what’s lacking. Take a deep breath and find Joy in what is working. See the fullness instead of the emptiness. What have been your strengths? Maybe they were the values you’ve been carrying all along, resilience, forbearance, endurance, adaptability. Focus on what works and be glad that it does. What joy to know this.

“Seeing everything just the way it is – that is the way to be within. If you see something other than what is there, it means you are contaminating the world with your opinions and prejudices.”
– Sadhguru

12. There is Joy in Humility

The difference between an intelligent person and a foolish person is that the intelligent one knows that he is foolish. Know that you do not know a thing. What our conscious mind thinks it knows is minuscule compared to how truly things are. Do you know how water works? How your consciousness work? Fire? Rocks? The Octopus? Walking this life with humility and reverence opens us up to joyful wonder. Like a child easily pleased.

“The key to knowing joy is being easily pleased.”
– Mark Nepo

13. Hit the Pause Button

Literally stop everything and just be. Notice the beauty that surrounds you. Recognize the life you have created so far. In practicing this habit of pausing, you are training your subconscious mind to intentionally find joy in little things that are already around and within you.

“He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.”
– Albert Einstein

14. Befriend the Mind

Too often we let our thinking rob us of our joy. Befriending the mind is setting healthy boundaries between your awareness and the minds chatter. Know that you are not your thoughts and you can let the mind wander to different places and viewpoints without losing your centeredness. When something unloveable arises from the mind, you are a friend who understands the nature of the mind. You say “thank you mind for these thoughts but I choose to stay here in my center, my peace, in this space lies your joy.

“Mindfulness is a way of befriending ourselves and our experience.“
– Jon Kabat Zinn

15. Maintain Balance

When everything is in balance, all is well and at ease. Stop the endless cycling of the mind. It is a predicting machine. It predicts the future and lives in the familiar past. Find joy in what is. Everything is neither good nor bad but our judgment makes it so. Maintain a balanced diet, exercise, human connection and creativity. Balance of the mind and heart; joy will ensue.

“Wisdom says we are nothing. Love says we are everything. Between these two our life flows”.
– Jack Kornfield

16. Be Solution Oriented & Trusting

Be the change you want to see, be part of the solution rather than the problem. Approach life and its complexities with courage and knowingness that all works out for the best. There is a solution to every problem and most of the time it is very simple and will get solved by leaving things be. Trust in the Dao. Try your best at helping the situation but know how to surrender to higher power as well. Knowing that you are not responsible for fixing everything is a joyful relief.

“There is a spiritual solution to every problem”
Dr. Wayne Dyer

17. Find Joy Being Alone

Whenever you are alone the easier it gets to connect to your higher self. To rejoice in all the life that is around you. This is the time where you can really just be yourself and observe what it’s like. Getting to know yourself without other people’s expectations. So find your favorite self care modality and feel free to indulge.

“Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self.”
– May Sarton

18. Rejoice in the Success of Others

There is no limit to the pie. Other people’s success doesn’t mean shortage in yours. Play the game of collaboration instead of competition. Nobody needs to be beneath anybody. Status is a zero sum game, but wealth creation is a positive sum game according to Naval Ravikant. More information here. So celebrate other people’s success and think of how you can progress that success through your creative thinking.

See others as you see yourself. Salute the divinity of others as in yourself. Their success is your success. You are a player in this one big team of humanity.

“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.”
– Martin Luther King Jr.

19. Experience the Sunrise

Not even the finest artist nor the most distinguished poet can paint and describe the beauty of a sunrise. A symbol of renewal, the dawning of consciousness, the beginning of life itself. Make an appointment to see the sunrise by yourself or with a loved one. It is the grandest of all art exhibits. It is free, it happens daily. All we gotta do is show up and tap into its indescribable joy.

“If you are in a beautiful place where you can enjoy sunrise and sunset, then you are living like a lord.”
– Nathan Philips

Conclusion

There are many ways in which we can cultivate inner joy. Knowing them is only the tip of the iceberg. Putting them to practice is where the fun really is. Play the game of Joy in your daily life and observe how things around you change for the better.

Startearlytoday

Startearlytoday is here to inspire, motivate, and encourage with mindset models, simple principles, book highlights and more.