“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,
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
with its hopes and invitations,
to waste a moment on the yesterdays.”
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.
– Louis L’amour
“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.”
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.