Start cleaning out clutter today. Clutter clogs
your engines in insidious ways. You know how the less fit you feel, the less you feel like exercising? Well, the more "stuff"
you accumulate at home or in the office, the less motivation you'll have to move toward your goals.
You have reserves of energy and inspiration
inside you that get plugged up by the excess weight of your clutter. Don't take my word for it; try clearing out just
one little piece of your environment, and see what happens.
2. Get back to basics
Stop using over-the-counter medications to do what better eating habits,
sleep or exercise could accomplish more cheaply and permanently. If your stomach is upset after you eat, it could be because
you put something in there that it didn't like. Begin to pay attention to the way your body handles food, reacts to various
forms of exercise and does with more or less rest. Become an expert on yourself. Get interested in your physical being. Try
to eat a wider variety of foods, and use stairs whenever you can instead of the elevator or escalator.
3. 'Tis better to give...
This is a sneaky and delightful way to instantly improve your day. Do
someone an unexpected favor. If you don't know anyone you feel like doing a favor for, pick out a stranger and do something
nice for them. Help a parent maneuvre a stroller. Give a fare-paid ticket to someone waiting at a bus stop. Let another driver
take the last parking space or allow them to merge in front of you. Granting favors for no particular reason will give you
a feeling of inner joy that's hard to beat.
4.
Love yourself. Actively.
Take a minute, an hour or a day to treat yourself as if you were wildly
in love... with you! What would you do for someone you absolutely adored? Would you wash her car? Brush her hair until
it shone? Tidy her home so that she could relax in a beautiful environment? If you were utterly broke, how would you
show your love? Would you make sure he found the time to write his stories, to tend his garden? Would you mend the hole in
his favorite socks? Smile and speak loving words to him instead of telling him to "man up" all the time? Wouldn't
you go out of your way to give your loved one the star treatment? Aren't you worth the same?
5.
Let your environment nurture you
If you don't love where you live, start making plans today to move
to another city/country/house/apartment/planet. You don't have to move. Just start thinking actively about what kind of
environment will nurture you. If you like some things about where you currently live, but not others, ask yourself what aspects
you would keep, and which ones you would change. The place where you live is an important and large part of how content you
are in your life. The more you are tolerating in your residence, the less energy you have to move forward. If you must stay
put, at least get some interior decorating, organizing, or feng shui suggestions to maximize the livability of your current
abode.
6.
Stop working so much
Unless you own your own business, stop habitually coming in early, working
through lunch and staying late. Sometimes one has to do these things at particularly hectic times in order to make a good
impression as a team player. But if you're just working all the time because you "like to get things done" instead
of taking your breaks, you're cruising for a world of resentment. If you ever wake up and realize you're not getting
a Good Girl/Boy medal or even a raise for your efforts, you'll start getting very angry. Unfortunately, you'll have
no one to blame but yourself, for taking advantage of you. Remember: there's a line between doing an excellent job and
just being there all the time. One is appreciated, the other is not. If you're working too much, you may be avoiding the
knowledge that your life is centered on your job because there's not much else going on for you. There's no shame
in that; just stop working so much, endure whatever feelings come up when you're sitting idle, and listen to your inner
voice for next steps...
