Nowadays, living our best life can be quite difficult. Not worrying about what others think, overcoming the pressures from social media and society, and living a life that we want and not what society wants can prove to be a challenge. It can be easy to lose track of the things that make us happy and what we want our best life to look like. So, here are some tips to help you live your best life:
1. Set Intentions
Figure out what your best life looks like. Think about what makes you happy, what makes you unhappy, your future goals, etc. Make your intentions clear and decide what emotions or feelings you are seeking. Setting intentions may help you to live your life with purpose and motivation.
2. Be the Best Version of Yourself
Focus on being completely and authentically you rather than trying to be like someone else. Be the person you want to be rather than the person society or other people want you to be. A tip is to remind yourself of your strengths and the things that make you unique. Being proud of who you are will help you feel happier and more confident, which may help you feel more positive emotions.
3. Observe Your Habits
Consider the things that make you feel good and the things that don’t. Observe yourself and your habits and then deliberately start to do more of the things you enjoy and are good for you.
4. Visualise
Visualisation is about picturing yourself living your best life. Start by choosing your focus or intention and decide on how you want it to look and how you want it to feel. For example, if your intention is to exercise for at least thirty minutes per day:
- How will you feel before exercising?
- How will you feel after exercising?
- How will exercising benefit you?
- Where will you exercise?
- What kind of exercise will you do?
- What will you wear?
Visualisation can either be done in your mind or if you prefer you could write it down in a journal.
5. Stay in the Present
Instead of thinking about the future and wondering “when”, think about now and start from where you are. Every day is a new opportunity to live your best life.
6. Focus
Multi-tasking has been proven to lower one’s focus and productivity so try to avoid it as much as possible. No matter what you are doing (studying, cooking, eating, etc.) try to focus on the one task at hand.
7. Notice the Little Things
Whilst we are living our lives, noticing and appreciating the little things we have to be grateful for can be quite difficult. Take some time every day to focus on the little things and be grateful for everything that you have. Research shows that gratitude is associated with increased happiness and a positive outlook on life.
8. Care for Yourself
As much as caring for other people is important, it is also equally important to look after your own self. Eat healthily, drink enough water, get enough sleep, make time for self care, exercise, etc. Figure out what you enjoy doing so that you are motivated to do it more often.
9. Talk Positively to Yourself
When you hear that voice inside your head telling you that you’re not good enough, don’t listen to it. Living our best life is a whole lot easier when we learn how to shut out our inner critic. So, the next time your inner critic appears, list all the reasons why it’s wrong.
Overall, live life the way you want to live it. Stay true to yourself and don’t change yourself for others. Care for your mind and your body and make sure you do the things that make you happy.
References
Sang, Ashlee. “9 Practical Tips For Living Your Best Life Now.” Clever Girl Finance, 08 May 2021
https://www.clevergirlfinance.com/blog/living-your-best-life/
Gower, Lucy. “How to Live Your Best Life Starting Today.” Lifehack, Lifehack, 25 Jan. 2021
www.lifehack.org/863545/live-your-best-life
Cherry, Kendra. “How Multitasking Affects Productivity and Brain Health.” Verywell Mind, 30 July 2021 https://www.verywellmind.com/multitasking-2795003
Brown Joshua, Wong Joel. “How Gratitude Changes You and Your Brain.” Greater Good Magazine, 6 June 2021 https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_gratitude_changes_you_and_your_brain