How To Live Your Best Life

If you’re reading this article, you must be wondering if you’re truly living life to your full potential. Are you ready to learn how to live your best life? In this article, I will share some of my key strategies for living your best life. Some of these tips you may already be doing, and some you might need to incorporate some of these daily practices. Start small, and I encourage you to self-reflect in your journal to identify what living your best life means to you. 

Here are seven tips for living your best life!

Stay True To Yourself & Celebrate Your Success

Believing in yourself and completely accepting who you are despite what other people think is the key to living your best life. When you learn to master your true self and open your heart to the world without reserve, you have it all.

Being happy with who you are and following your heart in all life matters can lead you to the best moments of your life. So celebrate who you are and the success in your life, big or small.

This is one of the lessons I learned from Jack Canfield’s book “The Success Principles.” One of the exercises in his book is to write down every success you’ve ever had in your life. Even the smallest success, such as learning how to walk, being born, or riding a bike, is a success. If you’re a person who doesn’t feel that they have accomplished much in their life, this is a groundbreaking exercise to show you that you are successful.

Laugh As much As Possible

There are several well-known studies regarding the benefits of laughter. According to the Mayo Clinic.org article “Stress Relief From Laughter? It’s No Joke”, some of the long-term benefits of laughter are improved mood, improved immune system, and pain relief.

Laughter can be the best medicine for healing the mind and body. Adding more fun and laughter into your life can change anyone’s gloomy disposition and help you to improve your outlook on life. So what are five simple ways to add more joy to your life? Keeping a running list of uplifting activities in a journal or on your phone can be a lifesaver when you’re feeling down in the dumps. So here are a few ideas on ways to keep humor in your day.

• Surround yourself with humorous and uplifting people
• Watch movies and television comedies
• Play pranks on your family and friends
• Spend time with children (they always say the darndest things)
• Keep a journal or video log of funny moments to relive when you are feeling down.  

Spread Kindness To Others

Random acts of kindness are a great way to live your best life and spread a little sunshine to others. Being kind to others not only improves your mood, confidence, self-esteem but also helps others feel valued, appreciated, and special. Kindness towards others also gives the person on the receiving end an invitation to pay it forward. Spreading kindness is simple and easy and can easily be done by showing gratitude by writing a note, saying thank you, offering to help someone, or volunteering at a local charity.

Recently I’ve been on the receiving end of random acts of kindness. One day, I had two strangers buy my drink at Starbucks and dinner at El Pollo Loco. Little did these strangers know that I was having a rough week and was feeling exhausted. I was overwhelmed by their kindness and wanted to make someone else’s day.

This was my opportunity to pay it forward! If you have the opportunity to lift another person up, do it! This will be the most satisfying and impactful way to help your community.

Take Care Of Your Health

Your health and wellness are one thing that you should never take for granted. Making your health (mind, body, and soul) a priority and nurturing your body with nutritious foods, exercise, and balance will help you live a long and healthy life. In addition, if you treat your body well, you will have the energy and stamina to enjoy all that life offers.

Tips For Prioritizing Your Health

• Scheduling time for self-care daily (set a reminder to meditate for at least 5 minutes each day).
• Schedule annual doctor appointments during the month of your birthday (it will be a yearly reminder to check in on your health). Be sure to schedule time in your schedule to spend an hour talking to your doctor and any labs that you need all in one day.
• Don’t forget to go to the dentist! Your dentist should send you reminders for when you are due for your next cleaning. Set the next appointment on the day of your cleaning and ask them to send you a reminder for your appointment. 
• Set yearly goals for vacations, personal development seminars, and retreats. How many days would you like to take off for yourself this year? What seminars, retreats, or personal development workshops would you like to attend? I suggest starting with one personal development workshop annually and work your way up.
• Being proactive with your health can help you to avoid a potential health crisis down the road. 

Have A Sense Of Adventure 

Explore! Go on an adventure and have a childlike curiosity about the world. Living your best life is all about taking chances and trying new things. Have you always wanted to travel the world or learn how to speak another language? Having a sense of adventure allows you to be a lifelong learner. You are never too old or too young to learn a new hobby, skill or set out on a new adventure.

Take out a sheet of paper or journal and create your adventure bucket list. Dream big! Don’t limit any adventures that you want to do, even if it’s out of your current price range. The universe has a way of opening doors for new adventures if you believe. 

Once you create your adventure bucket list, pick your top three adventures and find words or pictures that add them to your vision board. You can create a vision board on your computer, poster board, or on your phone.

Find pictures or words in magazines, online, or draw/write that best represent your goals, dreams, and biggest wishes. Just make sure that you put it in a prominent place so you can visualize your dream adventure at least once a day. Here is an article on how to create a vision board that actually works.

Take 100% Responsibility For Your Actions

Another game-changer from Jack Canfield’s “The Success Principles” is to take 100% Responsibility for your life. This principle may be the hardest to swallow for some but can be the catalyst to changing your life. From this moment on, imagine if you take responsibility for your life and how you respond to the events in your life to live your best life. Of course, you can’t control anyone else or how they respond, but you have control over yourself! So you may have had horrible experiences in life, but you choose how to respond to the event.

You have control over your actions, decisions, and outlook on a situation. You have the power to move forward and do great things in your life right now. This is such an empowering principle that should make you feel like you can conquer the world! If someone tells you that you can’t accomplish your dream, you can decide to move forward and keep on trying. You have the power if you take 100% responsibility for your actions. 

Enjoy The Simple Moments To Live Your Best Life

Take a moment and slow down to enjoy the simple moments in life. Life can be hectic at times, and many moments are lost with the hustle and bustle of daily living. Take a few extra moments to drink a cup of tea slowly or walk outside and enjoy the sunset in silence. Have you ever had a conversation or dinner with friends without glancing at your cellphone? Have you ever sat down and given a child five minutes of your undivided attention? You might discover that your kid is a pretty creative and humorous human being. Being present and at the moment helps you savor the joy of connecting with the people and environment around you. 

Take a moment and breathe deeply and listen to the sounds around you without judgment. Notice the way the wind feels on your skin or the colors in the sky. At this moment, show gratitude for your life and the things and people in it. 

Another way to enjoy the simple moments in life is to keep a gratitude journal. Writing down five things that you are grateful for every day helps keep you in the attitude of gratitude and can boost your mood even on the darkest days. I started keeping a gratitude journal in February 2020, which completely changed my mindset, especially during the pandemic. It doesn’t matter if you write in your gratitude journal in the morning or evening as long as you write in it every day. 

I would love for you to share your comments below on how you live your best life. If you enjoyed this article, check out my latest Self Care Sunday.