Love You
Have fun, and stop taking life so seriously all the time. One day poof, you’re gone. Enjoy your life every day by dedicating time to LIVE. My mother and my son Matthew always say- YOLO. You Only Live Once, and one day nothing will matter because your life will be over. Stop comparing yourself to everyone else. We all get a chance to do whatever we want with our life. Social media has a way of making other people’s lives better than our own. Well, guess what, we live in the same world 🌍 they live in. Pictures make everyone’s life looks so nice and shiny! Have you ever taken a photo and later on it will pop up as a memory and you think” I remember that day and it was not as pretty as this picture! When we look at other people we think, why can’t my life be like that? This kind of self-talk needs to stop. If you want to make the most of life, you have to stop comparing yourself with what everyone else has and focus on yourself. There’s no harm in self-love and self-care. It’s necessary. Start right now!
Stay in the Present
Live in the moment! One foot in the past regretting, crying, being angry, bitter, and remorseful and one foot in tomorrow dreading anxiety, and excessive planning. Not in the present moment at all! We’re either too busy reminiscing or thinking about the future to appreciate all the wonderful things that are happening right now.
Time flies by when you wish it away or waste it, dreaming about stuff that happened years ago. It’s better to direct your attention to being in the here and now present 🎁 moment. Practicing mindfulness through yoga or meditation is the perfect place to start.
Stay Grateful
Look around and count your blessings! Name 10 things right now you love about your life. Any 10 things. Gratitude sets your altitude! If you want to make the most of life, self-reflection is key. We think about the things that we don’t have rather than what we do have. Sometimes it’s important to remind ourselves of all the lovely things we can be grateful for. Imagine for a minute if you lost your blessings. If it was taken away.
Force yourself to self-reflect. Maybe you love your job or have a great group of friends. Write in a diary if you need to and list 3 things you’re thankful for each day. It can help put things into perspective – what felt like an awful day may not seem so bad after all.
Get up and Move
You work a lot, You’re tired, hungry, lonely, sad, and not your best but move anyway in some form or fashion. whatever amount of exercise you can manage each day will make you feel so much better. Not only does it promote better health, but it also helps you get stronger and fitter. The hardest part is staying motivated to get moving. Once you’ve got that covered and make it a new habit it is easier.
Eat Well
Enjoying a tasty treat now and again is fine. Healthy eating habits are not hard it just takes commitment. When you grocery shop, shop on the outside of the aisle. Stay out of the middle aisle, that’s where all the non-healthy foods are full of carbs and processed foods. Start your day with a protein, and healthy carb, for example protein shake, 2 boiled eggs, and oatmeal. You will feel satisfied and try not to snack. If you feel hungry grab a piece of fruit and greek yogurt for protein. But when a little becomes a lot and your health isn’t a top priority, that’s when you need to address your eating habits. A complete detox isn’t the answer. If chocolate is your weakness try to only have it once a week as a staying-on-track reward. Baby steps, working each day on your goal.
Cut down your food intake by fasting – I follow 11am-7 pm as my 8-hour eating time and from 7 pm- 11am I fast. That is easier for me because most of my fasting time I am sleeping. Focus on making smarter food choices. Switch chips for popcorn, and sweets for a handful of almonds. Drink 3 large water bottles per day of water and 4-6 hot teas per day. You only get one body, so take care of it.
Become A Morning Person
Night owls will find this tough, lol as I am a night owl. But there are so many perks of being an early bird, as my dad would say the early bird gets the worm. People are much happier, healthier, and more productive compared to those that love to sleep in.
Morning people value their time and get more out of life. So stop hitting snooze, throw back the covers, and hit the the day 🏃♀️ running.
10 Years Time
A good way to self reflect your current happiness in life is by asking yourself, “would I want to be living like this in 10 years?” As you get older and caught up in life ‘eat, work, sleep, repeat,’ it’s easy to lose time. 1 year turns into 2, 2 into 5 and you realize that so much time has passed and you haven’t accomplished half of what you wanted to.
If you are not happy or do not like the idea of being where you are right now in another 10 years, do something about it today. The sooner you admit the truth to yourself, the closer you are to live the life you want to live. Remember one valuable piece of advice Time is worth more than Money!
Get your feelings out
Shutting down, flight or fighting, bottling up negative thoughts is bad for your health. Writing down your problems, writing a song or poem about your feelings, talking to someone you trust. These are all great ways to get negative thoughts out of your mind before they consume you. Without even realizing it, keeping problems to yourself can cause all kinds of health problems: including headaches, stomach cramps, and insomnia. When I feel overwhelmed and need help, I pray and call 1 of 3 people that are available for me to talk to. They usually talk me off the ledge if you will be providing the advice or direction I have been looking for.
Be Kind
People are looking to be offended these days so take a step back and breathe before you respond. Some people may seem rude but maybe they are in a bad mood and don’t mean it personally, they are just over it. I deal with rude people at work every day and at one point I was over it. After a while, I realized Life can be tough and I have to pick my battles, or I would stay mad at the world all the time. Being happy in your world is possible if you know what you desire but life can feel directionless and you may feel like you lack purpose. A good way to find your life purpose is by spending time with you. Writing down goals and understanding the steps to get to your desired goal. When you are happy with yourself it is easy to be kind because it’s genuine.
Sticking to your goals
Get more out of life by pushing yourself. Do something you thought was not possible and that is sticking to your goals. Prove to yourself what you are capable of. You won’t know what you can achieve until you try. After a few weeks of staying disciplined, it is easier to stick to. Then once you start seeing results, that makes it exciting to stick with your new good habits!
CRYSTAL TORRES 