Three Quick tips to Improve Everyday Life

Do you ever feel like your life is on autopilot? Does the same “to do” list stare at you each morning? Do you set ambitious goals only to find yourself a fraction of the way towards achieving them after many months? If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, you are not alone. Science says 92% of people do not achieve their goals!

Here are 3 things you can start doing immediately to help bring a bit of a different perspective to your everyday life!

Take time to get to you know you.

This may sound simple or even somewhat silly but the more in tune you are with yourself, the easier and quicker you will be able to identify when you are at your best. If you are a morning person, then this is when your brain is at its best. If a night owl then you will be more apt to have higher outputs later in the day. Reserve this high output time to tackle the tasks that require brain power. Do not waste this precious time on scanning social media, watching TV or reading the paper. There is a time and place for these things if you so chose, however that time is not when your brain is at its optimal peak performance level.

Also keep in mind, the morning is the best time to be creative. It’s the time of day when the prefrontal cortex is most active. A scientific study of brain circuits confirmed that this creative activity is highest during and immediately after sleep, while the analytical parts of the brain (the editing and proofreading parts) become more active as the day goes on.

Stop looking at incidents in isolation.

If you decide to skip your workout today, you may think to yourself, it’s just one day, I’ll make it up tomorrow. This type of thinking leads us to treat events as though they are disconnected from everything else which is contrary to reality.

These decisions do not affect one incident or one moment in time, they affect the person you become. Author Harv Eker highlights the significance of this habit in his book, Secrets of the Millionaire Mind when he states “How you do anything is how you do everything”. I love that quote. When you look at incidents in isolation, you tend to be more lenient on yourself which leads to a repeat in behaviour and eventually forms a habit. So the next time you tell yourself, it’s just this one time think about how the action or lack thereof will affect the big picture and your goals.

Be intentional in your actions and live each day with purpose.

Before you go to bed tonight or immediately when you wake up in the morning, set your intentions for the day. Some things to consider:

Identify 6 things that you want to get accomplished. This is not a “to do” list, it is a must do today list. If you narrow your tasks down to 6 important things you want to get done today and take advantage of your brain’s optimal peak performance times to tackle the most complicated items on this list, you will not only feel a sense of accomplishment but will gain momentum which will help you get done everything you set out to do.

Consider how you will add value to others. Identify one thing you can do each day to add value to someone else. This could be as simple as paying it forward at a coffee shop or helping a colleague complete a project. In a 2015 study published in the Clinical Psychological Science journal researchers found that participants who performed more daily acts of kindness were less likely to feel stressed. On days when they could not complete any acts of kindness, participants reported more stress and negativity. When we are less stressed, we feel better about ourselves. When we feel better about ourselves, we make better choices, are intentional in our actions and are more motivated to reach our goals!

So there you have it, 3 simple tips to help change the narrative of every day life!

If this resonates with you, be sure to pick up a copy of my book YOUR EXTRAORDINARY SELF for more tips on how to #BYBS – be your best self and always remember #AnythingsPossible