Sometimes life gets crazy. You have deadlines to meet, mouths to feed, and bills to pay. All of which affect how you spend your time on any given day. But the ability to be mindful and live in the moment is key to long term happiness and life satisfaction. Add these six steps into as many life areas as possible to live in the moment more often.


I. IDEAS FROM ME

Step 1: Make the Commitment

The first step requires that you commit to integrate living in the moment in your life. This is an essential step to being accountable and doing the work required to accomplish it. Whatever “it” is. If you committed to doing it, then it needs to be a daily priority on your mind, by including it in your schedule.

Step 2: Accept What You Can and Cannot Control

In life, you will be faced with many situations which are not under your control and you can’t change. Don’t waste time struggling over issues you can’t change. Instead, recognize and focus on can control and change, such as your actions and your words. Breathe, take note of the things around you, and act based on what you can control.

Step 3: Avoid Distractions

After you commit to change, you need to identify things distract you and keep you from following through. Figure out when these moments happen the most, what may be causing them. This awareness can help you avoid distractions in the future. When your thoughts and attention drift to the past or future, acknowledge it, and refocus.

Step 4: Take Notice of Your Surroundings

When you distract yourself from the moment or notice yourself drifting away from the moment, immediately start describing your surroundings. What or who is around you? What are they doing? What are you doing? Find and identify recognizable things and then direct your attention to something that’s new or different. This can ground you while being open to new experiences.

Step 5: Take Notice of Your Emotions

Emotions can play a significant role in why you don’t live in the moment more often. If you experience pain or negativity from the people around you, it’s likely that you want to escape. Even remembering good memories of the past can distract you, if you relive them in the current moment. Take notice of your emotions. Later, examine how they affected what you thought and did when you were trying to live in the moment.

Step 6: Take Action

If obstacles or feelings get in your way, you must take action to resolve it. The actions can be taken now or later, depending on the solution. However, creating and using an action-based plan to solve the problem is imperative. Brainstorm several actions you can take to resolve each problem that distracts.

When you want to live in the moment, it's essential to be genuine and honest with yourself. The activities you are doing, your surroundings, and who you spend time with can all play a factor in why you are struggling to live in the moment.


II. QUOTES FROM OTHERS

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.”

- Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was an American political figure, diplomat and activist. She served as the First Lady of the United States from March 4, 1933, to April 12, 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four terms in office, making her the longest-serving First Lady of the United States.

“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there is no other life but this.”

- Henry David Thoreau was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading transcendentalist, he is best known for his book Walden, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings

Source: goodreads.com/www.pbs.org


III. QUESTIONS FOR YOU

Do you feel like you’ve lived the same day many times before?
Are you living the life of your dreams?

Until next week,

Ruth and
The team at Life in Balance

Careers Ask about how you can become a Performance Consultant at Life in Balance Careers.
support@lifeinbalancecareers.com

P.S.
You are amazing!

​Courage is more than just having confidence or getting rid of fear. It's about doing what is needed despite the fear. Courage is an essential quality to develop if you want to build a successful career, business, and have a fabulous relationship with friends and family. Ready to get started? Here are ways you can begin finding the courage within yourself.


I. IDEAS FROM ME

Identify What Is Holding You Back

Ask yourself bold and honest questions to discover what is holding you back. Why do you feel like you need to find more courage? Are there people or situations causing you to be fearful? Is it your lack of skills or knowledge? What are your fears and why do you fear these things? When you can identify the exact cause, you can create a solution.

Experience More

Expand your comfort zone. What this means is you need to experience more life outside of things that you know. It’s normal to keep doing things that bring you joy or comfort. But the more you experience, the more you will understand other perspectives. Even if something seems scary on the surface, it's often only due to a lack of experience. When you challenge yourself, it will allow you to experience your strength and courage.

Learn Forgiveness

You must expect that you will fail or make a mistake at some point in your life. No one can get through life without it. Mistakes provide you with a chance to improve or discover new passions or hobbies. When you make a mistake, forgive yourself. Identify where you can improve but don’t harp or dwell on it without using the information to improve yourself.

What Advice Would You Give Friends?

Take a moment to put yourself in your friend's shoes. If they were to come to you about this concern, what advice would you give them? It is likely because you care for your friend so much you won’t see them as anything but courageous why be harsher with yourself? Keep this in mind anytime you don’t believe in yourself.

Play It Out and Practice

If certain events or situations prevent you from truly being yourself, a great way to get over this is to practice or play it out. For example, if you want more courage to ask your boss for a raise, act out the conversation you plan to have with your boss. Look at yourself in the mirror and practice assertive communication.

In the end, if you want to find more courage within yourself, you must act. Courage is no different than any other skill. If you ignore it or choose not to work on it, it will be harder to find and maintain.


II. QUOTES FROM OTHERS

“Believe in yourself. You are braver than you think, more talented than you know, and capable of more than you imagine.”

- Roy T. Bennett is the author of The Light in the Heart. He loves sharing positive thoughts and creative insight that has helped countless people to live a successful and fulfilling life. He hopes that his writing will help you become what you are capable of becoming.

“Confront the dark parts of yourself, and work to banish them with illumination and forgiveness. Your willingness to wrestle with your demons will cause your angels to sing.”

- August Wilson was an American playwright. He has been referred to as the "theater's poet of Black America". He is best known for a series of ten plays collectively called The Pittsburgh Cycle, which chronicle the experiences and heritage of the African-American community in the 20th century.

Source: goodreads.com/www.pbs.org
​

III. QUESTIONS FOR YOU

Do you have what it takes to stand when others can’t or won’t? Can you say “NO” when you need to despite others prompting you to always say “YES”?

Until next week,

Ruth and
The team at Life in Balance Careers

Ask about how you can become a Performance Consultant at Life in Balance Careers. support@lifeinbalancecareers.com

P.S.
You are amazing!

It’s 3 A.M. again, and that marks the third restless night. Unfortunately, if this sounds familiar, you are not alone. Approximately one-third of people struggle with sleep problems, and about twenty-five percent of the American population experience insomnia.

The culprit? Research has many ideas, but two common factors always play some role or responsibility: diet and exercise.
​

I. IDEAS FROM ME

Alters Metabolism

Diet and exercise and your metabolism go hand in hand. If you adopt a proper exercise routine and diet, your metabolism will stabilize, leading to a balanced weight and better sleep. However, if you don’t, you can negatively alter it leading to increased weight. Increased weight can restrict airways, cause inflammation and stress on the body, affecting the way you sleep.

Heavy on the Digestive System

Big meals right before bed that are heavy in sugar, fats, and protein will affect your sleep and lead to poor digestion. This can lead to increased blood sugar, inflammation, blood pressure, and other alignments, making it difficult to fall asleep. A well-balanced diet keeps your blood sugars and flow balances and allows oxygen to flow throughout the body easily.

Stress and Depression

Diet can reduce or worsen symptoms of depression and anxiety that can, in turn, worsen symptoms of insomnia. Avoid foods high in sugar or fats to reduce inflammation. Inflammation is the primary factor for adverse health effects.

Shifts Your Circadian Rhythm

Research shows that changing your diet can reprogram your body’s clock or circadian rhythm. Poor sleep is often linked to obesity or metabolic diseases resulting from improper diet and exercise. Sleep deprivation also increases hormones telling you that you are hungry when you are not keeping the ugly cycle going and increasing or worsening obesity. Therefore, it’s crucial to adopt a healthy diet first when adjusting your sleep schedules. Reducing obesity is the first step to proper sleep.

Dehydration

A common yet easily overlooked culprit to lack of sleep is dehydration. An Improper diet full of sugar and salts can rid your body of needed hydration that leads to symptoms of dehydration such as irritability, fatigue, or insomnia. It dries out your mouth and nasal passages, making it difficult to get to sleep or be comfortable throughout the night. Dehydration can also lead to cramps, inflammation, and lack of oxygen.

Ask your nutritionist and doctor what exercise routine and diet plan are best for you if you suffer from sleep problems. Diet and exercise or lack thereof are likely to blame.


II. QUOTES FROM OTHERS

“Your body is malleable; you can sculpt it over time with daily habits of diet and exercise. The law of accommodation reminds us that the body may change slowly, but it will change.”

Dan Millman – American author and lecturer in the personal development field. He is best-known for the movie Peaceful Warrior, which is based on his own life and taken from one of his books.

“Dress loose, take a great deal of exercise, be particular about your diet and sleep sound enough, the body has great effect on the mind.”

Elizabeth Cady Stanton - was a leader of the women's rights movement in the U.S. during the mid- to late-1800s.

Source: Wikipedia


III. A QUESTION FOR YOU

Do you think you are at your optimal health right now?

Until next week,

Ruth and
The team at Life in Balance Careers

Ask about how you can become a Performance Consultant at Life in Balance Careers. support@lifeinbalancecareers.com

P.S.
You are amazing!