10 Simple Ways to Make Great Life

No, I don’t mean “grateful”.

I simply mean that during my time of reflection today, after naming all the things that are “GREAT” I realized that I am “great-full”!

Is life great right now?
Do you have great friends?
Are great things happening right now?
Are your kids great?
Is your husband great?

Then, perhaps YOU are “greatfull” as well!

If you aren’t experiencing a great life or moment right now, maybe the applying some of the following ideas will help you have a GREAT day!

1. Be in the present. Do you find your mind drifting to a mistake you made, or a bad moment in the past? Bring yourself back to the here and now – this moment. Focus on where you are right now, what you are doing, and who you are with. You cannot change the past so reflecting and thinking about the past just drags you down. And since you really cannot predict the future, worrying about tomorrow doesn’t do you much good either. Instead, just focus on your now. Live now as if that’s all there is.

2. Less is More. Do you have a full schedule today? Is every hour full and you feel like you are spinning in circles. Remove some. Really. We are in such a multi-tasking, gotta do more, society that more than likely you are overextending yourself. Have a full schedule today? Cut it in half. You don’t need to do everything on that list. I took a couple things and moved them to next week. Grant it, they of course were not urgent tasks. But it was nice to rethink the list and truly put priority on what really needed to happen this week. Yes, stress reduced and I felt better about the day and the outlook for the rest of the week.

3. Do one important thing. Do less, but do more important things. Do something of impact for the day that you can really sit back and say “I’m so very glad I DID this today” The sense of accomplishment will do wonders for your day and self-esteem.

4. Write our your “perfect day/life”. What would a perfect day be like for you? What type of day would make you happy? Write it out and read it often. You will find you will start doing things that move you toward that perfect day. Planning a and building your perfect life is amazing. And as things start taking shape and “happening” like you planned it, you will start feeling like you have a “GREAT” life.

5. Clean and Reduce. The other word is “Declutter”. Every little piece of new space you create, Even if it’s just a little space — a shelf, a drawer, a corner, a bookcase — cleaning and reducing an area of your life truly has a great effect on your mood level.

6. Go for a walk. Even a simple 10 minute walk clears the mind. Focus on what you see and hear. Just allow your brain not to think for a little bit. A quick walk can be a calming addition to your day and leave you walking away saying “what a great relief!”

7. Listen to great music. I love to get into the car and put in a favorite CD that just makes me feel good! I have a stack of my favorites and listening to those tunes makes my toes tap, I sing along and jam to the tunes! It’s great!

8. Watch Nature. Does that sound too simple? Just a few minutes of watching some birds, or the sunset or sunrise is a great way to get things into perspective. I spent about 15 minutes this summer following a beetle. Yes, just like a little kid I followed that beetle across the yard and then walked away marveling at the wonders of nature.

9. It’s a little crazy that we have to be reminded to spend time with our loved ones. If you don’t have a spouse or kids to spend time with, there is someone in your life that you value, or that values you. I have a wonderful husband who I enjoy being with. But today, I took time to visit with a young lady at work that I’m mentoring along. It was a quick 10 minute visit but we spent time visiting and connecting. We T-A-L-K-E-D with spoken words! It works. It made for a great morning.

10. Maybe it’s because of baseball season and the play offs. But I have been thinking about “3’s” lately. 3 Bases. 90 feet from base to base which is 3 sets of 30. I while back I read that a person should focus on 3 projects. I have found that having 3 projects on my list is not overwhelming and is manageable. I’m better at focusing on 3 and getting them done, rather than overwhelming myself with a dozen things to do. It looks much better to see those items getting eliminated and seeing that I’m getting there!

Here’s to your great-full life!

P.S. I found a website called “1000 Awesome Things”. It’s full of great, awesome, funny things! I hope you enjoy and that it adds some great to your life!