Get up, dress up: showing up for your ‘best day ever’

The other morning, a whirlwind in jeans and boots and a flirty (if I say so myself) smock, as I passed a gentleman in the parking lot who shares an office near mine, he asked, “How are you?” To which I replied, “Great, and you?” His response: “I’m great too; best day ever! Every new day is the best day ever!” Did I experience a drama-free day? No. Did I get cranky when my laptop acted up? Yes. But when we get up and dress up, it’s our job to be intentional with how we show up. Try these 10 ways to jump start your best day ever: 1) be present, 2) do less, 3) get one important thing done, 4) plan your perfect life (and start taking steps), 5) declutter, 6) go for a walk, 7) focus on three projects, 8) listen to great music, 9) watch a sunrise or sunset and 10) spend time with a loved one.

What’s the secret to your best day ever?

Purging and prioritizing: housekeeping for the soul

Hard, this life thing. Over the past few weeks I’ve engaged in significant housekeeping tasks that, below the surface, denote a clean slate—a ‘starting over’ in practice and in theory. On the home front, I’ve tackled clutter and tossed what is no longer necessary, bagged up things to be sorted through eventually and donated items I hope might bless others. My personal life also experienced a collective loss, which has become the catalyst toward a sense of peace and healing—an opportunity to put my priorities in right order, to live with intention instead of allowing life to happen to me. Every regret or mistake I’ve made is a lesson learned, a temporary memory purged much like photos that fade over time or are deleted off a hard drive. And then replaced by the truth of knowing I’m finally on the right path as I leave behind my self-centered ways and prepare to step into my fabulous new life.

How do you ‘get over’ regrets or mistakes?

Setting goals isn’t brain surgery

Declutter and simplify your life. Lose weight without dieting. Find happiness in six easy steps. Write a book in 20 minutes. Most of the time I wield a fast-food mentality as I look for an easy way to achieve results—a “how-to” fix. In between stocking the frig with healthy meals and the closets with clean clothes, working full-time and keeping fit, I seek short cuts when feasible—especially as it pertains to goal setting of any kind. But it turns out I’ve been making it way more complicated than it needs to be. One of my friends recently posted this quote on Facebook: Set goal. Make plan. Get to work. Stick to it. Reach goal. Last week I finally set a goal, made a plan, got to work and stuck to it for the full week. I wrote. Every. Damn. Day. And it felt fan-freaking-tastic. On to the next goal. Before I know it, Someday my dreams will come true.

What does your goal-setting process look like?

Just keep swimming

After nearly a month of illness at the beginning of the year, I’ve made several lifestyle changes. More sleep; less commitments. More yoga; less worry. More leafy greens; less processed foods. Reading more and writing a new book (which hasn’t made it from my imagination to paper… yet). Getting more organized and less cluttered; spending more time serving others. Doing the good stuff while eliminating the bad stuff, all in the name of balance. I start each day with positive intention; I end each day with gratitude and an asana. But now I’m sick again. Up until January, I had not been sick for over three years. Yet even though I’m doing everything I should be, there are still no guarantees. Once again, the single thing we can control is our response to any given situation. And at the end of the day, we only have three choices. We can tread water (get nowhere), sink (give up) or just keep swimming.

What’s your choice when the water rises?

Image courtesy of arztsamui at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Wanting and doing are two different things

The saying, “It’s not about having the time, it’s about making the time,” is not a new idea. As I focus on the concept of balance this year and what it means for my life as far as work, play, fitness, relationship with self and others, as well as the pursuit of my dreams, I’m reminded that if I want to do something, it takes more than desire; it requires deliberate planning. When I don’t set aside time to tackle the task at hand, something else is bound to be more appealing or easier or convenient. Just like I make a regular commitment to practice the yoga, which can fill up 2½ hours of my day including the commute, I must pencil in time for the other priorities in my life—whether it’s journaling, deepening my connections with family and friends or decluttering and decrapifying my home and my life (see https://miscellany14.wordpress.com/2015/02/17/the-40-bags-in-40-days-challenge/). If it’s important enough, I will make the time.

What will you make time for today?

[Image credit Stuart Miles and FreeDigitalPhotos.net]