1. Think daily. Meditate. Call
it what you will but spend time each day alone with your
thoughts. This surely isn’t the first time you’ve heard that
advice, there’s a reason for that! There’s also a reason that
this is the first step in the list. Doing the other things in
the remaining nine suggestions without taking some time to
reflect almost negates any benefit gained elsewhere.
2. Get in the zone. Not only
will these be your most productive moments in life (the 20% of
the time where you accomplish 80% of the results) but it will be
a boost to your confidence that will alter the decisions you
make elsewhere in life.
3. Make it a point to do something bold
every day. Step out of your comfort zone, leave the
routine even if for only a second. This might mean talking to
someone that you generally wouldn’t talk to or starting a
project that you feel intimidated by. There is no need to plan
it in advance–though that might help at times, usually though
you’ll find a point during the day when ‘two paths diverge in
the woods’ and you have the change to take the one less
travelled by. Take it.
4. Learn something new. Pick a
topic, preferably something you know nothing about and learn
something about it. A good source of inspiration for this can be
the newspaper or Wikipedia. It helps to retain it if you have
time to make a note of what you learned or explain it to someone
else, but even if you don’t get the chance to do that, your
brain will thank you for the new patterns you introduce as you
learn something new every day.
5. Debate something. If you
think you know about something, nothing will prove it like
arguing it with someone who’s smarter or more informed than you.
Find a friend you can debate with who has ideas that are
different from your and who won’t be offended by debating
them–this is easier said than done, but it can provide you with
some of the best mental stimulation possible.
6. Spend time with a child. If
you have one, consider yourself lucky, if you don’t, I bet you
have friends who would be happy to let you borrow theirs for a
few minutes (or hours). It doesn’t matter what age they are,
children see the world entirely different. Look at it from their
eyes. Be their hero. Appreciate what they appreciate. Enjoy the
simple things again. You’ll love it and they’ll love you for it.
7. Go outside. If you don’t
naturally spend time outside, make it a point to do it more.
There’s something about the expanse of the sky that will bring
out your inner philosopher.
8. Recognize what makes you happy.
Reflect on the parts of your day that bring you real
satisfaction. Everyone is working towards something, but what
makes you happy now? Rate your overall satisfaction with your
quality of life for each day on a scale of 1 to 10, focus on the
things that happened that pushed the number higher rather than
what made it lower. Try to incorporate more of what made you
happy yesterday into today.
9. Stop broken thoughts. Broken
thoughts are those subtle patterns that aren’t quite big enough
to fall into the bad habits category. This means that despite
their harmful effect they often escape under the radar. Broken
thoughts often take the form of justifications. Examples? I’m
just going to leave my dish here by the sink, I’ll wash it later
(when you know your spouse will end up washing it). I’m
bookmarking this article to read later (how often do you ever go
back and read old bookmarked articles?). I’ll hang my shirt up
later (when you know it will be there for a week before you
touch it).
10. Don’t stress about it.
