22 Tips for better living

We often consider starting the New Year with resolutions as an opportunity to make a difference in our lives or to benefit us in some way.  However changes can be introduced at anytime, and can still benefit you greatly.  You don't need to make dramatic changes unless you're working towards a special set of goals, as even small changes here and there will make a difference in your daily life.  Try using this list of thoughts and changes you can take on board to begin seeing great results.

1. Use the 15 minute rule for walks every day -  15 minutes away from your starting point, and then take 15 minutes to walk back.  It's great for during lunch breaks, and while you walk, remember to smile and enjoy your fresh air.

2. Sit and review your day in silence for at least 10 minutes, before you retire for the night.

3. Our bodies need a decent sleep to be able to help us heal and grow.  Sleeping for 7 hours is ideal, so adjust your bedtime and waking time if necessary to allow for it.

4. Adopt the 3 E’s into your life — Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.

5. Read more books than you did last year. Reading helps us relax, gets our imagination working, and takes us out of the reality loop for a while so we can have time to ourselves.

6. Play more games, either social and family board games, or mind stimulating games like cards and Sudoku.  Both kinds really get you thinking.

7. Make time to reflect, meditate and pray, as they provide us with daily fuel for our souls and inspiration for our inner spirit.

8. Spend more time day-dreaming while you are awake, as it builds a creative and inspired mind in you, and you learn to recall memories better.

9. Drink plenty of water.  Did you know that water is one of the best diuretics?  It helps rehydrate up, wakens our brain, keeps us sharp, and helps to break down and filter everything we've eaten and drank.  It also helps to reduce lactic acid build up in our muscles when we are exercising.

10. As the saying goes - "Eat breakfast like a king, eat lunch like a prince, and eat dinner like a beggar".  Start your day with a wholesome and filling breakfast, a moderate lunch, with a light dinner that isn't too heavy on your stomach before bedtime.

11. Try to make at least two people smile each day. Smiles are infectious, and they can be spread very easily and very quickly.  But it always has to start somewhere.  The great thing is that when you smile genuinely at someone, you often get a nice smile back too!

12. Don’t waste your precious time on gossip.  Always base your opinions on fact and truth.  Gossip only hurts and spreads false stories as the more people that telling the story, the more it changes like Chinese Whispers.  If you share gossip about someone then you deserve to have the same done about you.

13. Forget the past, live for now and the future ahead.  Don't ruin your present happiness by bringing up old arguements with your partner or hold onto past issues as potential ammunition for justification.

14. Some things in life are out of our control, so invest your energy in the positive present moment that you can influence within your own power and resources.

15. Realize that life is all about learning, and it's all experience.  Problems come and go, but the lessons we learn will last a lifetime.

16. You don’t have to win every argument, and striving to do so just makes you appear to have a superiority attitude, and no-one likes that.  If you know you're wrong, then bow out the argument and apologise as you will get more respect than pushing to right all the time.

17. Don’t compare your life to other people.  You are your own person and only have your own expectations to live up to.  Your life is your own journey.

18. No one is in charge of your happiness except you. You are the Master of your fate, and the Captain of your soul (from the poem by William Earnest Henley).

19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.  Hate breeds inner corruption and only eats you up inside, changing you on the outside too.

20. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.  Show the world that you are capable, and that you take pride in your appearance no matter what life throws at you.

21. Call your family and friends often, and make sure you keep in touch with people. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick.  Your friends and family will be there for you.

22. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or brings you pleasure in life.  The same can be said for people, as if they aren't enriching your life and helping your positivity, they can only be holding you back and contributing to any negativity around you.