Top 10 things to engage every day that lead to a rich, successful life:
1. The “To Do List” – learn to down regulate its significance. It is the biggest generator of pain and suffering as it is constantly mocking you and sending the message that you are not good enough, you are not moving fast enough, you aren’t amounting to anything. Don't allow it to hold such a position of importance in your life. Keep it arms distance and stop kidding yourself that you will make a dent in that list today. You won’t. It will grow longer and longer every day of your life until you die. So, accept the futility of trying to get 87 things done today. Select 3 things that are important to you NOW and get those 3 done today. Then spend a larger part of your day being PRESENT in your life and soaking in the HAPPINESS that is right there in THIS moment. One day you will realize that the little things in life are really the big things.
2. Time is the source of suffering. Get OFF the clock. Many of us spend our life thinking hurry, hurry, hurry, move, faster, come on . . . now die. Looking into the past at regrets and unfortunate events leads to pain. Looking into the future with terrible “what if” scenarios leads to pain. Why are you doing that to yourself day after day after day? The answer is simple . . . it's a HABIT and nothing more. Running from the past and racing into the future while trying to exhaust your To Do List is exhausting and causes pain, frustration, aggravation, anger, loathing, selfishness, disappointment and just plain sucks. Yes, we must pay attention to the clock for part of our day but learn to get better at ignoring it. Learn to live within the experience, fully present and in total ignorance of what time it is.
3. Gratitude & Love. Live there. Learn how to meditate and breath this in and share it with everyone you meet. Start each day, before your foot hits the ground, recite quietly to yourself 3 things you are grateful for. As you drive to work, before you give your To Do List any mind, think of one thing that happened yesterday and name 3 reasons that are grateful for that event. Now truly FEEL why you are grateful. Feel the smile take over your face. Feel your heart swell with warmth. Notice how calm it makes you feel. Enjoy it. Forget about the clock and BE in this moment. Isn’t life grand? Doing this daily will teach your brain to look for and see the GOOD in life.
4. Stop thinking – Meditate. Commit 10 minutes per day to sitting quietly and over time allow this to grow into meditation. Use the “Beatfulness” APP or the “Calm” APP as stepping stones to learning what meditation is. My book on meditation will be out later this year so stay tuned for more. Thinking is a disease. If you can't turn your brain off at will then your brain is a run-away monkey mind and it is a disease. Empower yourself by learning how to control it or it will control you . . . and make you miserable.
5. Belly breath – learn what it is and engage it daily. Stoplights are wasted time so use this opportunity to engage belly breathing. Bedtime, both morning and evening develop a habit of taking 6 deep belly breaths and melt into that moment. Be intentional to do this at your lunch break or any time of day when you need to reset your mind and create an oasis of calm.
6. Eat REAL food – “Whole” foods. Whole foods don't come in boxes, bags and cans. Whole foods are plucked from the ground or have a mother. Challenge yourself to get 4 servings of vegetables per day, 80 ounces of water and lots of healthy fats from real food. Target one processed food per week and work to remove or eliminate it such that it becomes your new normal.
7. Fasting – schedule it weekly or monthly. Americans are gluttons, our history is embarrassing and we OWN the title of fattest people with the most diabetes in the world. This is NOT genetic and is in fact related to our consumption of processed food. Fasting can reset your body, slow the rate of aging, restore damaged tissue and facilitate fat burning. Learn how to fast properly and LOVE the experience. It’s easy and rewarding.
8. Exercise – is key to living better and longer with less disease. Which of those things do not want for yourself? The only acceptable reason for not exercising is that you have no arms or legs and even then there are alternatives. Weave this habit into your life or live a shorter more painful one.
9. Sleep – value it, cultivate it and commit to owning an awesome sleep pattern. Can’t figure it out? Call me. Start with engaging everything in our sleep hygiene article. Then explore Dr. Bianco’s article and experience. First rule is to stop viewing sleep as “wasted time”. When you start valuing your sleep as the best tool for restoration then good things can happen.
10. Happiness is a decision not a reward you receive by traveling to the beach. DECIDE to generate your own happiness in huge quantities each day, internally, and hand it out as gifts to everyone you touch. Happiness should be your single most desired goal. If you spend your life in a pool of deep, rich, daily happiness then isn’t this the very definition of success? Going to your death in possession of a huge house, a giant 401K, a fancy title but weighed down with misery and regret is a wholly unsuccessful life. Want to hear a discussion? Click here to see Dr. Huber's video.
Awaken. Become present in your own life and decide what it really means to be here in this world. If you were told you had just 6 months to live would you make radical changes to your present daily existence? Why? Why aren’t you living your best life right now? What are you waiting for? I think the answer is that most of us have never put pen to paper to define what we want our life to be. Are your priorities really YOURS or are you living a life dictated by others, by society, and by those around you. The expectations of others versus the undeniable passion from within. I write these words hoping I hear myself and adhere to these ideals myself. Don’t get swept down the river of life only to arrive at the falls without realizing who you truly are. Each and every day of this journey is valuable. Be there.
