26 Ways to Love Life

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Creative Commons License photo credit: Care_SMC

1. Be positive. The moment you open your eyes each morning think of something positive. One positive thought leads to another. Before falling asleep each night think positive thoughts. Positive thoughts lead to a well lived life.

2. Accept yourself. Be kind to yourself and love yourself. Never make excuses for who you are. Don’t compare yourself to others. There will never be another you.

3. Be Yourself. You are unique. We live in a copy-cat materialistic world. You don’t have to look or act like a Hollywood star. Don’t change who you are in different situations. You have a right to be different, think differently and do things differently than others. You only have to be you!

4. Choose your friends wisely. Choose friends who accept and respect you. Choose friends who support you. Friends either bring you up or down. Release anyone who isn’t going in your direction.

5. Practice gratitude. It’s the fastest way to put youself in a positive emotional state. Keep your focus on what you have and more will come to you.

6. Help others. Never pass up an opportunity to help someone. Small deeds count. Big deeds count. Share with others. You can’t out give God. You will feel good about yourself and your life.

7. Apologize. Make this a habit. Tell others you are sorry. Ask what you can do to make up for your actions. Then make the changes needed in your behavior.

8. Forgive. Forgive yourself and others. Holding grudges steals your emotional and physical energy.
It’s like carrying a ball and chain around your ankle.

9. Find a hobbie. Discover what you love to do. Acting, dancing, photography or painting are all better than another television show or computer game. Step out of your comfort zone and enjoy life.

10. Live without debt. Don’t spend more than you make. Create a budget and stick with it. Money is one of the top two reasons for a divorce. Debt ruins relationships and lives.

11. Laugh often. You can determine the health of a family or workplace by the amount of laughter that takes place. It has been proven that laughter heals. Read comics, joke books and watch comedy.

12. Exercise. Stay active. Move your body. Find exercise that you love and do it regularly. Volleyball, running, baseball, swimming and tennis can be exercise and fun. Find what fits you and get going.

13. Eat healthy.Choose fresh vegtables, fruits, nuts and grains. Avoid red meat.

14. Travel. Explore different places. If you can’t afford to fly, drive. You don’t have to go far. just go. Learn how to travel on a budget and go twice as much.

15. Celebrate Mondays. Mondays are 1/7 of your life. Do something special on Mondays so they feel like Fridays. Notice the attitude you have on Friday compared to Monday. How can you make Mondays special.

16. Volunteer. This will add to your mental and emotional health. It’s a feeling money can’t buy. Do your part to make the world a better place.

17. Play. Balance life with play. Play cards. Play with children. Play outside. Play games. Play for fun. Play to improve yourself.

18. Live in the present moment. When we are anxious we are either living in the pain of the past or the fear of the future. Learn to take one moment at a time. Live in the present.

19. Respect elderly people. Spend time with them. They are worthy and wise. You will be old someday yourself.

20. Read. You can learn something new everyday. Never stop learning. Never stop growing.

21. Breathe. Learn to breathe properly. Breathe deeply and often. It will decrease your tension and anxiety.

22. Be patient. Learn to wait patiently. We spend between 3-5 years of our life waiting in line. Learn to be patient with others. We don’t all grow at the same pace. Learn to be paitent with your children, it is a wonderful gift to give them.

23. Learn to deal with your emotions. It’s a scientific fact that the center for emotional control is not in someone else’s behavior it’s in your brain.

You can talk with a friend, journal or exercise, these are a few methods for dealing with your emotions. Anger covers up pain, pain covers fear. Recognize your feelings, emotions and know how to remain calm in chaos.

24. Take the high road. Know what your values are and live by them. If  a cashier gave you an extra five dollars back in change would you give it back?

25. Simplify. List the areas of your life that need to be simplified. Choose one area of your life and begin. Keep it simple.

26. Love. Learn how to express your love to others. Speak loving words and take loving action. Decide to contribute love to the world.

Comments on this entry are closed.

  • Neil January 5, 2009, 2:02 pm

    Tess, you put the best lists out! I love #2, I think that many people could learn a lot from the 4 sentences in that point. In fact multiple blog posts could be written on the subject. Thanks for inspiring me yet again!

    Neil’s last blog post..Boring Is Beautiful

  • Tess January 5, 2009, 3:37 pm

    Neil,
    You’re the best! I do think we work on this our entire life. Partly because as we age we change and we have to accept the changes.

    Tess’s last blog post..26 Ways to Love Life

  • Lance January 6, 2009, 4:39 am

    Hi Tess,
    What a wonderful list! I tend to think, as a society, we watch way too much tv. In fact, it’s a battle I fight here at my house – with my kids. So, the idea of finding a hobby, something that will draw us away from the television is a great thing. I’m touching on just one, yet this whole list is great. And your last one really does sum it up – love!

    Lance’s last blog post..And The Word Is…

  • Stacey Shipman January 6, 2009, 8:03 am

    I found your blog from Stacey/Create a Balance. I love the list – I think it speaks volumes. If we all picked even 1 out of the 26 it could make a huge difference. I look forward to spending more time here reading your blog!

  • Tess January 6, 2009, 3:55 pm

    Lance,
    I don’t have anything against TV in moderation. We had strict limits on it for our girls when they were growing up. On Sundays no friends were allowed over and we did games, hobbies and other things to bring us together. Oh and we never had more than one TV in the house.

    Oh and yeah love…it’s everything!

    Stacey,
    Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. Yes one thing at a time little steps make all the difference.

    Tess’s last blog post..26 Ways to Love Life

  • LifeMadeGreat | Juliet January 6, 2009, 10:34 pm

    Hi Tess

    Great list!
    I think that you have captured so many values that you will touch everyone’s heart somewhere along the way.

    Juliet

    LifeMadeGreat | Juliet’s last blog post..Are You Using Your Personal Development Knowledge?

  • Robin February 6, 2009, 7:26 pm

    I love your list, Tess. Have I mentioned before that I also love your jumping goldfish? – R

    Robin’s last blog post..The Genie That Keeps On Giving

  • Tess The Bold Life February 8, 2009, 6:30 am

    Juliet and Robin,
    We are all more the same than different and the list shows it.
    Thanks for stopping by and the goldfish make me smile Robin.

    Tess The Bold Life’s last blog post..What Was Your Biggest Insight In January 2009?

  • Suha August 19, 2011, 2:37 pm

    Hello!
    Thank you so much for the article..
    i’m a teen,15 years old
    i’m not enjoying life at all ,and i started to hate myself
    everytime i try to do something new,there must be an excuse from someone to ruin my life…
    my family always says that i deserve the best but they never gave me what i wanted,they just promise it and i’m done with fake promises ..
    but thanks to your article i’ve realised that there still more things to do instead of that…
    I’ll work with it 🙂

    Thank you so much!

  • Abhishek April 27, 2012, 9:47 am

    Thanks a ton for the inspiring words ! everynight before going to bed, I do practice gratitude and it does feels great 🙂

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