There is a lot of bad stuff happening in the world right now and a lot of people are watching cable news all day long and stressing themselves out. Rather than looking at the coronavirus lockdowns as the “glass half empty”, realize that you have a golden opportunity of a lifetime here to improve your LIFE!
This is a 3 part series:
- 6 things you can do today to improve your physique and health.
- 6 things you can do today to make more money
- 6 things you can do today to improve your life
I have done many self-improvement videos in the last 15 years showing people how to be more productive and accomplish more of their goals and what gets in the way for most people is that its a lot of work and it takes a lot of time. Guess what? You have time now!
- Read “7 habits of highly effective people”. This is a great book you can check out from virtually any library in America that will help you prioritize your daily activities so that they are in line with your goals.
- Make your top 5 goals for the year and then break these goals down into 10 minute tasks you can work on every week. This is really part of the 7-habits program but I add this as a separate item because reading the 7-habits book does you zero good unless you put it into action.
- Do a financial tune up. This is painful but pretend you are a surgeon cutting cancer of a patient. Go thru your credit card statement with a highlighter and mark every recurring charge over 50 cents that is not required for your health or your employment. Be honest and ask if each item is something you absolutely need or something you want. If you need it, ask how you can lower the expense. If you want it rather than need it then cancel it immediately. Do you really “need” an $80 Comcast movie package and a $80/mo cellphone? Remember, separate needs from wants. A $10/mo trackphone lets you text and make calls – why again do you need a $1200 iPhone with a $60/mo data package? The goal is to lower your expenditures so that you can save 25% of your salary. Lowering expenses and saving money removes the ball and chain that holds you in a job you hate and gives you the ability to take a risk and change jobs or start your own company.
- Become happier by simplifying your life. A lot of people “need” a huge expensive apartment because they have collected so much crap that they dont need. Designate a weekend and use the “sparks of joy” technique to decide which items stay in your closet and which get sold/donated/tossed. Once your life has a smaller footprint, many options present themselves to lower your monthly expenses and save more while being happier.
- Write 3 letters of gratitude. Ok, this is a weird one but it is SO worth the effort. With all the “fabulously rich, famous, and beautiful people” who constantly fill our feeds on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, its easy for everyone to start feeling sorry for themselves because they are constantly comparing themselves to these fake people with their oh-so-natty 21″ arms, 50″ chests, 30″ quads, 26″ waists, quaffed hair, and perfectly straight bleached teeth. Its very common for people to forget how incredibly fortunate they are and that without exaggeration, there are hundreds of millions of people who would gladly trade places with them. Finding three people who have had the most positive influence and writing a letter of gratitude to them is a great way to recenter yourself. You dont have to actually mail it, instead you can post it in a pubic place like facebook, a forum, or a blog. If they are now dead, you can mail it to a relative and tell them how much this person made such a difference in your life. You will feel better, they will feel better, and you will be reminded of what is more important than Jef Sides perfectly messy hair and lick-able abs.
- Pick up a hobby you were going to do in retirement. Do NOT be one of those people who always dreams about what they will do in retirement and then dies two weeks after they retire. Its very common in people whose entire life consists of their work to lose all will to live when the structure of their work day disappears. Not only that, spending a little time every day on a passion that floats your boat helps bring balance to your life and gives you a reason to jump out of bed every morning. Who knows, that hobby might eventually become a second career where people throw money at you to do what you love doing.
