Looking for some simple tips for living a fulfilled life to help you stay positive and focused on your long term goals? This post will provide the top 7 tips to live by!
It can be so easy to get caught up in situations, the mundaneness of life sometimes or just life itself and slip into a feeling of dissatisfaction. This post will walk you through the 7 top tips for living a fulfilled life.
Tips for Living a Fulfilled Life: Top 7
There are so many things that can be throw at us as we go through our daily routines. Whether you are a stay at home mom, working mom, entrepreneur, student or you name it… anything fits here… life just gets really hard sometimes.
We all need to take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves to see positivity. Sometimes we need to create them for ourselves.
This post is all about tips for living a fulfilled life and helping you keep your sanity along the way.
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1. Embrace change
I am a planner and “preparer for all things” in hopes of avoiding chaos but I have learned the hard way that embracing the changes that come your way is without a doubt the way to go.
We have all experienced some pretty rough times in one way or another. Whether you have lost your job, a loved one, are watching someone you care about go through really tough times, dealing with medical concerns or things just aren’t going your way… you are experiencing or have experienced change in your life.
Sometimes we beg and pray for changes. Then, YES!… they come and we find ourselves wondering, “Why is this happening? This isn’t what I asked for…”.
Sometimes we plead that something we know could be coming stays far away. Yet, it happens or comes anyways.
We have all been there and as much as we want to learn from our experiences, we are creatures of habit. So, to help us out we have to remember that change is a part of life.
While we absolutely don’t have to love the change ~ we should embrace it.
Don’t get me wrong, embrace DOES NOT mean accept. But, we can’t determine what we will do next with a clear mind if we don’t embrace the change itself.
If you are a reader this book written by David Malin is a great, short and entertaining book that will help you with really embracing change. It is appropriately titled Embracing Change: Transforming Life’s Challenges with Courage and Grace. It has some humor mixed in with the good stuff that really makes you reflect on everything.
2. Get organized
Yep, I am THAT girl! Don’t get me wrong, I can deviate when necessary ~ but organization = peace of mind.
Ever look at your computer for a file, image, or something you want or desperately NEED and can’t find it because you have SO much there??? You are not alone.
There is something about walking into a room where everything is in its place that just brings our stress level down. Be honest, if you have walked in to a room or opened a closet that is a disaster, don’t you get that sinking feeling? Maybe you would prefer to just close the door and pretend it doesn’t exist.
That being said, cleaning up and organizing not only allows you to actually find and use the things that you have but just gives you the biggest sense of accomplishment and satisfaction when you’re done.
Where to Start?
Here’s the thing though. If you are new to organizing it can be overwhelming to get going. Start with something small. Maybe a drawer or closet. Make it functional. Think of what you use the space for, what would make access and organization of the space more efficient? For example, if every day you reach in to the pantry to get canned vegetables, put them where they have the easiest access. Tuck the things that you don’t use as much into baskets or some other organization item where they are more out of reach.
If organizing a closet is in your future check out our post on Small Closet Organization HERE!
Really, truly just start small and plan to organize things on a schedule. Maybe one day a week you plan to organize one space, whether that is a drawer or your whole kitchen. You know what is realistic for your time and schedule. What you definitely don’t want to do is create more stress by setting unrealistic goals for yourself.
The key here is to take control of things that you CAN CONTROL. Setting unrealistic expectations for things we can’t control will lead us down roads we would rather not travel. Remember to live life on your own terms. What works for someone else may not work for you.
You do you!
3. Create something
Strange ~ I know but creating something from nothing or from other things is rewarding in ways I can’t explain. Try it!
My favorite part of crafting and DIY projects is that you can really do it on any budget and create something amazing. The best part is there are so many options!
Regardless of where your interests lie there are opportunities for you to create just about anything! My favorite thing to do is to create for gifts. Let’s be honest… the last thing we want to do is give another gift that will get tucked away to become an organization nightmare for our friends and family.
One of my favorite gifts to give has been the Easy Recipe Book Craft: Craft for Gifts. I have made several different books over the years with different themes and they are always a hit. They make excellent Christmas gifts, wedding gifts and are even a fun project for group craft gatherings.
I had the most fun when we used this as a leadership activity several years ago for the MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) leadership team. We each brought a recipe and made a book with all of our favorites. We included pictures of the people that contributed the recipes and I love being able to see that when I look back to it now.
You can make gift baskets with a theme, paint, draw, use digital products to create wall art, crochet, knit, sculpt, paper craft, build something with wood… the list goes on and on.
The reality is that knowing that you are able to make something useful or desirable is satisfying and will be a skill that you nurture, develop and are able to use throughout your entire life.
4. Know your limits
We all have them so pretending we don’t makes us live in the first tip WAY TOO OFTEN.
If you get anxiety every time you go into large crowds in small spaces don’t agree to throw a party for your best friend in her living room. Maybe suggest an outdoor activity or something along those lines.
Yes, that is a mild example. This is the stuff we are up against most of the time. There are also those big things in life that challenge us. Don’t be afraid to set healthy boundaries for those too.
Maybe there is a person in your life that consistently takes advantage of you or brings out the worst in you. You don’t have to cut off all contact with them (even though it shouldn’t be ruled out depending on the circumstances) but maybe having healthier limits would reduce or eliminate the undesirable outcomes.
Awareness is the key! Discover what those limits are and adjust.
Embrace Your Reality
The point is, we all have limits… that’s normal! Don’t be ashamed of it and don’t feel the need to share it with everyone either. What you definitely shouldn’t do is continue to put yourself in situations where you are uncomfortable and inevitably get irritable because you didn’t listen to your mind and body with regard to respecting your limits.
Don’t get me wrong…. we all need to experience new things and learn to grow and thrive regardless of our current situation. That being said, we will never grow or be challenged with new things if we don’t learn to listen to our mind and body when it is telling us something is not ok.
Take it one step at a time and you will find your limits stretch when you start paying attention to them and working on them intentionally.
Which leads me to #5!
5. Do, see or learn something new
Nothing makes you appreciate life more than this. We have all been in a moment, day, week, month or sometimes year (thank you 2020…) that made us wonder what in the world is happening that got us to “this situation”.
It is SO EASY to get caught up in our own feelings, the emotional roller coaster, or those feelings of the people around us that we forget there is so much more happening outside of all of that.
Regardless of the situation itself, no matter how mundane or significant it is, seeing and doing something new has a way of refreshing your spirit.
Where to Start
There are so many ways to do this. You can read about someone else’s happiness or struggles. You can visit a new place. Learn to do something new. Do something kind for someone else. Help those in need. Looking for opportunities to volunteer near you? Check out VOLUNTEER MATCH. You put in your city and you will see how you can get involved in your community.
Regardless of the situation or circumstances you find yourself in it is always an enlightening experience to see things through a new lens.
I have found that reminding myself that many people are experiencing things far worse than I am is a great reminder that this too shall pass. It doesn’t minimize what you are experiencing or feeling.
It just provides a fresh perspective which is usually just what the doctor ordered.
Maybe you have always wanted to learn to do “x”. What is stopping you? If you have been looking to LEARN something new, take a look at MASTERCLASS! Regardless of the skill, knowledge or inspiration you are looking for they will have what you need.
Try something new, see something new, do something new! It is TOTALLY worth it and you won’t be sorry.
6. Take some time for reflection
This seems to be one of the most important things that we can do in life to help us live a healthy lifestyle. The best part is it works for any element of our lives. Boyfriends, husbands, parents, extended family, co-workers, the server that was unnecessarily rude when you asked for a refill on your drink.
There is a sense of satisfaction that is hard to beat when we are able to truly look at what is happening to us, around us, or to those we care about and be able to see the core problem or issue. Sometimes it isn’t even a problem at all but taking the time to reflect helps us understand the nuances to everything happening around us.
Misunderstandings seem to be the most common source of frustration. It is SO EASY to get caught up in the frustration of why (insert name here) could possibly think that is what you were saying or meant…. can you relate? I know I sure can.
Communication can be one of the most difficult things to work through. We all have our own perspective as we communicate with others. Even when we know someone so well it’s possible for two people to leave the same conversation believing we are on the same page only to later discover that we weren’t at all.
Taking time to sit in a state of prayer or meditation to better see the situation for what it is, removing our own perspective and really stripping the situation down to the core of the issue is incredibly helpful.
7. Say What you Mean and Mean What you Say
Now before we all go out and start and start sharing exactly what we think of every little situation that we are in let’s keep in mind that the golden rule that we learned way back before we got teeth was a good thing. Treat others as you want to be treated… we have all heard it and likely learned it at home, school or maybe even in church. But, do we really mean it?
Real Life Scenario…
Sally has been a co-worker of mine for about 8 years now. We really connected about three years ago when we were working on a project together. While we don’t spend time together outside of work, I really enjoy her company, respect her and I especially appreciate that she really does give 100% at work. On top of that I trust that when we work together things will be done well. We have completed four projects together and they have all been a great success.
Fast forward to a few months ago when we were working on our fifth project together. Everything was going great, we had split our tasks down the middle and we had a timeline that we both understood and created together. Two weeks into the month long project we were reviewing our progress when Sally made the comment that “I would be ahead if I had your list too”.
In the moment you chuckle and the awkward moment passes but you can’t get it out of your head. What did she mean exactly? We decided who would have which tasks together so we had balanced the work and avoided this type of thing…..
Intentional is the Key
Whenever I feel the need to share something that I know could hurt or sting I think about whether or not I would want to hear about it if I was saying or doing whatever is leading to this entire thought process. More often than not I find myself landing on all of the circumstances or reasons surrounding the choices I made. This of course helps me see that I might be especially sensitive on the particular topic or that I need to talk to Sally and see what she meant by her statement.
Some people are just naturally good at this. I have a dear friend that could write a book on this topic alone. A LONG ONE!!! She has the ability to take a deep breath, review her thoughts, share what needs to be said rather than what she is probably feeling and typically has amazing interaction with everyone around her.
Ok ladies, we are famous for the immediate response of “ok”, or “sure, that sounds fine” when others are sensing something is off. More often than not this is very far from the truth which is the reason the question is being asked that led us to this response. So, regardless of the situation just remember to take a deep breath, consider the situation as a whole and say what you mean and be sure that you mean what you say.
Tips for Living a Fulfilled Life
Life throws some pretty crazy curveballs. Hopefully these will help you stay focused on the things that you can control (let’s be honest… this is usually just your perspective). Then, focus on what you can do to get where you want to go!
Is my life perfect? Nowhere even close, but through all of the rough times I have been able to pull through by focusing on these tips. I live on the hot mess express far more than I would like.
In the end, we only get one life… let’s make the best of it!
This post was all about tips to help you stay positive and focused on your long term goals to live by and tips for living a fulfilled life!
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