How to Live a Better Life

When I use the term better life here I am not going to attempt to put my own definition on it for you. A better life for me may not be a better life for you. Some people see a better life as a life of luxury. Some see it as a life of comfort. It may be a life of happiness or contentment to others. My definition of a better life is a life of peace. Regardless of what constitutes a better life for you it will begin with your frame of mind. Frame of mind is key because it determines the way that you will approach life. Your mindset determines the way that you respond to the situations and circumstances of life especially when things don’t look as good as you thought that they would. A positive frame of mind or mindset will get you through the worst situations because it refuses to acknowledge failure or defeat. Life is what you make it. One good psychological trick to play that I like to play on my self is that when things get hard I like to look at life as a game. I fancy myself to be an Indiana Jones who always wins in the end even though he may go through hell in the middle. This is easier for me to do because I believe in God and I believe that he can fix any situation in life. I became convinced of this some years ago when I used to get up early in the morning and look at the stars. It became apparent to me that if God can hold the stars in place across billions of miles of universe he can handle any problem that I could possibly have. Balance is the key to living the good life. Balance hard work with a hobby. Maybe playtime will counteract the pressures of hard work. I like to play as hard as I work. In additio I sometimes like to take just a little time out to enjoy life. Fishing is my main hobby but what most people don’t understand is that fishing encompasses much more than just catching fish. I like to go on beautiful clear sunny days which are the worst days to fish. The point is that I get a few hours just to enjoy nature and God’s creation. Another way to have balance in life is to find someone to love. Life is precious when you have people in your life that you love and care for. I never had any natural children but I discovered later in life what it means to love a child. I really missed out on a lot of life by not having children but I have learned now. Love is the beauty of life and it is really what we were created to do. It is easy to look for negative qualities in other people. We need to look for the good qualities in others. If we focus on the negative we will never appreciate the positive. If we take the time to appreciate the positive we won’t have time to become fixated on the negative. We all have good and bad characteristics. Focusing on the good is a choice that we make each day. This is where the concept of a positive frame of mind comes into play. Learn how to encourage and motivate yourself. There will be plenty of opportunities in your life for you to do so. If you can’t successfully motivate yourself when times are tough or encourage yourself after a loss or failure your chances of survival decrease infinitely. Pat yourself on the back if you have to. Continue to be self directed but most of all learn to love and enjoy life for what its worth. The Good Life