Tips For Living

Life can be good and is good so long as we do our part to make it that way. Most of our problems in life are self-inflicted in some way. Blaming everyone else for your problems solves nothing. It keeps you in a state of “victim-hood”. Resolving problems and avoiding future problems is the result of applying the following to your life. They are in no particular order, they are all important. 1. Remember that right actions equals right results. 2. Be honest. It is difficult to be honest when you are not doing right. 3. Be responsible. Be proactive and do the things you need to do in life. 4. Help others. This puts your problems in perspective, also keeps you out of self. Be wary not to go too far in this direction though and become codependent/ lose yourself. 5. Do your best in all things. 6. Remember that short-term fun/excitement often leads to long-term problems. 7. Don’t drink or use drugs. This is self explanatory and the downfall of millions! 8. Have someone you can talk to/ confide in on a regular basis, someone that you can be “real” with and share your true thoughts and feelings. 9. Be grateful for the positive things in your life. Show your gratitude in your actions. Verbalizing gratitude is not enough. (i.e. If you say you are grateful for your family then show your family love and attention.) 10. Be respectful of others. 11. Allow others to have their own opinions, even if they are “wrong”. 12. Be kind, patient, and tolerant of others. 13. Have a positive attitude and let it show in your words, deeds, body language. 14. Manage your money wisely. Money problems can cause unneeded stress. 15. Don’t be selfish or self-centered. The world does not revolve around you and things will not always go your way. 16. Accept help from others. You can’t do it on your own! We were not put on this earth to cope with things by ourselves. 17. Keep a journal of your thoughts and feelings. Positive and negative thoughts should go into this, not just a “whining session on paper”. 18. Trust God - Spirituality – Prayer and mediation. Ask God to help you and give you the strength to do right. God is not going to run your life for you; you have to take the action. 19. Hang around positive people that are striving to improve themselves. The opposite is “hang with dogs, you get fleas”. 20. Take time to do things you enjoy. Leisure and recreational interests will help decrease stress and make you more productive. 21. Get enough sleep. 6-8 hours of sleep every night is required. 22. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Getting all irritated about things that are unimportant cause excess stress and frustration. Learn to ‘go with the flow’ (traffic, lines at stores, etc). 23. Don’t avoid problems; they will not simply go away if you avoid them. The sooner a problem is addressed, the smaller it will be. If you put off addressing a problem it usually snowballs into a bigger problem with more problems attached. 24. Find out what your good qualities, skills, and attributes are. Use those to improve your life and help others. 25. Overcome guilt, shame, and remorse. You cannot change the past. Your actions are not necessarily who you are as a person. 26. Follow through with your good intentions. Be persistent, don’t give up! 27. Keep your life balanced. A healthy balance between work, family, friends, and play is important. 28. Be confident and have a healthy self-esteem. Low self-esteem is often the result of your own failures or allowing others to influence you. This also goes back to realizing you are not the center of the universe and people are mostly conce ed with themselves. 29. Realize that no one is perfect and most people are screwed up in one way or another. Don’t take it personal when someone is mean, disrespectful, etc. It is their own sickness that is the problem, not you. 30. Learn to problem-solve effectively. Take one step at a time to resolve problem, most problems require time and effort on your part to resolve. 31. Learn to communicate effectively with others. Be assertive. Do not be a “doormat” to others, do not be aggressive or sarcastic with others either. Let people know your true feelings/ thoughts in a respectful manner. 32. Continually work on your character defects/ faults. We are born with certain faults/ tendencies, we are taught negative traits, we also create new ones based on selfishness, but, that does not mean we have to allow these negative things to continue to cause us problems. (i.e. some are more prone to anger than others, dishonesty, lack of confidence, mistrust)