I am sure you have heard that life is not a dress rehearsal. We get one shot and we should be living life to it’s fullest; no matter what is going on! There are so many people walking around not paying attention, living a negative life and feel very justified because of everything that has happened to them. There are others who are just plain angry at life and never have anything good to say no matter who they are talking to.
If you are under 40, you may not have noticed that life moves very quickly. Once I hit 40, it felt like only 2 years had passed and I was all of a sudden 50 and had grandchildren. Once I hit 50, years go even faster, they seem to pass at the speed of a month. Time definitely feels like it is speeding up. My question for you is, is your life the performance that you want, one that you are proud of? The one you dreamed of or are you still waiting to set the stage for your dream life?
Sometimes to make a change you have to draw a line in the sand and decide which side of the line you want to be on, the one you know, where you are today – status quo or the one that you dream of, the one that excites you, the one you still have to figure out. There comes a time when you have to decide now is my time. This is not a selfish thing, it is a life transforming decision that will move you to have the grand life that you are dreaming of or are waiting for.
Don’t let fear of something unknown stop you, this decision is about making small daily changes that you set up and create every day. It’s about conscious living and taking action.
I have some steps that will start you on your way to putting a plan in place for you to live the life that you dream of no matter what stage you are at.
Daily Performance Steps:
- Create a morning routine – you will have a better more productive fulfilling day if you take the time to develop a plan each morning. Many wake up, grab their phones, answer texts, emails and start running. This becomes your habit. Set yourself up with a routine that supports what you are looking for.
Drink water, stretch, say positive words to yourself about how great you are, meditate. Once you have done what supports you in the morning, if you work or not, design yourself a daily performance sheet. This sheet should have on it the projects you must get done today with a little room for some details, a space to write down who you need to hear from, who you need to reach out to, a space to right down your 6 priorities for the day (things that must get done today).
At the bottom of the sheet, I have on mine meditate 2 times a day, drink 4L of water, deep breathing up to 6 times a day (takes 30 seconds to do and gives you natural energy), and state my personal positive power statement.
I have short spaces where I check off completing each one so I keep track of what I am actually getting done, no guessing. I print 7 of these off each week, staple them together, and reflect each morning when I am writing it to make sure all the items on the day before where completed. If there is still an item and it is still pertinent it is moved forward. This is a great performance sheet no matter what your life style.
- Meditation – I still consider myself to be a newbie at this. I have been practicing for about 8 months now. I am enjoying this time more and more. I just started doing it twice a day about a month ago, it is a great way to wake up and have clear thoughts about your day and the best thing for me to do just before I fall asleep.
Meditating for 15 minutes would be great, if you only have time for 5 then take it and start with that. Sit comfortably with your back straight and just start to follow your breath, if thoughts come, notice them, just release them and go back to watching your breath. Thoughts will come and go a lot when you first start so don’t get discouraged by them and don’t get caught up in them. You can do a guided meditation if you find that easier; there are a lot on YouTube if you choose that path. That is how I started. When you do this mark it off on your daily performance sheet.
Deep Breathing – this is also on my daily performance sheet. Deep breathing is a great way to create energy if you feel tired or unfocused. Stand up, take in 25 short, quick powerful breaths in and out through your nose, at the end take a couple of deep breaths, take a quick walk – if you are in an office just walk around in your space or down the hall. When you come back you will notice you feel uplifted and energized for your next task. Do this regularly throughout the day. Set a timer for anywhere between 45 and 90 minutes. When the alarm goes off it is time for your 2 minute break to increase your energy and refocus on the tasks at hand.
- Personal Positive Power Statement – This is very powerful. Having 3 words that describe the best of you for you to use when you are struggling, or not feeling very positive is very powerful. They remind you of what you are capable of in work situations, parenting, with your partner or anytime you feel any self doubt or are questioning yourself. Find 3 words that best describe the best of who you are, an example would be: Kind, Happy, Smart. Say these words 3 times in a row first thing and last thing in the day, schedule these words to come up on your phone at 10:30, 12:30, 2:30 and 5pm. You can never over state these words.
Once you develop a morning plan with steps to follow throughout the day, you have started. When you follow this plan everyday, filling in this sheet, you will notice productivity enjoyment shifts within you.
This is just the beginning. You will feel you have more control and see where you can do more or do less to have joy every day in your life. After all, we are on this planet to have joy in our life everyday, a life that you can say at the end I have no regrets, I lived a great life, I loved and was loved and I contributed. What I did mattered. That is what is important! So start to bring The Joy everyday!
In my next article, I will give you more steps to implement to increase your Life Performance, this is just the beginning! Remember: make one decision, the one that will shift your life to bring more Joy into your life and then figure out how to bring joy into what ever you are doing every day, this is a choice you make for your ultimate Life Performance!
It is important to Love YOUR Life to be happy — if you don’t love your life, do something about it!