Do It Now

Nothing changes. Nothing matters.  "You can't teach an old dog new tricks" Well, you know the saying.  These thoughts are the enemy of enjoying life.  More important, they are not true.  The most vital belief you need in order to live your life fully is that actions matter.  Actions are called for.  Actions are rewarded.  Take action now.  There's no reason you shouldn't, and many reasons you should.

Never Stop Learning

There is really only one way things ever improve.  Progress comes from learning.  The learning may come from a teacher, from a book, or from experience and personal curiosity.  But no matter what its origin, learning is the essence not only of a society's progress, but of personal progress.  The decision and commitment to continue learning are the decision and commitment to continue truly living and to live not just as you always have but as you truly can.

Don't Let Irritation Be Louder Than Joy

Which is more important, good or bad?  Regardless of which you consider to be the right answer, bad is often a bigger part of our thoughts.  The traffic jam that bogs down our day stays in our thoughts longer than the open road that sped us on our way.  The rude clerk is memorable long after the nice clerk is forgotten.  Remind yourself to see the good, to think about the good, to remember the good.  the good is out there just as much as the bad, but we are often prone to miss it.

Volunteer for Yourself

Volunteering for a cause you care about is not only a great benefit to others but also a great benefit to yourself.  Volunteering demonstrates or own humanity to us, and it offers us a wonderful opportunity for cultivating feelings of connection to our community.  Give of yourself to others because it is the greatest gift you can give to yourself.

Respond to Stress

Stress is an accumulation of events and circumstances that represent more than we can handle.  Stress eats away at our body's ability to function both mentally and physically.  The best response to stress is not to push yourself and wait for it to go away, but rather to try to reduce stress, both by avoiding the circumstances that are causing it and by creating healthier outlets for the pressures in your life.

Embrace Challenges

There are many things we wish to do from changing a tire to changing our lives that we avoid because we are afraid of failure.  We fear the direct evidence of our weakness, so we don't even bother to try.  Ironically, our lack of effort is our true weakness.  You are stronger and more capable than you can possibly know.  When events occur and strength is demanded of you, you will be strong.  Realize that you need not wait for events to call.  You can demand strength of yourself right now.

There's No deadline for Your Dreams

We spend our whole lives making plans.  We set goals for ourselves in every part of our lives, and once in a while we look back and see what we've accomplished.  Though it is reasonable to have a time frame for our lives and our goals, the truth is that the dreams we had when we were younger don't have an expiration date.  Live your life toward your dreams.  No one will ask you what day it is when you get there.

Why Not Be Optimistic?

Without hope, what would you ever have tried?  Nothing you've accomplished, nothing you've enjoyed would have been possible unless you had first seen possibilities. Seize that view to guide you to the future you desire.

View Your Life as a Choice

In some sense, everything that has ever happened to you reflects the collective result of an almost infinite series of choices. From the trivial to the crucial, your choices brought you to this moment.  In recognizing that your choices matter and that they guide you, you are taking on a burden, but your are also giving yourself the opportunity to accept life's outcomes and to decide what kind of future you want.

You Define Success

It is all up to you.  No outcome can force you to feel successful or to feel that you failed.  No other person can convince you that what you have is good or bad.  It is up to you to define what life means and where you stand.  Define you life for yourself.

It's Less What Happened Than What Happened Next

You will face difficult times.  Everyone does. But how things turn out for you has less to do with the events themselves than with your response to them.  Answer the challenges that are presented to you, persevere through the traumas that may occur, and you will be made stronger for your life ahead.

Travel the Stable Road

Peeks give way to valleys.  It is a simple law of nature.  Your emotional highs will give way to emotional lows.  The best route to consistently feeling good is to value the plateau.

Boredom Is the Enemy

There is only one true waste of time: boredom.  Boredom is the feeling that there is nothing worth doing.  Your time becomes a hurdle to be overcome instead of a resource to be treasured..Doing absolutely anything is more productive than boredom.

Regrets Hold us Back

We can't change the past; we can't improve it.  Dwelling on past disappointments can change the future, but only to make it worse.  Relieve yourself of the burden of past regrets.  Your goal is to set the best course for the future, not to suffer over the imperfections of the past.

Pay Attention to Your Dreams

Your dreams are more than a fleeting source of nighttime entertainment.  Much like the dashboard of your car, which tells you what's going on under the hood, your dreams tell you what's going on inside your system.  Pay attention to what's happening in your dreams, remember them, and write them down, because they are an important clue to what you are really feeling.

Wear Many Hats

We use only a fraction of our powers.  Most of us operate as if minimizing our efforts, whether intellectual or physical, were the ideal.  When we maximally use our abilities to pursue our various interests, we maximize our capacity to live.

Listen to Your Favorite Music

A song is so much more than sound to us.  It is a feeling, a memory, a new world, a trip back to an old world.  Keep music in your life wherever you go.

Remember to care for Youself When Caring for Others

When we are a caregiver for a loved one, nearly all of our efforts are poured into that person's life and needs.  It is truly a selfless act.  But we must remember that to care for ourselves is not a selfish act.  We have to make sure there is enough support in our lives to sustain the efforts we are making.  Respecting your needs is the best way to continue offering care to someone else.

Laugh Your Way to Answers

Laughter is more than a smile and a fond memory.  Laughter is fuel for hope.  When we laugh, problems shrink and creativity flows.  When we laugh, we see possibilities where we once saw only difficulties.  Seek people and situations that make you laugh, and the parts of life that aren't funny will seem easier.

Forgive

We think of forgiveness as something we give to another person.  But the burden of being angry and disappointed weighs us down, eating away at our relationships and bringing pain to our days.  Forgiveness is not a sign of weakness any more than anger is a sign of strength.  Try to forgive if not for someone else, then for yourself.