Everybody has bad days. Everybody has horrible days. That doesn’t matter. The important thing is how you feel about your life as a whole. What can you do to make your life more worth living?
1. Get out of debt. When you’ve got no debt to pay, you have more options and less risk. If you’re paying $1500 just to service your debt, it will be $1500 harder if you lose your job. If you’ve got no debt payments to make, the impact of losing an income stream is far less. On top of that, you’ll have that much more money to do the things you love every month.
2. Find something you love to do…and do it. Everybody has to do things they hate. For some, it’s cleaning up the cat’s litter box, for others, they die inside a little each time they punch a time clock. Life isn’t all puppy dogs and ice cream, but it’s important to have a little ice cream in your life. What do you love doing? Is there anything you love that you can start doing? Start a business, write a book, volunteer for a charity that matches your values, or grow the world’s largest pumpkin. Whatever it is, it’s time to get started.
3. Eliminate the things you hate. Life’s too short to live with the things you hate. If something is destroying the value of your life, get rid of it. Now, I’m not suggesting you off your mother-in-law, but it may be worth ignoring the phone when her number shows up on the caller ID and skipping Sunday dinner with her. If you hate your job, find another. If you can’t find a way to eliminate what you hate, embrace it and learn to love it, or you will eventually hate more of your life than just the bit driving you crazy.
4. Let the ones you love know you do. Do your children know you love them? Does your spouse? Are you sure? If a meteor fell on your head today, would your kids spend the rest of their lives wondering how you felt? If your wife were in a car accident today, would there be anything you wish you would have said? Now, today, this morning, this second is the right time to let your loved ones know you care. Don’t wait. If you haven’t made it a habit, it may feel awkward. Get over it. Your wife and kids will love you more knowing beyond doubt that you love them. A tight bond with your family can’t be bought, it can’t be bribed, and it can’t be faked. It is worth everything.
What’s one thing you could do today to make your life better?
I need to find someone who enjoys cleaning the cat litter box. That would be awesome.
I can rent my kids to you, but they only enjoy it because it’s tied to money.
It doesn’t work as well if it’s tied to cats, that’s for sure.
I would say destress. Nothing is worth stressing over so much that you subtract years from your life. There is always an alternative or way to solve the problem you may be stressing over.
I find the careful application of a few gallons of gas solves most problems. 🙂
Ha! And a match? or do you mean driving somewhere? lol
Doing things you love to do has changed me! I have been teaching for 10 years and love it. Opportunities open up when you love what you do. It feels really great to want to go to work every day.
Good for you. I’m jealous of that feeling.
A very wise post. I love it.
Finding something you love is the key to success in life. You might not make as much money as other people, but you will be rich in life experience and joy. That is the key to success. Chase Joy, not dollars!
Most people could make do with a lot less money if they didn’t have to buy crap to soothe the pain of life they hate. 🙂
good four points, probably most important. sometimes giving also bring happiness. Do something for society and that will bring satisfaction too.
My 5th point was “Do something nice for a stranger”, but I ran out of time.
Nothing changed my life more than starting to give. I can’t put my finger to what it is, but I have been much happier.
#2 is so important but it’s funny how most of these conflict. If you don’t find the balance, it’s hard to make all these work without one being too much a part of your life while the other is too little.
Awesome tips. They are all easy to implement. Our goal lately has been to spend more time with those that matter. We were letting that slip a bit and it was getting us down.