getting 1% healthier everyday
Brushing our teeth.
Taking a shower.
Eating the right foods.
Drinking enough water.
Exercising.
Reaching out to friends and family.
Giving thanks.
Breathing deeply.
Reading a few pages.
Documenting.
Saying yes to things that bring us joy.
Saying no to things that drain our energy.
These things like many others are easy to do, and easy not to do.
Day after day, we have the choice: to do or not to do.
And what we decide creates our life.
When was the last time you created?
Building something out of nothing.
Finding a solution to a problem.
Doing art, organizing, writing, thinking.
Are you living day to day neglecting your creative muscle?
Or are you making the time to ponder and build?
When something bothers you, how do you deal with it?
Do you stomp your feet?
Do you accept without resistance?
Do you pop off at the first sign of opposition?
Or do you keep your reactions in line with your values?
Growing up, my mom taught me to express myself physically and verbally (the Philly attitude that we all know and love lol) but as I got older I realized that I can choose how I react… and my life changed forever.
I don’t get into altercations with others like I did before, things that used to bother me no longer have the same effect. My life is evolving for the better because my reactions are better.
I now take a second to breathe and think how I want to respond. I accept and do what I can in the moment. I try to see it from all sides. And I try to hold compassion and empathy forefront.
So how do you deal?
A list of 5 things to do today that will get you closer to your goals.
These to-dos aren’t habits, they are additional to your regular routine.
And that’s why the powerlist is a great tool to use if you are looking to better your life.
Each day you write out 5 things to do that day that’ll get you one step closer to your goals.
If you’re familiar with the Life Map System, you’ll have no problem coming up with your daily powerlist 🙂
If you complete everything on your powerlist to a T, you win the day.
If you miss even one thing, you lose the day.
Keep track of your days via a print out calendar or Google spreadsheet. W for a win, L for a lose.
Win enough days, you win the week. Win enough weeks, you win the month. Win enough months, you win the year. Win enough years, you win at life.
My powerlist today:
Hearing wind chimes, birds, lawn mowers.
Smelling fresh air, the flowers and greenery.
Seeing houses, cars, people, stores, streets, animals, plants.
Feeling my phone in my hand, champ’s leash on my arm, and socks on my feet. Also feeling grateful, a little hungry, sweaty, and inspired.
Tasting peppermint.
Thinking about the moment. Grounding myself in the now.
Ben Franklin implemented a values chart.
On the chart, he listed the habits he’d strive to do on the daily.
If he didn’t do a habit that day, he would make a small red x.
He started to see the habits that were easier than others to implement and adjusted accordingly.
The values chart is something to live up to however when we fail to do something, we have the opportunity to learn and grow.
And that’s the purpose of the values chart.
To lay out what we’d like to do, realize what we actually do / don’t do, and build a plan to bridge the gap.
The values chart isn’t about getting each day perfect, although that is the ultimate goal.
No matter what you’re going through…
You have the power to redirect your thinking.
You can think about what you’re grateful for.
You can think about peace and love.
You can think about ideas and concepts.
You can think about your own point of view.
When times get tough, let’s look inward and change the narrative.
You’re browsing Amazon and see something you like.
* add to cart *
After you do a little shopping, you now may have a couple things in your cart.
The total price is high too.
Before going straight to check out…
Let’s go through each item again to see if you really like it.
But wait, do you need it right now?
If not, save it for later.
Then close the app. Come back tomorrow.
I literally have 55 things saved for later in my Amazon cart from doing this.
Imagine my poor wallet if bought everything I liked impulsively like I used to.
If something bothers you, stirs up emotions, or hurts your feelings…
You have two choices… do something or do nothing.
If you choose to do something this could be:
If you chose to do nothing, that’s that. You accept the situation as it is.
There is no right or wrong choice… more like a better or worse choice depending on the current circumstances.
Is the other person open to hearing your feelings about the situation with no judgment or criticism? Or would speaking your feelings aloud cause even more argument and pain?
Would removing yourself from the situation bring more peace? Or would walking away cause more pain and suffering for yourself?
Of course you should also consider moral, ethical, and legal principles in your decision making because they are our guiding post to living a happy, fulfilled life surrounded by other happy, fulfilled humans.
So whether you decide to do something or do nothing, if it’s right for you – if your choice makes your life happier and / or healthier – it’s the better choice. So go with it.
I put my hand out to shake your hand (stimulus).
(space to decide how to respond)
Your hand meets mine for the shake (response).
Something bothers you and stirs up emotions (stimulus).
(space to decide how to respond)
Take a deep breath (response).
NOW, you can allow your best self to decide how you are going to respond.
Use space to your advantage when something happens to make you upset or frustrated.
In other words, respond to anger or pain with a deeeep breath to calm your nerves.
Then decide… do something or do nothing. And act accordingly.
x Cor
Replay is when we are imagining a situation in our mind over and over again.
We might be thinking about what we could have or should have done differently.
Or we might be thinking about the future, about responsibilities, goals, or reality.
And we probably now feel super overwhelmed and frustrated, which can lead to feeling off for hours, days, weeks, months… years.
We just can’t shake it. We keep thinking and thinking and thinking and that makes us more and more anxious. We carry it instead of putting it down and going on our way.
This is a prime example of the internal conflict “Replay”. And sadly, these types of conflicts can make our bodies very unhealthy overtime. They eat away at us physically, mentally, emotionally bit by bit.
As we always say on One Percent Healthier, the first step to change is Awareness.
Noticing that Replay is happening is the first step to get out of replay.
How does Replay feel at this moment? Are your core values conflicting? Did you make a mistake? Do you want better but do the opposite? What can you do differently moving forward to get better results? Do you have a plan, or is there a plan you can review?
When you notice, or are aware, you can take space. You can work through these mental barriers and come out stronger / more equipped for life.
When we notice the thoughts and feelings we are experiencing, we can use them as stepping stones, as a way to keep evolving, as prompts to ask questions and learn more from this school of life, instead of being stuck in Replay.
Side note: Most of the people you’ll meet during this lifetime will be stuck in their own version of Replay. Thinking and thinking on and on about things that happened or might happen. And they may never notice the internal conflict. They live in survival mode and most likely believe who they truly are, are the thoughts and feelings they have. Soooo be on high alert and respond accordingly ☺
Below are the mental seedlings I drop in my own mind so that I can begin to move out of Replay and into the Present (consciousness without thinking):
“I’m experiencing Replay and that’s okay. This is common in humans. And I know that I am not the thoughts and feelings I am experiencing, but the Awareness that notices. Who I truly am is more than Replay. I am the stillness that creates life. And I can create my own peace of mind.”
Congrats! At this point in Replay recovery you have dug deep and planted some positive seeds that will flourish with the right care. What kinda care? Self careee, my fav!
Open the windows or take a walk, drink water, eat a healthy snack, burn sage or palo santo, wear some crystals, brew herbal tea, play meditation or classical music, put a face mask on, do some yoga, read some blogs☺, create, watch a documentary, and whatever else you can and would like to do to relax and feel happier and healthier.
Mental health is real, we know this. But what does that mean? It means that we have to do the work to BUILD and MAINTAIN our mental health.
Just like we eat healthy and exercise to build and maintain our physical health, we reflect and we consciously think positive thoughts to build and maintain our mental health.
We reflect by noticing our thoughts and feelings and doing the work to cope in a positive and productive way.
We consciously think positive thoughts by making the effort to find things to be grateful for, to have less judgement and more compassion, to cut off the expectations and learn to let life happen and be grateful for everything that is the present moment.
You are more than your thoughts and feelings. You are the creator of your own beautiful life ♡
x Cor
Corie's Blog 