Feel like you’re drowning in minutiae? Has getting through the day turned into a grinding, de-motivating experience too much of the time? Are your spirit and life energy being sucked out by technology that doesn’t work and non-existent customer service? Has the world become a place which more and more often seems to reflect a culture which does not value (or even expect/demand) accountability, follow through, keeping commitments, or even common civility and old-fashioned good manners? Do you look at the news and see story after story of sniping, lies, corruption and cover-ups, infidelity, and raw hatred?
 
Well, it’s not your imagination. But just because it’s true, doesn’t mean you can’t do something about it.
It also doesn’t mean you can’t take steps to surround yourself over time with people, actions, and a mindset that gradually leads you to greater ease, less burden and emotional angst, and more days with a glass that’s full more often than it’s empty. And, no, you won’t need rose-colored spectacles.
 
Here are 10 ideas and resources to help you start to turn things around:

1. marc & angel HACK LIFE.  I often find great tips, a fresh perspective, and wonderful reminders from this couple who describe the goal of their blog as “to give you the tools to identify and transform the limiting beliefs that keep you stuck.” I love my own “Be a Healthcare Rebel” blog (and hope you do too!), but I think you can always learn much from others because certainly no one person has all the answers!
2. Think about your legacy.
3. Stop resisting and start accepting that “It is what it is, until it’s something different.”
4. Sometimes……
   • you just have to say, “whatever,” and move on.
   • you just have to remind yourself “I did my very best” and then let it go.
   • you have to step away and come back later when people/timing/circumstances are different and the soil becomes fertile for the seeds you want to plant.
5. Read: The 10 Things to Do When Life Falls Apart by Daphne Rose Kingma
6. Distract yourself and do something which might seem to be mindless, at least on the surface. Studies indicate a return to your childhood activity of coloring books (paper or digital) can be quite soothing, calming, mindful, and absorbing enough to take you away from your thoughts for the break you need on a day that’s going from bad to worse. Sounds juvenile, right? But try it. I think many of you will find it’s a boost to creativity, an exercise of a different part of your brain, and when you finish, you’ll have concrete evidence of accomplishment (And you don’t even need to stay inside the lines!)
7. Control.Alt.Delete. Each month pick one activity/task/chore to delete (or at least take a break from) from your life that no longer serves you well. By the end of a year, you will have created more space for you and the way you really want to live your life and spend your time.
8. Give yourself 5 minutes a day to block out the world to just breathe and to just be. And be religious about this activity so it becomes a habit.
9. Commit to yourself. If you only had one year left to live, how important would some of your de-motivators and spirit-destroyers be? And would it make a difference if you stopped doing them?
10. Move/Sleep/Eat Healthier. A body that is not fueled up will make the journey longer, harder, and more emotionally challenging when there are the inevitable obstacles in the road.

Any suggestions you’d like to share that have worked when your tank is running on empty? I’d love to hear from you! Email me.