Living Deliberately

If I have to click on another article that gives me ten things I can do to improve my life or the latest, twelve milestones to success or 21 days to a better life; I’m going to puke or scream or tear my hair out.    If you want to lose weight, exercise and make healthier food choices.  If you want to save money, spend less.  If you want more love in your life, say “I love you,” not just to others, say it to yourself as well.  Did they tell you anything you didn’t already know?  Nope.  And it got a little preachy.  Eeew!

We take our lives for granted.  We take the people around us for granted.  When is the last time you stopped, just stopped and took a deep breath?   Do it now.  I’ll wait.  You can even smell a fresh flower if you have one nearby.  Life isn’t always easy and it slips by before we know it.  You say you want to change your life but you never really get around to it or there are lots of false starts.   Most days we just coast through continuing the same old routine; up at 7,   coffee at 7:15, a shower at 7:30, and get to work by nine, each day just like the next.  And then it’s Friday, even better if we get paid.   It’s summer.  We take a vacation.  Autumn arrives.  The leaves change.  You put on a sweater and some boots (my fave!).  Before you know it, the holiday music starts playing.  One year tumbling into another.

Real change takes focus, time and effort until it becomes second nature.  Anything, if you really want it, takes time, one choice at a time. Do it deliberately.  Live deliberately.  Pay attention to the choices you make each day.  We live in a society of high gloss and quick fixes but real change takes time.

People are always telling you how to fix things.   Breaking News: Not Everything is Broken.  You are not broken.  Maybe you just want to tweak a little.  But if you want twenty-one things to do to change my life advice…Here you go…

1. Drink More Water.
2. Enjoy nature. Go for a walk.
3. Cook a new recipe. You are not required to eat it.
4. Smile more.  You don’t have to do it in public.  I get it.  You want to appear cool and or smart.  FYI: Smart people smile.
5. Clean out your closet.
6. Donate the items to charity.
7. Meditate or not.  I don’t care.
8. Chew a new flavor of gum.
9. Make your own iced tea.
10. Try a new restaurant.
11. Take a different route to work.
12. Buy some new socks.  Socks are totally trendy right now.
13. Try a new hair color or cut.
14. Buy and eat a new fruit or veggie at the market.
15. Explore a new neighborhood…walking.
16. Take a dance class.
17. Ride the 6:11 train to work rather than the 6:22. Ooh. You might meet someone new!
18. Take a nap (Not now, finish reading this first).  Seriously.  Take a nap.  You seem a little cranky.
19. Write a letter to Santa…Dear Santa, When I was eight, I asked for…still waiting.
20. It’s almost back to school time.  Take a class.
21. Express your gratitude.
22. Bonus: Sing in the shower, loudly.

There you have it, twenty-one ways (with a bonus) to do something different, or not.  Those things aren’t new either.  They just may get you to pay attention or look at your life a bit differently.  You have choices.   Live deliberately.