Derek Sivers said, “Don’t be on your deathbed someday having squandered your one chance at life, full of regret because you pursued little distractions instead of big dreams.”

Those big dreams are what Paulo Coelho called “Personal Legends” in The Alchemist. It’s comparable to your life purpose.

When you live your Personal Legend, you tend to experience synchronicities, live life in flow and are well on your way to self-actualization. That’s the path to soul-level fulfillment.

Deep down, every human longs for a sense of purpose and meaning in life. The problem is that we often seek those in the wrong places. Fulfillment doesn’t come from grandiose accomplishments, prestige, or doing what others expect of us; it comes from living our Personal Legends.

When we ignore the inner call to pursue that particular path, we go through life with a nagging feeling that something is missing. We also risk ending up with regrets in the future. However, that’s totally avoidable; there’s still time to pursue your Personal Legend.

Here’s how you can do it.

1. Follow the Breadcrumbs

To live your Personal Legend, you must follow your heart—your heart-centered dreams and desires. Those are the things that make you feel alive, inspired, excited, and energized and that spark curiosity within you.

Too many people discard their dreams because they’ve convinced themselves that they aren’t “reasonable.” But your heart-centered desires aren’t just childish fantasies; they are breadcrumbs guiding you to your most authentic and fulfilling life.

Plus, as Paulo Coelho wrote, “You will never be able to escape from your heart, so it’s better to listen to what it has to say.”

2. Don’t Fall for the Ego’s “Wants” or the “Shoulds” of Society

One of the main difficulties in living our Personal Legends is differentiating our heart’s desires from the “wants” of our egos or the “shoulds” of conditioning.

The ego’s “wants” are rooted in fear, need, and feelings of lack. For example, when I was a teenager, I dreamed of becoming a famous actress and living in Hollywood. I was doing theater and enjoyed acting, but wanting to be famous wasn’t a heart-centered desire; it was just my ego. My ego craved recognition and praise. It wanted to feel important.

As for the desires that come from conditioning, those are the things our education and society taught us we “should” do. For example, I went to university because I was told growing up that intelligent people get college degrees (which, of course, is untrue). I wasn’t particularly excited about going to university, and it ended up being a waste of time and money.

To differentiate your heart-centered dreams and desires from those of your ego or conditioning, write down what you want. Next, for each thing, write down why you want it. Ask yourself “why” five times to go deeper. Then, look at the reasons you want each item on your list. Is it to receive praise, obtain a certain social status, or feel superior to others? That’s the ego. Is it because you were told it’s what you should do? That’s conditioning. Is it because it makes you feel alive, vibrant, and inspired? That’s your heart.

3. Commit to Pursuing Your Personal Legend

Pursuing our Personal Legends requires commitment, even devotion. If we keep putting our dreams on the back burner, we’re not committed and probably won’t achieve them.

To commit to your dreams, you can start by writing them down and reading them daily. You can also create a vision board and even visualize them. Most importantly, make room for them in your life. If you feel curious about salsa dancing, take a class. If you love animals, why not volunteer at a shelter once a week? If you feel drawn to deserts, plan a trip to visit one.

My mom has always felt drawn to deserts. She asked for a travel book with beautiful images of deserts around the world for Christmas, collects silk scarfs, and has photos of Northern Africa all over her office’s wall. But she never went on a trip to see one with her own eyes. “It’s too complicated,” she’d explain. “It’s too far.” A portion of her Personal Legend will die within her, and it’s a bit sad.

4. Rely On Your Inner Knowing

Perhaps you’ve heard the saying, “The quickest way to kill a dream is to tell a small-minded person about it.” Until you’re entirely confident in your ability to make your dream come true, it’s best to keep it to yourself or, at least, only share it with those you know will support you.

Especially don’t share your dream just to seek validation. When you seek validation, you aren’t entirely confident in yourself, and it’s in those moments that your vision is the most at risk of being crushed by “small-minded people” or people who don’t understand what you’re trying to accomplish.

Plus, no one knows what your Personal Legend is better than you, so their opinion should hold very little value. Learn to trust your own inner knowing and not rely on external validation.

5. Feel the Fear and Go for It Anyway

Paulo Coelho wrote in The Alchemist, “Don’t give in to your fears. If you do, you won’t be able to follow your heart. […] There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”

When you set out to live your Personal Legend, you inevitably encounter resistance—fears, doubts, and insecurities—that can sabotage your progress and success. That’s because living your Personal Legend requires you to step into the unknown, which your ego sees as risky. Your ego’s job is to keep you safe, meaning within the confines of what’s known and habitual. You need to be stronger than your ego. Feel the fear, take a deep breath, smile, and go for it.

Here’s an effective way to remove the resistance caused by fear: visualize yourself having achieved your goal. Because your subconscious mind doesn’t differentiate what’s real from what you vividly imagine, you’ll trick it into believing that you’ve already done it. And, since you’re still alive, your ego will also think that it’s safe for you to pursue that dream, and it won’t cause as much resistance.

Your heart-centered dreams aren’t childish fantasies; they are guiding you to living your Personal Legend, your life purpose. Dare to pursue them! You’ll thank yourself for it when you get to the end of your life.

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In terms of home environment, trends come and go at a rapid pace. Today, the smart home segment is amid a heyday of sorts, with an estimated market size of some $99.4 billion in 2021, according to Statista. Smart appliances, security devices, and speakers are among the most popular home devices on the market.

The rise in popularity of smart homes around the world can be attributed to several factors. For starters, by switching to a smart home, you have greater control of everything from your appliances to daily energy consumption. Sometimes, these factors may begin to mesh and join forces, giving you the ultimate smart home experience and improved sustainability as a whole.

With help from emerging smart home technology, homeowners may even find themselves inspired to declutter and organise. Smart home living is good for the planet, and may even improve your life by reducing stress levels and streamlining household tasks. Here’s what you need to know about how switching to a smart home can inspire organised living.

Sustainable Ways To Declutter And Organise

Ideally, smart homes are both stylish and functional. The success of your smart home may hinge on how well it performs in the context of daily life. According to researchers, successful smart home design solutions are tailored to individual users, based on their needs. Health smart homes, for instance, give elderly and disabled patients greater housing independence via assistive technologies and devices.

Interestingly, switching to a smart home can also inspire organised living and minimalism. Think about it — smart home technology virtually eliminates the need for charging cords, separate remotes, and even appliances themselves. In this way, smart homes are a decluttering tool of sorts, allowing you to free up your living space and reduce allergens.

Studies indicate that decluttering your home is beneficial for your mental health as well, as it reduces visual distractions. Decluttering can also lead to a more efficient smart home. That’s because your smart devices are better able to communicate with each other (and the home’s central hub) when unobstructed by clutter.

The Environmental Benefits Of Smart Home Living

Switching to a smart home doesn’t just give your organisational skills a boost; it’s also good for the planet. Smart homes help regulate your household’s power usage, even pulling from alternative energy sources like solar if available. When it comes to eco-friendly home upgrades, solar energy systems are a solid investment, and they can be easily integrated into your smart home system.

For maximum environmental benefit, consider installing energy-efficient lighting and setting smart timers to optimise your household power usage. Much like other forms of smart home technology, smart light bulbs can save you money and time, and you can control brightness levels, colour, and overall ambiance right from your smartphone.

Another benefit of smart light bulbs is their life expectancy. Energy-efficient light bulbs can last for years, minimising household waste, which is a huge factor in terms of your household’s carbon footprint. In the UK, household waste collected amounted to 399 kilograms per person in 2020. The bulk of that waste ends up in landfills.

Final Thoughts

There’s good news for eco-conscious homeowners looking to reduce their environmental impact while improving organisational skills. From smart light bulbs to virtual assistants and efficient kitchen appliances, smart home technology is increasingly affordable and available around the world.

Whether it’s time for a complete summer home makeover or you’re simply swapping outdated appliances for eco-friendly models, switching to a smart home just makes sense. Smart home living has lasting environmental, financial, and mental health benefits, and can even inspire you to declutter and organise your space. What are you waiting for?

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If the old adage is true, with age comes wisdom, then people who live the longest are among the best resources to ask just about anything. From lifestyle to mental health to work and overall outlook, lived experience can help make anyone an expert, in time.

Luckily, research has been done on how to track down these wise, well-aged people and glean their life advice. The Blue Zones Project, led by founder Dan Buettner, identified the five places in the world where people live the longest: Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece, and Loma Linda, California. Then, he and his team studied these communities and took note of the wide array of life advice we have to learn from them.

That advice, of course, includes knowledge about how to eat for optimal health. While Blue Zone communities have a lot in common in terms of eating habits, the number one practice they share is simple: they are all largely plant-based.

The longest-living people largely eat a plant-based diet.

“People in the Blue Zones eat an impressive variety of garden vegetables when they are in season, and then they pickle or dry the surplus to enjoy during the off-season,” says the project. “The best-of-the-best longevity foods are leafy greens such as spinach, kale, beet and turnip tops, chard, and collards. Combined with seasonal fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and beans dominate Blue Zones meals all year long.”

These long-livers do eat meat, but only as a small side, very sparingly. Instead, protein comes from beans, nuts, seeds, and greens—all foods that can support weight loss.

The link between a plant-based diet and weight loss.

A plant-based diet has already been proven to help with weight loss by a myriad of other studies; perhaps the amount of evidence out there that correlates plants with lower body weight is to blame for our current cultural shift towards meat alternatives.

As far back as 2010, a study showed that meat consumption was associated with weight gain, even if other healthy weight loss techniques were employed. Then, in 2018, a comprehensive review of several studies showed that plant-based diets were correlated with better overall health—including more successful attempts at weight loss. As recently as 2020, another study was published linking a plant-based diet with weight loss.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

We’ve known for a while now that plants are the answer, at least, according to the research. But thanks to the Blue Zones Project, we can feel confident that the idea is based on something beyond academic research: it’s affirmed by the wisdom of the world’s longest-living people.

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If you’re looking to add a touch of rustic charm to your living room, there are many things you can do. There are endless possibilities, from adding natural elements like wood and stone to incorporating earthy colors and textures. This article will discuss six things you can add to your living room for a rustic look. So whether you’re just starting or wanting to give your living room a little refresh, read on for some inspiration. Let’s get started.

1. Add Contemporary Furniture With A Rustic Twist

One way to add a rustic touch to your living room is by incorporating contemporary furniture with a rustic twist. This can be anything from a modern coffee table made of reclaimed wood to an upholstered sofa with distressed leather. You can also add contemporary drink display cabinets and sideboards in rustic materials like stone or driftwood. The key is to mix and match different elements to create an eclectic and unique space.

When choosing contemporary furniture, it is important to consider the overall aesthetic of your living room. Opt for furniture with clean lines and natural materials if you want a more rustic look. For a more modern take on rustic style, go for pieces with metal accents or glass detailing. And if you’re looking to add a pop of color, consider using upholstered furniture in rich earth tones like deep green or burgundy.

2. Incorporate Natural Elements

Incorporating natural elements is another way to add a rustic touch to your living room. This can be from using reclaimed wood for your coffee table or sideboard to adding a stone fireplace or wooden beams on the ceiling. You can also bring in nature by adding houseplants or natural fibers for your rugs and curtains. The key is to use these elements to feel organic and not forced.

For example, consider adding rustic metal sconces on either side if you have a stone fireplace. Or, if you’re using reclaimed wood for your coffee table, pair it with a contemporary metal base. And if you’re adding houseplants, choose ones that are native to your area or have a rustic appearance.

3. Bring In Earthy Colors And Textures

Another way to create a rustic living room is by bringing in earthy colors and textures. This can be anything from rich jewel tones like deep green and burgundy to adding texture with wool blankets and cowhide rugs. You can also add visual interest by incorporating different patterns and textures into your space. For example, pair a striped rug with a floral print sofa or mix and match different woods for your furniture.

The key is to create a cohesive look by using colors and textures that complement each other. For example, if you’re using earthy tones, use a mix of light and dark colors to add depth and interest. And if you’re incorporating different textures, be sure to balance them out, so they don’t feel overwhelming.

4. Use Rustic Accessories

There are different ways you can add rustic accessories to your living room. One way is to use metal accents like copper or brass. You can also add stone or wood elements, like a stone lamp or a wooden tray. Another option is to use vintage pieces, like an antique mirror or clock. The key is to choose accessories that complement the overall style of your living room.

If you have a modern living room, you can add a rustic twist with metal accents and vintage pieces. Or, if you have a more traditional space, you can use stone or wood elements to add a touch of rustic charm.

5. Create A Focal Point

When decorating any room, it’s important to create a focal point. This is the one element that will draw the eye and set the tone for the space. In a rustic living room, a good focal point can be anything from a fireplace to an accent wall. If you have a fireplace, consider adding rustic sconces or a mantel. If you have an accent wall, you can use reclaimed wood or stone to create a statement.

Ensure that you choose a focal point that complements the overall style of your living room. For example, if you have a modern space, you can use an accent wall of reclaimed wood.

6. Add Rustic Lighting

Lastly, one of the most important elements in any room is lighting. And when it comes to rustic style, you should keep a few things in mind. First, you want to use light fixtures with a natural or organic feel. This can be anything from using mason jars as sconces to using wood beams as chandeliers. You can also use candles to add a warm and inviting glow to your living room.

Just be sure that you don’t go overboard with the lighting. You want to create a cozy and comfortable space, not one that feels like a campground. You can also add dimmers to your light fixtures to create a softer, more romantic ambiance.

There you have it! These are just a few ways you can add a touch of rustic charm to your living room. Remember to keep things cohesive by choosing colors, textures, and accessories that complement each other. And don’t forget to create a focal point that will draw the eye and set the tone for the space. With these tips, you’ll be well on your way to creating a rustic living room that you and your guests will love.

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Have you ever made a mistake that you just can’t stop thinking about?

Maybe you bombed an interview for the dream job you’ve always wanted.

Or you decided to call it quits with your partner, and you’re stuck replaying all the things you did wrong in your relationship.

Whatever your situation may be, dwelling on the past is a waste of your energy.

At the end of the day, what’s done is done, and the best thing you can do is move forward.

Is It Possible to Stop Living in the Past?

If you find yourself constantly stuck in the past, you may feel like it’s impossible to adjust your focus.

Perhaps you are naturally anxious and dislike change, so you find comfort in the past.

Breaking bad habits is never easy, but it is possible to manage your thoughts on past events and focus your sights on the future.

To stop living in the past, you first need to accept that it isn’t healthy and figure out why you are stuck ruminating on it.

Why Should We Stop Living in the Past?

No matter why you find yourself pondering the past, it’s not a healthy habit to have. Finding a way to move on is important for your well-being and emotional state.

The following are a few reasons why you should stop living in the past:

• By living in the past, you prevent yourself from soaking in and enjoying the present moment.
• You cannot change the past, so it’s a waste of your mental energy to think about it too much.
• Being too harsh on yourself for past decisions can lower your confidence and feelings of self-worth.
• You will be forcing yourself to re-live negative emotions such as sadness, anger, and grief.
• It isn’t fair to the people in your life currently if you are constantly stuck reminiscing on the past.

Why Am I Stuck Living in the Past?

Maybe you find yourself constantly dwelling on the past, and you’re not sure why. If you want to stop living in the past, it’s crucial to understand why you’re so trapped by it.

This unhealthy habit can stem from a variety of reasons, such as:

• You haven’t entirely accepted a situation and wonder how it could have gone differently.
• You made a bad decision that you feel ashamed about, or you fear will happen again.
• You experienced a traumatic event such as a divorce or car accident and are unsure how to move on from it.
• You feel that you peaked in your past, so the present pales in comparison.
• You are viewing your past through rose-tinted glasses, and it is preventing you from remembering the difficult moments too.

How to Stop Living in the Past: 13 Actions to Let It Go and Live in the Now

If you wonder how to stop living in the past, you first need to change your mindset. It takes time and patience to train your mind to focus on the present, so be kind to yourself throughout the process.

Here are 13 actions you can take to let go of your past and start living in the here and now.

1. Take responsibility for your mistakes

Maybe you made mistakes in your past that caused your life to take a different turn. Perhaps you even hurt others with your actions. If you sweep your mistakes under the rug, you are doing a disservice to not only those you hurt but also yourself.

Acknowledging and accepting that you played a hand in your situation is the first step towards letting go of the past. Maybe that means reaching out to someone you wronged and apologizing or somehow making it up to them.

Once you can take responsibility for your previous faults, you will feel a huge weight lifted off your shoulders.

2. Forgive yourself and others

If you made a mistake in your past, you have probably spent a lot of time ruminating and beating yourself up over it. Maybe your decisions caused hardship in your own life, or you hurt someone you cared about.

As much as you may wish you could, you can’t go back and change it, so the best thing to do is forgive yourself.

If you were the person who got burned, try to forgive the other person. It may be difficult, but it will feel great to rid yourself of the anger you feel.

3. Focus on the things in your control

The past is gone, so as much as you might wish you could change things, cogitating on it is a waste of your time and energy.

The here and now is all you really have. Focus on what’s in your control, which is the present moment. Maybe you messed up in the past, but you can take steps today to right your wrongs and turn your life around.

Your time is much better spent finding ways to improve your current situation. Focus your energy on personal growth and working on the things about yourself that need improvement.

4. Find a healthy outlet for your emotions

Often the reason we ruminate on our past is that we haven’t processed our emotions. When you bottle your feelings, they often appear in not-so-great ways.

Finding an outlet is crucial to process your emotions healthily. Maybe you’re an artist, and you let your thoughts tell a beautiful story on the canvas.

Or you might prefer a more personal approach, such as journaling. Writing down your thoughts is an excellent way to process difficult emotions. You can even burn or tear up the pages afterward as a symbolic way of releasing them.

5. Gain clarity on your attachment to the past

To stop dwelling on your past, you need first to understand why you are so attached to it. People typically get stuck in the past for two reasons: they either had a challenging experience or an amazing one.

If you fall into the first camp, you probably experienced a traumatic situation of some kind, such as an accident or even a breakup. You might be wondering what you could’ve done to change the outcome.

However, you may be thinking of a fantastic experience from your past. If you feel like you’ll never reach that level of happiness again, that could explain why you are so attached to that moment.

6. Identify lessons you took from the experience

Do you find yourself dwelling on what you could have done differently? One way to move on from your past experiences is to identify lessons you learned.

For example, perhaps an ugly breakup taught you what you don’t want in a partner. Now you’re more likely to catch red flags early on.

Or, maybe you screwed up and missed an important deadline and were fired from your job. This challenge taught you an important lesson about time management and setting priorities. Whatever the outcome was, there is bound to be a lesson that you can take away from your past.

7. Let go of your victim mentality

If you experienced abuse in your past, whether physical, mental, or emotional, there is no doubt that you were a victim. However, as painful as those experiences were, it can be helpful to view them from a different perspective.

Instead of thinking of yourself as a victim, think of yourself as a survivor of your circumstances. Acknowledging the strength it took to get out of the situation can be an empowering experience.

It will be easier to let go of those difficult emotions once you learn to view your past through this new lens.

8. Express gratitude for the present

When you’re stuck in the past, you neglect the present moment. You can be present when you’re preoccupied. A gratitude practice is a great way to reset your focus. Each morning, write down three things you are thankful for.

Don’t forget to stop and smell the roses now and then! Take in the beauty of the world around you and appreciate the people in your life.

Appreciating your life and enjoying simple pleasures is key to letting go of the past and savoring the here and now.

9. Take off your rose-colored glasses

The truth is, the past was never quite as great as we envision it. Perhaps we are wearing rose-colored glasses that alter our perception of previous events.

Maybe you had a partner that you felt was perfect for you, and now you compare every potential date to them. None of your relationships seem to work out because they don’t meet your expectations.

Once the past is well behind you, you may become sentimental and forget the challenges and difficult emotions you had at the time. Reminding yourself that your past wasn’t as perfect and magical as you might be remembering is crucial to letting go.

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10. Remember that you’re the author of your story

Think of your life as a story and each chapter as a different era of your life. Some chapters will be good, and others will be not-so-good.

You have probably read books with chapters that had a bad ending. However, maybe you read on to the next chapter, and things got much better.

It’s the same with your life – perhaps a chapter in your past didn’t have the outcome you hoped or expected. The only way to move on from it is to turn the page. You have the power to keep writing your story, but not if you continue reading the same page over and over again.

11. Surround yourself with positive people

Surrounding yourself with negative individuals can be harmful in more ways than one. Not only are you more likely to stay stuck in a negative mindset, but you also won’t have the necessary support system to help you build a better future!

Find supportive friends and like to look on the bright side of life. It’s a great feeling to be surrounded by like-minded individuals.

An added benefit is all the wonderful new memories you can create together to take your mind off the past.

12. Grow from your mistakes

It’s one thing to own up to and accept your mistakes – it’s another thing entirely to grow from them.

Use your mistakes as motivation to do better in the future. Examine them and learn from them. Maybe you’ve realized you are always late and need to work on getting your priorities straight, or perhaps you’ve learned you have some toxic traits that you need to eliminate before getting into another romantic relationship.

You are less likely to beat yourself up over past mistakes once you learn to grow from them.

13. Set your sights on the future

When you find yourself stuck in the past, it can be helpful to shift your focus to what lies ahead.

Letting go of the past is easier said than done, but the beautiful thing is that better things await. By releasing emotions that no longer serve you, you make space for new things to enter your life.

However, be careful not to focus too much on your future and ignore the present. That is another unhealthy habit that you want to avoid!

How Do I Stop Living in the Past in My Relationships?

Maybe you and your partner argued, and you are replaying the events over and over in your head. Perhaps you recently went through a breakup that left you wondering: How could I have handled the situation better?

Here are some ways you can put a stop to this mindset and refocus on the present:

• Accept your mistakes – you did the best you could with what you had at the time.
• Recognize that no one is perfect, and beating yourself up over the situation serves no useful purpose.
• Apologize and make amends if necessary. Is there any way you can make it up to them?
• Feel your emotions and then let them go.
• Forgive yourself and the other person and make a vow to do better moving forward.

No matter what regrets you may have, it’s possible to stop dwelling on the past. All you need is a mindset shift and determination to move forward. Instead of ruminating on what’s gone, look toward the future and the beautiful experiences ahead for you.

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Today, all of us live surrounded by clutter on a daily basis, at home, in the office or at school. While we like to think that an abundance of things gives us comfort and security, once these things pile up and start overwhelming our space, they turn into clutter which is bad for your mental and physical health. So how do you remove clutter from your life? Check out these amazing ideas:

Stop Clutter From Entering Your Space

It’s better to prevent clutter from forming than to have to remove it from your home. To do this, try to be mindful when shopping or accepting free gifts. Think twice before salvaging furniture from the sidewalk or hitting sales. Clutter comes in many forms, so make sure to think about whether an item entering your home can become junk in the future.

Put Everything In Its Place

This is probably the hardest thing to do—putting something back once you’re done using it. It makes perfect sense to take something, use it and put it back, but many of us still don’t do it. If you also find that hard, make a little game out of it—can you put that thing back in 5 seconds? Or try to narrate your actions like you would in a tutorial video (it strangely helps). If you just keep doing it, it will become a habit and your home will be much cleaner all the time.

Stick To A Monthly Purge

No matter how careful you are, stuff accumulates in your space like magic. To fight these dark spells, take your time once a month to purge your space of trash and throw away everything you don’t use or adore to see every day. Grab a trash bag, go about your space and get rid of everything that is cluttering your home or office. After your purge, you’ll feel so much better and lighter.

Create An Easy Way To Throw Things Away

No matter if it comes to clutter at home or clutter at work, it’s important to make getting rid of it easily and quickly. One of the most practical solutions is garbage chutes that allow a quick, safe and convenient way to move trash from upper floors. This is an amazing option for everything from tall commercial buildings like your office to multistory homes. And these prevent piling up of trash in bins, eliminate odor and make it easy for everyone to reduce clutter in their space.

Boost Storage

Your space should have a place for everything. If something just randomly sits on your table, you can’t call that its proper place—these things cause clutter. Some of us have a lot of these things that are floating around the apartment or office, so this might be your clue to invest in more storage. Things like plastic storage containers, filing cabinets, drawers and shelves come in.

Store Things Strategically

Everything needs to have a place, but not just any place. It’s crucial to be strategic when choosing a “house” for your items, as everything should be stored close to the place of use. Having to cross an entire house to put something away after use will make it almost impossible to create good habits of minimizing clutter.

Ditch Paper

We all have a bunch of documents at home or at work, and scanning them might seem like the most boring task in the world, but it’s so worth it. Going paperless is a great decision that will allow keeping documents at hand without adding to clutter.

Change Your Point Of View

The media is trying to tell us just how important it is to have the newest phone, the most popular shoes or the latest décor trend in your home. This is of course not true. What truly makes our lives better and richer is not material things, but experiences. So next time you’re about to spend money on gadgets, trinkets or clothing, consider how you can direct those funds into something more valuable like a vacation, a museum visit or a night out with friends and family. The memories you make can easily fit in your brain and you don’t have to worry about adding them to your shelves.

After you realize your problem with clutter, use these tips to reduce it, organize your things and even prevent clutter from entering your space. You’ll feel much lighter and your home will always be ready for guests.

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Parents have more to worry about in one day now than our parents and grandparents did in a year. At least, it feels that way sometimes, doesn’t it? From trying to guide our children in the minefield of gender pronouns and identity expression to just keeping them safe walking to and from school, our world just isn’t quite working the way it should on many levels. Now, this isn’t a call for the doomsayers, quite the opposite. We fully advocate a healthy and balanced life, with a filter that is doused with positivity but prepared – for realism.

When things are going well, we don’t think twice about keeping a solicitor’s telephone number at the ready, but boy are we happy to have that number when life hands us lemons – and there’s no tequila insight.

Why do you want a relationship with a local solicitor as opposed to just getting one when you need one?

Well, to answer that question you need to think about how your family’s life works. Are you and your significant other professional people with legal responsibilities, or are you just the ‘average joe’ trying to do the best you can? Both of these situations and everyone in between is unique and will mean that you will likely need more or less legal assistance during the course of your life.

For most of us, just having some kind of legal insurance will more than suffice and for the most part, we won’t need to retain the services of a million-pound solicitor – at least, we hope not.  Still, if you can forge something of a relationship with a local solicitor that you trust, even if they’re just doing your estate planning, wills, contracts and such, will help you faster in a difficult situation than if you’re going from a cold start. Solicitors can also provide character references and speak on your behalf in courtroom situations, so you’ll want someone that knows and understands you.

It is unfortunate, but steering your family through difficult medical situations is something that you may very well have to encounter at some stage in your life. In the UK for example, 1 in 400 babies are affected by Cerebral Palsey and you may only be able to undergo a full diagnosis by the time your child is 4 or 5 years old. However, not all doctors pick up on the right signs at the right time, and this could lead to a lifetime of additional expenses and planning that you had not planned for. So, you may need cerebral palsy solicitors to help you navigate this field – that is, just one example of course and we trust and hope that you’ll never have to use one.

The UK has a good healthcare system but negligence happens here, just as it does in the USA and other countries too and the language that we use to navigate these issues is one of currency – more specifically, cold, hard, cash. So don’t be put off seeking advice for damages and claims, that’s why the system exists at all – to protect you.

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If you’ve been told living life for yourself is unforgivably selfish, you’re in the right place.

It’s time we put that idea where it belongs (far away from you). 

There’s a reason you have a will of your own. 

Living your own life is something only you can do.

Other people have their own lives to live and their own choices to make.

Other people’s lives are their responsibilities. 

Your life is your own. 

How Do I Start Living My Life? 

Single, unattached people aren’t the only ones who have a right to live their life as they see fit.

If you have a spouse and especially children, it’s even more critical for you to know how to live your life for you. 

If you have kids, you don’t want them to grow up thinking it’s normal to prefer to live their lives for others and repress their own desires.

It’s a short trip from that to subjecting their needs to someone else’s whims. Too many of us already do that.  

So, is it possible to live for yourself? And what does that look like? 

• You decide how you spend the time you have outside of work; 
• You choose what career or job you pursue and for how long; 
• You determine if you enter into or stay in a committed relationship; 
• You decide how to spend, save, or invest the money you earn; 
• You decide whether to become a parent and to how many. 

No one can (or should) make these choices for you. They’ve got their own to make. 

Living For Yourself: 9 Ways To Live Your Life for Yourself Guilt-Free 

If you’re ready to learn how to start living for yourself, look through the following steps. Think about where you are right now, and consider where you need to begin.

Don’t compare your progress with anyone else’s. Your process is your own.

Make a note of the points that stand out for you. 

1. Get to Know Yourself Better

You won’t fight for yourself if you don’t know who that is—or if you’ve bought into the idea that your buried self isn’t worth knowing. 

To be clear, we’re not saying you should know everything there is to know about yourself. None of us is born with perfect self-knowledge. It’s a process. 

To make that process a priority, focus on making time for activities that help you get better acquainted with yourself. Identify your biggest energy drains, along with the things that help you feel alive. What drags you down, and what lifts you up? 

2. Get Clear on What You Want

We’re not saying no one else’s wants should matter to you; we’re saying other people’s wants shouldn’t automatically take priority over your own. 

Write about what you want. Talk to yourself or someone else about it.

Make a list of the things you really want to do before you die. Make a list of things you’ve wanted to do but have put on the back burner to please someone else. 

What you want doesn’t have to match that of your spouse. It’s okay to want different things. What’s not okay is forcing your wants onto someone else.

If you’re reading this, chances are someone in your life is doing that to you. And you don’t have to let them. 

3. Practice Being Your Authentic Self. 

Use your voice. Express your personality. Ditch the filter and share what you truly think about something—even if your thought is, “I don’t know enough about that subject to weigh in on it.” 

Spend more time listening to your inner voice and following its promptings — or at least considering them. Step outside your comfort zone and take some risks. 

True, not every random thought is worth putting into action. But the better you get at distinguishing random thoughts from the promptings of your intuition, the easier it is to know which thoughts deserve more of your attention. 

4. Define Your Own Terms

You don’t have to subscribe to someone else’s idea of what it means to be happy or successful.

What do those words mean to you? What do you want more of in your life? And what could you happily do without? 

No one else can define what happiness means for you. No one can tell you what would help you feel satisfied or fulfilled. And while you can’t count on always feeling that way when you’ve finished something, you deserve a chance to find out. 

Just as you can’t make someone else happy, no one else can make you happy or tell you what should make you happy. Happiness isn’t about shoulds. Neither is success. 

5. Identify Your Core Values

Identify the most critical areas of your life — relationships, career, spirituality, health, fitness, etc. — and what you can do to emphasize those areas, even if it means taking attention away from something someone else wants you to prioritize. 

Your life, your priorities. No one else has a right to tell you what your values or priorities should be. And if you spend your life living in service to someone else’s values and ideals, you’ll never feel truly alive. 

And you’ll likely wonder why your being alive is even necessary. You don’t need to be fully you to be someone else’s robot. And that makes you easy to replace. 

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6. Design a Life You Want to Live

Restructure your day in a way that allocates more of your time and energy to those areas that matter most to you. Identify and cultivate habits that honor those priorities. 

Take a moment to think about what a day in this life would look like, from the moment you wake up to the moment you get back into bed and drift off for the night. 

Walk yourself through the day and notice what you love about it and what you bring to it when you’re allowed to live it on your own terms. What would it take to make the life you’re living now closer to that? 

7. Do More of What You Enjoy

Spend more time doing things you enjoy. If you’re always putting that on the back burner, so your significant other or your kids get to do what they want, resentment sets in. 

No one is born to be used by another until all the life is drained out of them. Make time for activities that light you up inside and remind you of what you love or what’s important to you. Make time for things that remind you of who you are and what you’re good at. 

We’re not asking you to always choose what you want at the expense of other people; we’re just asking that you don’t automatically sacrifice your wants to please someone else.  

8. Choose Your Company Well

If you’re constantly badgered about how selfish it is that you’re not putting someone else first all the time, you’re hanging out with the wrong people. There’s a reason flight attendants tell you to put on your own gas mask before helping others with theirs. 

We’re not asking you to abandon your kids or ghost everyone who asks you to do something for them. But you do have some control over the company you keep. 

Living your life for yourself doesn’t mean you’ll never choose to sacrifice your plans to help someone else. It just means what you do is your choice and not someone else’s. You can be there for the people you love without sacrificing your agency. 

9. Keep Learning and Growing. 

Growth isn’t passive. It’s not something that just happens if you continue living and waking up each morning to do things and interact with people. It’s a choice you make that often involves risk, making mistakes, and learning from them. It’s messy. 

And what you draw from that mess — and how you clean it up  — is up to you. Give that control to someone else, and you might as well give up consciousness, too.

You’re building something on the inside as you work to create something outside yourself. 

Now that you know what it really means to live for yourself, what points stood out for you? And what will you do differently today? 

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We might not realise it, but we are bombarded with self improvement messages on a daily basis. From make up and hair adverts on TV, through to weight loss stories and fitness plans on the covers of magazines, we are constantly told we are not good enough. Yet if we buy this particular product or follow that particular celebrity, we could be. And what happens is that these subtle subliminal messages, rather than making us feel good about ourselves, actually have the complete opposite effect. Which sees us about as far removed from self improvement as you can possibly get.

So, what we want to focus on today is not necessarily how you can improve yourself, because honestly, we think you’re pretty awesome as you are, but instead to concentrate on showing you some ways to help build up your self esteem in order for you to believe it too!

Know Yourself

Before we can self improve we really need to know what it is exactly we want to improve, or to look at it another way – to address some of the things we’re not happy with in our lives. It’s time to start making some lists!

Grab yourself a large sheet of paper and divide it up into different category blocks – relationship, career, health, money, fitness, aspirations etc. Jot down all the things that aren’t quite working out for you, the things that you like about your current situation, as well as how you would like it to be in an ideal world.

The very act of ‘brain dumping’ can be incredibly cathartic and helps to clarify and make sense of things. It allows you to make positive and actionable steps, rather than having all of those thoughts swirling around in your head.

Keep Learning

School days may seem like an absolute lifetime ago, but that doesn’t mean we ever need to stop learning. Indeed, continued learning throughout our lives can help give us purpose and encourage a growth mindset. If you’re unsure where to start you can try going for one of the many distance learning courses online. These offer a variety of different courses; anything from healthcare and nutrition, through to journalism, animal care and IT courses; there is something to suit all interests.

Alternatively, why not take up a new hobby, join a sports club, learn a new language, read a new book about a subject you know nothing about. Absolutely anything that enriches your mind and motivates you in some way is such a positive step in helping you to feel good about yourself.

Be Your Own Cheerleader

I’ll bet you dish out compliments to your friends all the time, right? But how often do you give yourself those same words of praise? I think we all know the answer to that one!

I’m not going to lie, singing your own praises and being your own cheerleader is far from easy. But if we constantly focus on the negatives and think unkindly towards ourselves, this can get in the way of so many of those life goals you are hoping to achieve.

One thing that can help you to change the way you speak to yourself is setting yourself some daily check in habits.

• Keep some positive affirmation cards by the side of your bed and read one every morning.
• Make sure the first thing you do when you look in the mirror is smile at yourself.
• At the end of each day write down at least one thing you have achieved, are proud of, that made you happy that day.

Take control of your inner critic, show yourself some self compassion, and start blowing your own trumpet a bit.

Step Out Of Your Comfort Zone

Sometimes doing something that scares the living daylights out of you is the one thing that gives you the biggest sense of achievement, so pull up those big girl pants and give it a go.

OK, OK so maybe don’t rush out and sign yourself up to a skydiving session just yet, after all some of us do have genuine phobias, but how about doing something that is completely out of character, that gets your tummy filled with butterflies, makes your heart beat faster, makes you feel alive!

The secret to building self confidence is to take that giant step out of your comfort zone and experience the things that make you feel this way. Sure it’s scary, and no it’s not easy, but I’ll tell you something for nothing, it’s incredibly rewarding and will make you feel completely empowered once you’ve done it.

Stop Procrastinating And Just Do It!

And finally, these action points are all well and good, but they’ll only work if you get on out there and actually do them. So, stop procrastinating, stop making excuses, stop thinking about the what if’s and just do it.

*collaborative post

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Managing stress and anxiety is imperative if you want to remain healthy. However, it is not always easy to manage stress. You have to make a conscious effort to make the right choices every day.

You also have to have a system in place to manage your stress which often comes with anxiety. Once you have a systematic approach to dealing with high levels of stress you will find that your life improves dramatically.

Make Small Fitness Goals

Exercise is a big stress buster. However, it can be difficult to exercise consistently. If you set small goals you are more likely to stay healthy. Try exercising for 10 to 15 minutes a day in the beginning. It is better if they do this every day than only exercising once per week.

Make sure that you enjoy your exercise. For exercise to be effective it does not have to be boring or make you miserable. If you find that the exercise activity that you are doing is making you feel this way you need to change it because it will not motivate you to continue.

Take Control Of Your Thoughts

People who have anxiety often imagine the worst that could happen in any given situation. This is why it is so essential that you take control of your thoughts. You need to start making positive affirmations that counteract the way you feel.

Take control of your thoughts and verbally speak in a positive way. Train your mind to think positively and reduce anxiety.  It can be difficult at first but once you get into a pattern of rethinking negative scenarios in your head your anxiety will decrease.

Get Enough Sleep

Many people who have anxiety also have insomnia. The inability to sleep because you are too anxious about things you cannot control can have a negative impact on your health.

Not only will you increase your blood pressure, and heart rate but you will be too tired to function. Often people with anxiety need to be prescribed sleeping pills.

However, before you go this route it is best to try natural alternatives. Try to keep off your cell phone and other devices before you go to bed.

Chamomile tea and milk are well known for their ability to relax you and prepare the body for sleep. You can also try CBD oils, these are not intoxicating and they can relax you enough to give you a good night’s sleep. You can purchase CBD oil at a CBD shop or online.

Avoid Sweets

When you are anxious it can be comforting to reach for a tub of ice cream or some cookies. However, research is now showing that when you have too much sugar, it can make your anxiety worse.

If you are feeling anxious the best thing you can do is drink water or foods that contain protein.  This will energize your body and help reduce your feelings of anxiety.

Stay Healthy

Reducing anxiety and staying healthy is very important. If you’re not careful anxiety can overtake your life and make it difficult for you to function normally.

This can cause problems for you at your job or in school. Use the tips that have been given here to reduce your anxiety and stay healthy.

*collaborative post

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