Quality of life for me is doing the things that bring joy. Over the past five years I have learned a lot about what does not work for me and I have turned over a new leaf.
1. Reading
I am an avid reader, and reading is one of the simple pleasures in my life. I go through phases where I will focus on one genre until I am ready for a change. Right now, I am reading books across genres, and one of the unique things is that I have the ability to make connections among disparate pieces of information. I am an active reader so I get emotionally caught up with the words on the pages as I interact with them.
2. Meditation
Twice a day I meditate, which helps to bring peace to my life. I retreat to the quiet place within, where I listen to hear what my inner voice is trying to tell me. This practice helps me to become the person I was meant to be.
3. Raja Yoga
I recently discovered Raja Yoga, the highest form of yoga and it has made such a difference in my life. I have received tools to help me to achieve self-mastery. I see simple yet profound changes in myself. Things that used to bother me no longer do, and I view difficult people as my “Tests.”
4. Flourishing
I have been in many situations, both personal and professional where I felt a piece of me wither and die each day. Now I know how to quickly identify situations where I flourish and blossom. This allows me to be my best self, which contributes to contentment and happiness.
5. Working at relationship with myself
This is tied into flourishing because I recently let go of a few relationships because I finally admitted to myself that they simply were not working for me and never had. Now that I have stepped away I realize how important it is not to be around people who devalue you and put you down constantly. You cannot change people, you can only change yourself. I am busy working to be the person who I was meant to be so that I can move into relationships that are better for me. I am getting to know myself for the very first time. If I have a great relationship with myself, I can have a great relationship with others.
6. Success
I am working on achieving success in all areas of my life. For me, success isn’t solely about money, it is also about good health, quality relationships, meaningful projects, leisure and so on. Money is important though, because it provides freedom and independence, but the other areas have to be very present in my life. I am working at integrating my personal and professional life to bring more harmony to my life.
7. Work
I recently made a career change and focusing on work that feeds my soul. For a long time I was going through the motions. An important discovery for me is that because you are good at something does not mean that that is what you should be doing.
8. Reflection
I take time to check in with myself so that I am actually going where I want to go. This helps me to feel a sense of accomplishment.
9. Systems & Routines
I work for myself so I have added systems and routines to my life to add structure. This allows me to clearly see and map my progress, which makes me feel good about myself.
10. Going for walks
Walking is another simple pleasure for me. I live in a Metropolitan city in the heart of downtown so I walk to all my meetings. I have a pedometer and I seldom do less than the required 10,000 steps each day. Walking is very freeing for me and the open space allows me to think without borders. I get some of my best ideas when I travel by footmobile.