6 Simple Secrets To A Richer, Happier Life

Val Baldwin, CPC
Live Your Ultimate Life
www.valbaldwin.com

It really doesn't have to be huge, momentous events or material things that make our lives happier. In fact, quite often it's the small, simple things that can have the most meaning and the biggest impact on the quality of our daily living. The mistake most people make is they are constantly waiting for others or circumstances to make their lives happy. Does this sound familiar? "When I finally get out of this dead-end job"...or "When I finally meet my true love"...or "When the kids are out of the house" ...then I'll be happy. WAKE UP CALL! The truth is the ONLY ONE that can make you happy is YOU.

To get you started on taking action for a richer, happier life, here's 6 simple secrets you can begin right now. Start today with incorporating 2 or 3 into your daily life and add the rest as the weeks go by. Watch what happens!


  1. MORE READING
    To those of us with busy, adult, multi-tasking lives...to sit down to read for pleasure feels like a complete indulgence...and who has the time? Yet reading can make your days feel so much richer and more relaxed. Books can take you to different countries and cultures, sweep you away with drama and romance, uplift you with humor and inspirational life lessons.

    So how do you find the time to read? You don't FIND the time, you MAKE the time. Set your alarm for 15 minutes earlier and read before you get up. Keep your book in the car and read while you are getting gas, waiting for your kids practice to get over, or during your lunch break. Turn the TV off 30 minutes earlier at night and read instead.

  2. LESS SELF-PITY
    Are you the type who tends to whine on and on about your troubles? I'm sure we all fit into this category at times but I'm also sure we've been on the other end enduring someone else's endless whining and we wish they would just snap out of it.

    When you start hearing yourself go into the "poor me" mode, try this anti-self-pity exercise. You simply need to change your focus from you to someone else and do something nice for that person. Think about someone else you know who is having a rough time in their life. Take them a batch of cookies, offer to babysit their kids for an hour, bring them some hot chocolate or a flower. Or if you really want a reality check, go downtown and give a sack lunch to a homeless person, walk through a critical care unit and buy coffee for a family waiting for their loved one. Seeing the big picture in life is a powerful teacher and you will soon be happy to keep your own troubles...thank you very much!

  3. MORE BEAUTY
    The older I get, the more I realize what a positive impact beauty has on my disposition. I enjoy life so much better when I have shots of beauty throughout my day. Whether it's gazing out the back windows of my home to see my lovely garden, or walking through my dining room to see a beautiful oil painting my daughter has recently finished, or the vase of fresh flowers in my kitchen that always makes me grin...beauty is a priceless booster shot for your life.

    Don't wait for special occasions to bring out your beautiful things to enrich your environment. I have a friend who always has her dining room set with her best china and colorful napkins and placemats. Add some beauty to your work environment with a lovely picture frame or vase or interesting paperweight. For me, fresh flowers really keep my spirits up so I don't wait for my husband to be the only one to buy them. I treat myself regularly and it doesn't have to be costly. I figure a few bucks each week for grocery store or outdoor market flowers is well worth the way it makes me feel when I enter my kitchen and see them.

  4. LESS HURRYING
    How many times do you sit at a red light with adrenaline pumping through your veins because you're going to be late picking up the kids or for work? I'm the kind of person who doesn't like to be late, but I also seem to be the kind of person who refuses to leave enough time to get places. Leaving five minutes earlier than necessary would be a start - plus, if you get there early and have to wait, this could be another time for more reading!

  5. MORE GARBAGE
    Many a domestic guru will tell people who want to get their homes organized that they should first go around the house and throw 50 things away. Now this may scare you, but wait until you try it and feel the "liberating thrill" it gives you. Honestly, think about the little rush you get from simply throwing out the junk mail without even opening it. So start off with those junk drawers, how about dried up food in the frig, stained t-shirts, ripped undies in your dresser drawers, an old lipstick from 1996, what about all those old gift boxes you swear you will reuse? You won't believe how easy it is to come up with 50 things? Say good by to all those needless things cluttering up your life and environment. You will feel rejuvenated! I promise.

  6. FEWER LIMITS
    The biggest rewards in life come from our biggest challenges. The fewer limits you set for yourself, the fewer limits you will have. It's all in the power of positive thinking. The realization that you can do the unexpected and overcome fears - even ones you've had for a long time - is one of the most exciting things about getting older... and wiser. It starts with being aware of whenever you reject a possibility with the thought, "I'm just not the kind of person who_____," as in, who rides a motorcycle, embroiders, visits Alaska, raises chickens, speaks in public. Ask yourself "why not me"? "What do I have to loose if I try"?

    Case in point. One of my biggest thrills was learning to rock climb on my 45th birthday even though I'm fearful of edges and heights. My husband had heard me casually remark one time that I thought I should push my limits and try it some time. So he surprised me on my birthday last year and arranged for lessons and an afternoon of climbing together. I absolutely loved it! It was a total rush. I was so surprised. The even bigger thrill, however, was the fact that I was 45 years old, not "the type who rock climbs", and I didn't let these limiting beliefs stop me! I knew right then that if I could push my limits, face my fears and rock climb, then there wasn't ANYTHING in life I couldn't try. On that day I learned the only real limits I had were the limits I set up for myself.

    Want a richer, happier life? Give yourself a happiness boost by incorporating these 6 simple secrets into your everyday life. I promise it will be worth it.

    Only YOU can make it happen.


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