Four Ways To Improve Your Life Right Now

What if I told you that you could change your life right now and that it's going to be fun and it's going to be easy? What is the first response that comes to your mind? No way. Or maybe, or yes, let's do it. Whatever it is, whatever spectrum you're on there, I encourage you to keep an open mind and listen to what I have to say on this topic. Because I believe you can begin changing your life right now. I do also believe that the actual process of change takes a long time. It's almost glacially slow sometimes.

But really, every moment is a moment that we can make the change and be the change in our life. And so the first thing, and I want to give you four concrete ways here that you can begin changing your life right now. And the first one, I want you to really think about this. August. It's August 1. This could be an intention for you, is let life be fun and easy. Okay. We're grown. We often, or a lot of us, grew up with this thought that life is difficult, that we have to work hard, and we have to scrounge for everything that we get.

And it is absolutely true that hard work pays massive dividends. But who says you can't work hard? But let it be fun and easy at the same time? It's just a subtle mindset shift. Maybe you're filling those spreadsheets out for your job, and instead of doing it, you know, grudgingly, you throw on a great little instrumental tune in the background. You know, maybe you put that new Dierks Bentley song on. Maybe you throw it back to the wallflowers. You know, maybe you listen to a little Bob Dylan, maybe a little phoenix.

Who knows? But let's have some fun while we're doing it. You know, life does not have to be a drudge or this thing that we have to do. You know, let it be fun and easy. I love the expression also, to try easy, we always hear, try hard. But what if you try but try easy. I had a tennis coach growing up, and, you know, I remember him telling me when I was about twelve, Nick, you don't need to work so hard. It's actually, by working that hard, you're making yourself too tense. You're trying too hard, and it's affected your game.

And I think, you know, I learned that lesson all the time now. And I think, you know, a lot of the achievers out there that people wanted to do things with their life can probably relate to that. So that's idea number one. Let it be fun and easy. And idea number two is try going at 70% for a while. I love this notion. I had a friend who was telling me about his tennis coach who said that, you know, why don't you just try swinging? 70% could be a good golf analogy, but I think it's a great life analogy, too.

We don't always need to go all out, and we can get tied up in these perfectionistic tactics, thinking that we need to make it happen in some perfect way. But oftentimes, if we just loosen up a little bit, and I'm not saying to quit trying. I'm just saying loosen up and not end. Kind of wear the world like a loose garment and just let it, let it flow a little bit. Just let it flow and see how that goes for you. Try this 70%. Rule number three, let go. What does it mean to let go? We hear this so often, especially in the recovery movement, and I find that I need to get new ways to let go all the time.

It could be meditation, it could be exercise, could be prayer, could be service, could be reaching out to somebody else. But I want you to think of something with letting go. Right. We all think that we need more self improvement, but sometimes what we need is more self acceptance. That's a quote from this guy named Anthony DeMelo, who has a great book called awareness that good. Change your life. Definitely, if you read that one, because it's, it's, it's, it's pretty wild. But, you know, just think about that a little bit.

We're always trying to improve, you know, especially as achievers, you know, people with ambitions trying to make things happen. We can really get in this mindset of this constant drive of, of needing to improve, which is absolutely amazing. But maybe temper that with some self acceptance and say, you know what? I'm trying my hardest today. I'm doing my best, or I'm trying my easiest today, and I'm having fun with it, whatever it may be. There's all these paradoxes in life, you know, and this is, this is one of them.

Sometimes we just need to accept where we're at, and it doesn't mean we can't be ambitious and keep striving, but accept it. Be grateful for who you are, what you are, where you are, and be as happy as you can in that moment, because that path of unconditional happiness is going to lead to better results. And, you know, tied to. This is one of my favorite quotes. It's from this book, the island by Aldous Huxley. And it goes. It's dark because you are trying too hard. Lightly, child. Lightly. Learn to do everything lightly.

Yes. Feel lightly even though you're feeling deeply. Just lightly let things happen and lightly cope with them. Right. And so I love that quote. Go lightly. Just take it easy. You know, and in the mental health recovery and sobriety recovery, I think we're just kind of. A lot of us, myself included, we're just tense people. And so throughout, it's kind of saying, just. Just take it easy. You know, you're going to be okay. Just. Just take it easy. And a quote that I love with that, too, is, let go of your perfectionism and become one with the loving ways of the universe.

And that's one that I wrote. I could have gotten it from somewhere else, I don't know, but I really inhabit it as my own. I write it in my journal a lot. Let go of your perfectionism and become one with the loving ways of the universe. And so we have, number one, let it be fun and easy. Let life be fun and easy. Number two, try 70%. Number three, let go. We think we need more self improvement, but what we really need is more self acceptance. Shout out Anthony Demello. And number four, here's an.

Here's an action that you can take. Go for a walk outside and pretend that you're seeing everything for the first time. The neighbor's lawn, the trees, the dogs, the birds, the cats singing, the caterpillar on the ground, the blue of the sky, the gray of the sky, the snow on the ground, the sun, whatever it is, pretend that you're seeing it for the first time. And maybe just say this little mantra. Help me to see this world in a new light. Help me to set aside everything I think I know about it for a new experience today.

That's. That's the set aside prayer. So let me know if you take these actions. Please try one. Whether it's letting life be fun and easy, going at 70% letting go or going for this walk outside and seeing the world with new eyes, let me know how it goes for you, and please get back to me and let. Let me know. I'm nick the poet. This is Cadre, and we're here to connect and deliver real experiences. Thank you.