No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you progress,
you are still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying.
If you start implementing these seven habits today, you will see a positive change in your life within a week’s time, guaranteed.
1. Choose happiness with words.
Happiness is simply a state of mind. No, I’m not implying that we can instantly heal the pain of a severe or unexpected personal tragedy just by thinking about being happy. Rather, I am referring to our levels of happiness on routine days when things in our lives are close to normal. In these neutral times, when we are neither ecstatic nor extremely sad, the slightest change in attitude can swing our happiness balance drastically in either a positive or negative direction. One of the primary factors that affect our attitude is our choice of words.
Words have a lot of power and influence on both the speaker and the listener. When we speak we sometimes unintentionally choose words that have a negative undertone. This can make us seem unhappy (and negative) in the eyes of others. Even worse, after we have spoken these words our unconscious mind starts believing in them. “If this is what came out of my mouth, it must be the way I truly feel.”
However, this is not always true. The first fleeting words that come to mind are not necessarily the most accurate representation of our feelings and intentions. We must realize that we have the power to choose the words we use, and if we pick them carefully, they can change the way we feel. Here’s one example:
Typically, when I ask someone “How are you?” they reply, “I’m fine” or “I’m okay.” But one lazy Monday afternoon last month a new colleague of mine replied, “Oh, I am fabulous!” It made me smile, so I asked him what was making him feel so fabulous and he said, “I’m healthy, my family is healthy, and we live in a free country. So I don’t have any reason not to be happy.” The difference was simply his attitude and his choice of words. He wasn’t necessarily any better off than anyone else, but he seemed twenty times happier.
It really struck a chord with me. Suddenly I realized that I have a choice. I can either say “the glass is half empty” or “the glass is half full.” Why not rejoice in the fact that, thankfully, I don’t have anything to be terribly upset about.
So now when someone asks me how I am doing, I say “I’m doing wonderful!” or “Everything is awesome!” or something similar that reflects a positive, happy mood. Since I’ve made a regular habit of doing this, multiple friends and acquaintances have noticed a positive change in my attitude. And I do genuinely feel happier. Also, it seems like the people around me are smiling more now too. So I guess it’s contagious.
2. Get uncomfortable and try new things.
Brian Tracy once said, “Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.” One of the biggest reasons people get stuck in an idle state, instead of taking action to change their lives for the better, is simply that the process is uncomfortable. But to create positive changes in your life you have to step outside your comfort zone, at least for a little while.
Rather than dismissing yourself as unchangeable creature of habit, you can instead direct your own change by consciously developing new habits. In fact, the more new things you try – the more you step outside your comfort zone – the more inherently creative you will become, both in the workplace and in your personal life.
Routines stagnate us. New experiences help us grow and they make life interesting. Make an effort to try something new every day this week. It can be a whole new activity or just a small experience, such as talking to a stranger. And once you get the ball rolling, many of these new experiences will open doors to life changing opportunities.
With a strategy of continuous small steps into new experiences, we are able to sidestep the biggest barrier to positive change: Fear. Read The Success Principles.
3. Help someone in a way only you can.
We all have natural strengths and talents that can dramatically help those around us. What comes easy for you is no doubt challenging for others. We tend to take these gifts for granted, often hardly noticing what we have to offer, and thus we rarely share them with others. Inner happiness and zeal come from using these inherent gifts on a routine basis.
Ask yourself, “What do people thank me for?” What do people routinely ask for your help with? Most people’s passions and talents help others in one way or another. Perhaps for you it’s painting, teaching math, cooking a good meal or leading an exercise class. Devote time each day to sharing your talents.
4. Dedicate time to activities you’re passionate about.
Take part in something you passionately believe in. This could be anything. Some people take an active role in their city council, some find refuge in religious faith, some join social clubs supporting causes they believe in and others find passion in their hobbies. In each case the psychological outcome is the same. They engage themselves in something they strongly believe in. This engagement brings happiness and meaning into their lives.
The same principals hold true for your job and career. Why should you be passionate about what you do for a living? Because diligent focus alone is not enough to make you successful and happy. Focus is important, but what happens when the path you’ve taken is more difficult or longer than you anticipated? That’s where passion comes in.
Not only can working on things you’re passionate about be immediately gratifying, but passion can keep you from quitting when you feel like there’s no end in sight. Passion can help you enjoy the road to your destination enough that you don’t have to only rely on your focus to drive you. Passion will change your life by pushing you forward through even the toughest of times. Read The How of Happiness.
5. Make small, positive changes every day.
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. The same philosophy holds true for making changes in your life. Making small, positive changes – eating a little healthier, exercising a little, creating some small productive habits, for example – is an amazing way to get excited about life.
And if you start small, you don’t need a lot of motivation to get started either. Just get going! The simple act of getting started and doing something will give you the momentum you need, and soon you’ll find yourself in a positive spiral of changes – one building on the other. When I started doing this in my life, I was so excited I had to start this blog to share it with the world.
6. Acknowledge the lesson, smile, and try again.
The real winners in life cultivate optimism. They have the ability to manufacture their own happiness and drive. No matter what the situation, the successful diva is the chick who will always find a way to put an optimistic spin on it. She knows failure only as an opportunity to grow and learn a new lesson from life. People who think optimistically see the world as a place packed with endless opportunities, especially in trying times.
It’s important to remember that everything is a life lesson. Everyone you meet, everything you encounter, etc. They’re all part of the learning experience we call ‘life.’ Never forget to acknowledge the lesson, especially when things don’t go your way. If you don’t get a job you wanted or a relationship doesn’t work, it only means something better is out there waiting. And the lesson you just learned is the first step towards it.
You must think positively. Positive thinking is at the forefront of every great success story. The mind must believe it can do something before it is capable of actually doing it.
When wild animals are first captured and put into zoo cages, they try everything to get out of that cage. They bite it, run into it with their full weight, and claw at the cage. They persist for weeks and months and they take any chance they can to free themselves.
But after a few years of captivity these wild animals lose their fierce desire to be free. You could leave the cage door unlocked so the animals could escape if they wanted to, but they won’t. They won’t even try, because they’ve become comfortable and given up the instinct that they could ever be free again.
Are you like these wild animals in a cage? Have you lost your initiative to succeed and make good things happen in your life? Is your mind stuck in the gutter?
You may think your past is indicative of your future, and that you’ve been cast in an imprisoning mold. You may believe that just because you haven’t yet been successful in X, Y or Z that you will never be successful in that venture and you may as well accept your fate.
The mindset of your past being indicative of your future is a trap – an extremely easy and unnecessary trap. But the truth is, your reality can be whatever you want it to be. The limits to what you can achieve are an illusion. These achievement limits are all in your head. You’ve got to keep a positive outlook and continue to press forward through the tough times in order to enjoy the greatest moments of your life. Read The Magic of Thinking Big.
7. Pay attention and enjoy your life as it happens.
There is nothing wrong with looking forward to things. I’m sure we all agree that it’s nice to know enjoyable events are coming up in our schedules. The problem is, once an event we’ve been looking forward to is upon us, we’re often already on the lookout for the next one – the next high.
I don’t think anybody could say this better than Zen Buddhist, Thich Nhat Hanh:
In the United States, I have a close friend named Jim Forest. When I first met him eight years ago, he was working with a Peace Fellowship. Last winter, Jim came to visit. I usually wash the dishes after we’ve finished the evening meal, before sitting down and drinking tea with everyone else. One night, Jim asked if he might do the dishes. I said, “Go ahead, but if you wash the dishes you must know the way to wash them.” Jim replied, “Come on, you think I don’t know how to wash the dishes?” I answered, “There are two ways to wash the dishes. The first is to wash the dishes in order to have clean dishes and the second is to wash the dishes to wash the dishes.” Jim was delighted and said, “I choose the second way – to wash the dishes to wash the dishes.” From then on, Jim knew how to wash the dishes. I transferred the “responsibility” to him for an entire week.
If while washing dishes, we think only of the cup of tea that awaits us, thus hurrying to get the dishes out of the way as if they were a nuisance, then we are not “washing the dishes to wash the dishes.” What’s more, we are not alive during the time we are washing the dishes. In fact, we are completely incapable of realizing the miracle of life while standing at the sink. If we can’t wash the dishes, the chances are we won’t be able to drink our tea either. While drinking the cup of tea, we will only be thinking of other things, barely aware of the cup in our hands. Thus we are sucked away into the future and we are incapable of actually living one minute of life.
When I watched the Academy Awards a few months ago, I realized that most of the speeches actors and actresses make when they accept an award go something like this: “This means so much so me. My whole life has been leading up to this moment.” But the truth is, our whole lives have been leading up to every moment. Think about that for a second. Every single thing you’ve gone through in life, every high, every low and everything in between, it has led you to this moment right now.
Ask yourself this: How much of life are you actually living? If you’re like most people, the answer is likely: “Not enough.” The key is to concentrate on a little less on doing and a little more on being.
Remember, right now is the only moment guaranteed to you. Right now is life. Don’t miss it.
Photo by: Tim Donnelly
Theresa says
Love your blog!
You always make me think but this statement really made me stop and reflect…”But the truth is, our whole lives have been leading up to every moment.”
Tomorrow I’m going to honor everything that got me to this Monday morning and enjoy all things that come with that day 🙂
Great post! Thank you!
Shahid Abbas says
Inspirational, as always. I appreciate how your weekly wisdom helps me to spend my days positively and fruitfully. Thanks.
HilaryG says
What a great photo! I wonder what the guy was thinking. Either way, looks like a great escape, one I could use on a daily basis.
So another life changing action might be: Go out and be entranced by Mother Nature.
Ann alka WorkingBoomer says
I always enjoy reading your blogs. Each one is inspiring and gives me encouragement to continue on living my life in the moment while enjoying each small thing along the way. Thank you again for writing with purpose.
amy says
Love your posts…such good reminders as we get older and life and others in our life begin to bring us down!
Carolyn @ Eat.Live.Be Well says
Such a great way to start my Monday. Your blog is like the savasana of yoga.
And my day is absolutely fantastic.
Thanks for asking.
Be well,
Carolyn
Sonal says
Very helpful ideas in this post! I’ve lately found myself inspired to get more and more of my comfort zone, doing things with greater awareness of the present moment, and helping others in ways only I can. I like what you said about making small, positive changes every day. I’ll remember to keep that in mind as well. 🙂
jen says
Thanx 🙂 this is really helpful, just the inspiration I needed this morning.
Niki says
I will have to say this honestly: you’ve always hit the nails perfectly with all your inspirational posts.
so thank you for this writing, it has really touched me. I will definitely share this to my friends! hope it can also inspire many others.
Warm greetings from Indonesia~
hakim says
Great post… I really dig this blog! Thanks for the motivation!
Estelle says
I really DO want to say Thank You for a few of the points that “jumped out at me” this evening as I read this article. May I say that I have just come out of many many weeks of physical and mental pain, and found myself wondering if I’d ever make it out ‘on the other side’ sane and intact!
Slowly, in the last 2 weeks, I’ve thankfully started to “emerge”, but it’s been a shaking experience, and I can feel myself needing some manageable steps as I head forwards instead of backwards.
I SO “grabbed hold of” your point of Choosing Happiness With Words. I know that’s a practice I need to re-incorporate back into my life.
Thank you for that reminder.
Another beautiful one to be reminded of is to Make Small, Positive Changes Every Day.
This is another re-introduction I’m having to make as I’m progressing forward.
And the third truth is something my therapist told me just last week .. This Moment Right Now.
He said that every “present” moment counts.
The ending to your article reminded me of that.
I KNOW I’m back on the right track, and you became part of that tonight .. again, THank You!!
aadamm says
Inspiring as always. Thank you, and please keep the good advice coming 🙂
Somu says
Awesome and very inspirational. I am always looking forward for your posts. Keep writing.
Freddie says
I always love your articles. Thanks again for another inspiring read.
Reid Walley says
Super-good 7 tips!
#3 “Help someone in a way only you can” really stands out for me.
#2 gets covered during my weekly Toastmasters meetings – love it!
#6’s “Acknowledge the lesson, smile” is brilliant.
Breathe and lean into it:)
Lisa says
I am a recent subscriber to your blog. This morning I came across this post, which I can’t wait to share with my daughter. She is 21 and has recently quit school and just yesterday lost her job. All the advice and encouragement I can give her is summed up in 7 steps. Thank you…your blog is a great inspirational reminder to live our best life possible.
Scott Cowan says
Thank you for this amazing post.
It really is the little efforts that lead up to and make the large changes in our lives.
While I struggle staying in the moment it is a struggle that I work on a bit every day and the progress has been very exciting.
Please keep writing.
Ani Todd Smith says
#2 and #4 are big ones for me. I am currently writing a blog about my year of “first time experiences for 2011 (waiting to post at the end of the year in case I have more stuff to squeeze in). I was out of my comfort zone quite a bit but it was well worth it.
As always, I enjoy your posts.
honeywhatscooking says
I love, love, love your blog. You are such an inspiration. While my water is boiling I hurry up and do the dishes so I can sit down and have my cup of tea. Never once while I was doing the dishes did i pay attention to the fact that I’m doing the dishes and because of that I can enjoy my cup of tea. But I can say this, when I sit down to have my cup of tea and dessert, I feel the warmth of the cup in my hands and savor every bite of dessert.
I will start to pay more attention to really doing the small stuff and just being. I look forward to the experience. 🙂
Thanks!
Tina says
It’s amazing how we all know this and forget every time we have an unexpected drama in our lives. Then we beat ourselves up about it. Then we fall back into the same trap that we have been living. Thank you for solidifying the knowledge that we will all live to fight another day! Great post!! Thank you.
Marc says
Thanks for the positive reinforcement, ladies and gents. I hope you all are having a great week, and have something relaxing prepared for the upcoming weekend.
Cate says
Thank you Marc for a great post as always. I know people have already said this, but you really are an inspiration to all of us… How do you do that? I mean, how do you stay so enlightened that you can enlighten others? I have several other blogs I like to check out regularly, but not every post they write strikes a chord with me (which I understand), unlike your post that always does…
Thanks again!
John Sherry says
Change is such a scary word for many Marc chiefly because most aren’t the architects of it but the responders to its circumstances when it strikes. But, if we design and actualize it then we’re not just changing, we’re growing and empowering ourselves and it only takes a minute to begin achieving. Love this week-to-wonderfulness post Marc, and how not to be weak in a week but stronger for longer from now on approach.
Chris @ Mindnod.com says
I have started #7 Paying attention to so much more in life.
Sometimes I just eat to stave of hunger but other times I try to savour each mouthful. Analyse the different tastes and discuss it with my wife.
It’s made me appreciate the food and the work that has gone it to the preparation so much more.
Trevor Houlihan says
Brilliant, life changing, groundbreaking words of wisdom. Thank goodness there are really grateful people out there like yourself who keep inspiring others everyday. Blessings from Vancouver.
Houli.
farouk says
This is amazing advice that I try to live my life by. Thanks for the help.
Gina Morrone says
Once again, thank you for your timely words of wisdom! I am in the midst of relocating to a warmer place and this piece was just what I needed to read.
Martin says
I think that #2 is the most effective and important thing. Doing things that make you feel uncomfortable will definitely change your life. Make it a habit and within a year you’ll get rid of many of your insecurities + learn many new things.
“We cannot become what we want to be by remaining what we are” – Max DePree
Tunji Ishola says
Thank you so much for this lovely article. I particularly love the third point on helping others. Ourlives will begin to change quicker once we realise that we are the extention of God and being used of Him to fulfil the prayers and wishes of people.
Well done!
CreativityTalent says
This was amazing! Such a positive, insightful article. Thank you for changing my life.
Andrew Potterton says
Great life advice! Extremely pertinent to my current situation. Thanks.
Jason says
Great post. Really uplifting as well. The story about washing the dishes is nice!
Roy Marvelous says
I LOVE this blog. Such great advice for life. I’m going to read it every morning!!
Amy B says
Your blog always inspires me. I appreciate you. Thank you for writing.
Obino says
A great post, loving this blog.
Sylvia says
I was feeling particularly worthless today as I compared my successes (or lack of them) to those of my friends. After reading your blog, I’m feeling much better about myself. So my life hasn’t gone exactly as I had planned. Whose does, really? My life isn’t as great as some, but it’s certainly better than others. I absolutely believe that with more focus and dedication to my profession, I will reach my goals. And I want to allow myself time to have fun for a change.
I’m very happy that I accidentally came across your blog. No wait…there are no accidents are there?! Again, thank you for a great blog!
Nijaz says
I am reading your blog from my mobile phone, and I started absorbing all your words in my head. You have actually started changing my attitude already. Thanks for these reminders.
Jason says
Thank you for sharing this with us, it is amazing to see your work grow and spread. I’ve been a reader for awhile now and I think you are a master at coaching your readers in living this life to the fullest. Publish this blog into a book, it will be a top seller!
Annetra says
I think this is a great discovery I have mad… YOUR BLOG! Your writing has lifted me up. Thank you!
Angela says
SO excited to find this site. What a great toolkit for life! Thank you , thank you!
vani says
this blog is absolutely fantastic. It helps me a lot… thanks for sharing these nice words… please keep helping people as you have been doing!
ico says
This post really inspired me. Thanks!
jerrywhyte says
Well said Marc, your motivational blog writing is always powerful.
Abhishek says
Great ideas for changing your life.
Kim says
You are amazing. I’m glad you started this blog and i’m glad i discovered it. Your words of wisdom have already caused a spark of change inside of me. Thank you so much for changing my way of seeing the world.