Life Lessons, Tips, and Takeaways

HEALTH AND WELLNESS

•              Choose self-care, making yourself—body, mind, and soul—a top priority.

•              Live a healthy lifestyle; you are in control of your choices.

•              Be your own health-care advocate, because it could significantly impact your life.

•              Prioritize a good night’s rest, because with quality sleep, you can make better decisions.

•              Invest in your mental, emotional, and physical wellness, whether with professional guidance or self-help.

•              Make some form of exercise you are likely to do consistently a top priority.

•              Find an accountability buddy to help keep your fitness routine fun and consistent.

•              Eat nutritious whole foods, supplementing with vitamins and herbs if helpful.

•              Spend time in nature every day, or as much as possible, to fuel your soul.

•              Do daily stretches for your body, including any type of yoga, tai chi, or Pilates.

•              Practice meditation for your mind at any time of day, for any length of time.

•              Use integrative, complementary, or holistic healing modalities, including chiropractic, acupuncture, active release, massage,

craniosacral, reiki, or other bodywork therapies when helpful.

•              Build in micro-habits to effect change.

SOCIAL WELL-BEING

•              Spend time with people worthy of your time, friendship, and love.

•              Surround yourself with things and people that bring you joy or add meaning to your life.

•              Make time for meaningful relationships and invest in a few exceptional ones, as they can enrich your life beyond measure.

•              Friends may not be family by blood, but they can be family by love.

•              Be willing to strike up a conversation with someone new; perhaps they are a friend you haven’t met yet.

•              Just because you are on your own, it does not mean you are alone.

•              When someone offers help, accept it graciously; it will give you an opportunity to connect with them on a deeper level and form

a more meaningful relationship.

•              Minimizing negative influences—people or information—allows for more enriching experiences.

MENTAL WELL-BEING

•              The most important relationship you have is with yourself.

•              Be open to building a life on your own—you are enough!

•              Be open to new relationships if the right ones come along, or be willing to seek them out.

•              Be willing to be your authentic, vulnerable self, because this allows you to be true to yourself and to deepen relationships with

others.

•              Listen attentively and share authentically.

•              Know when to apologize and do so genuinely.

•              Figure out when, or if, it is time to move on with the next chapter of your life.

 •              Tackle hard things head-on; come up with a strategy or approach that works for you.

•              Find excellent professional life coaches, psychologists, therapists, medical professionals, or integrative care specialists to help

with all aspects of your life.

•              Ask for help when suitable; it is not a sign of weakness, but an opportunity to strengthen relationships.

•              Declutter your life of things and people that are unnecessary or hurtful, as it will help clear a path to your greatest potential.

•              Consider keeping a written or voice journal, a safe place to express your feelings.

•              Marvel at how you can do hard things.

SPIRITUAL / UNIVERSAL CONNECTIONS

•              Consider your relationship with a higher power, religious organization, church, synagogue, nature, the universe, or other forms

of spiritual connection.

•              Practice spiritual mindfulness as often as possible, if only for a few minutes daily.

•              Allow grief to happen and grieve as fully as possible in the early stages, as it will allow you to move to the other side of grief more

meaningfully.

•              Choose joy along your life path, despite life’s challenges.

•              Embrace feeling a variety of emotions simultaneously; sorrow, grief, and anger can be experienced together with joy, hope, and

love.

•              Laughter is powerful medicine, so find more ways to add laughter to your life.

•              Look for silver linings and positive outcomes to difficult situations.

•              You are stronger than you think: physically, intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually.

LIFE PURPOSE

•              Find a profession or life journey that is meaningful to you and will give you purpose and peace of mind.

•              Make time for your top life priorities, whatever they may be.

•              Be present in everyday moments.

•              Find a hobby, pastime, or creative outlet that brings you excitement or joy.

•              Use technology to enhance your life, not detract from it.

•              Keep your physical spaces at home and at work organized, allowing for new energy and positive possibilities.

•              Natural rhythms and routines can help keep you calm and focused.

•              Practice gratitude every day for anything positive, little or big, and build a lifetime of appreciation.

CULTURAL ENRICHMENT

•              Traveling can be a window to the world and a magical place of other cultures, traditions, architecture, flowers, tastes, smells,

music, dance, and people.

•              Smiling is the best international language but learning a few phrases from the country you are visiting is a sign of respect.

•              Consider traveling solo, as it can be a spectacular adventure.

•              Embrace the cultures of other parts of the world through art, music, or dance.

•              Try new foods, new experiences, and new adventures because you never know when you might discover something brilliant.

•              Do creative things that provide an outlet for freedom of expression, including gardening, knitting, baking, cooking, decorating,

beading, card-making, painting, sculpting, dancing, playing music, songwriting, poetry, flower arranging, pottery, jewelry-

making, or woodworking.

•              Challenge yourself to learn new things on a regular basis by reading, listening to audiobooks, doing library research, or

exploring the internet.

 SOCIAL IMPACT

•              Find charitable causes you care about and volunteer in your community by giving your time, talent, or treasure.

•              Be mindful of your personal carbon footprint and find ways to be more environmentally friendly, as we all live on one planet

and are stewards for the generations to come.

•             Find a way to impact your community at large and enrich your own soul.