10 more things that can help improve your life.
Here are 10 more ways to improve your life. We have given you 20 ways to improve your life. Now it’s up to you.
Try 2 or 3 of the 20 ways to improve your life and give them a month’s trial. Let us know how the trial has affected you.
- Get out in nature
Research shows that getting out in nature is important. It reduces stress, makes you more creative, improves your memory and it may even make you a better person. Fresh air can work wonders; fresh air out on a forest trail or in a park somewhere may make you feel young again.
- Exercise
The benefits of exercise are praised everywhere. The benefits of exercise are endless: it makes you smarter; it makes you happier; it improves your sleep; if improves your metabolism; it aids digestion; it increases your libido; it makes you feel better about your body. A Harvard study tracking a group of men for more than 70 years identified it as one of the secrets to a good life. Try it, you’ll like it.
- Spend time with friends and family
Harvard happiness expert Daniel Gilbert identified this as one of the biggest sources of happiness in our lives. Relationships are worth more than you think. Not feeling socially connected can make you stupider and kill you. Loneliness can lead to heart attack, stroke and diabetes. The longest lived people on the planet all place a strong emphasis on social engagement. They emphasize that good relationships are more important to a long life than even exercise. Friends are key to improving your life. Share good news and enthusiastically respond when others share good news with you to improve your relationships. Want to instantly be happier? Do something kind for them.
- Be grateful and express it
It will make you happier. It will improve your relationships. It can make you a better person. It can make life better for everyone around you.
- Meditate
Meditation can increase happiness, meaning in life, social support and attention span while reducing anger, anxiety, depression and fatigue. Along similar lines, prayer can make you feel better — even if you’re not religious.
- Get enough sleep
You can’t cheat yourself on sleep. Being tired actually makes it harder to be happy. Lack of sleep means you are more likely to get sick. “Sleeping on it” does improve decision-making. Lack of sleep can make you more likely to behave unethically. There really is such a thing as beauty sleep.
Naps are great too. Naps increase alertness and performance on the job, enhance learning ability and purge negative emotions while enhancing positive ones. Here’s how to improve your naps: make them reasonable in length, 45 mins to 2 hours; drinking a coffee before your nap will make you more productive after the nap [ caffeine takes 20 – 30 mins to kick in, so your nap will not be affected adversely. ]
- Challenge yourself
Learning another language; music lessons increase intelligence; debate with yourself for challenging your beliefs strengthens your mind; increasing willpower just takes a little effort each day but it’s more responsible for your success than IQ.
- Laugh
People who use humour to cope with stress have better immune systems, reduced risk of heart attack and stroke, experience less pain during dental work and live longer. Laughter should be like a daily vitamin. Just reminiscing about funny moments can improve your relationship. Humor has many benefits.
- Touch someone
Touching can reduce stress, improve team performance, and help you be persuasive. Hugs make you happier. Sex may help prevent heart attacks and cancer, improve your immune system and extend your life.
- Be optimistic
Optimism can make you healthier, happier and extend your life. The Army teaches it in order to increase mental toughness in soldiers. Being overconfident improves performance.
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