It is easy to read a book on self-improvement, but it is much more difficult to actually implement the concepts into your life. If you really want to change your life, why not try some of these simple exercises.
Meditation
“Do you want to change the world?
Then change yourself first.
Do you want to change yourself?
If so, remain completely silent
Inside the silence-sea.”
– Sri Chinmoy [1. Sri Chinmoy, Ten Thousand Flower-Flames, Part 40 Agni Press, 1982. ]
Find 20 minutes in the day, and make a commitment to meditate whatever else is happening. In these 20 minutes, you are going to try and clear your mind of thoughts and become aware of your own heart, your own soul. Meditation is essential to self-improvement, because in meditation we learn there is more to our being than our mind and thoughts. If we want to transform our life, we have to use the qualities of our soul. If we can bring the soul to the fore, all the situations we find ourself in, will change for the better. The great thing about meditation, is that we don’t have to mentally work out difficult situations, we just need to change our consciousness. If we can access a little peace and joy through meditation, this consciousness will permeate the rest of the day and help in every situation and personal relationship.
A Day Without Criticism
The human mind has an almost addiction to criticism. It always see what is wrong with the world and with other people. Just for a day, try to live without criticism. Let go of any judgement and see how it affects your state of mind.
Gratitude Exercise
Throughout the day, see how many occasions you can be grateful. They can be for the smallest things. From the beauty of nature, to your good fortune in having enough to live on. The more you look for things to be grateful for, the more you will be able to appreciate life. This can go hand in hand with the exercise to avoid criticism. If we are grateful for the positive, then we can easily forget people’s failings and limitations.
Physical Exercise
A commitment to physical exercise helps us in so many ways.
- Helps to clear the mind.
- Helps avoid boredom and listlessness.
- Creates positive mental energy.
- We will feel stronger and more dynamic.
- We will sleep better and have a better appetite.
- It can be fun!
- It can help us keep in shape.
Don’t Rush.
Rather than rushing through life. Take time to appreciate what you are doing. Also, before doing anything, try keep a moment of silence to feel what is the right thing to do. For example, if you are buying food, take a moment to feel the vibration of the food. If you look at food and pass your hands close to it, you can see the different kind of vibration it gives. Just compare a deep fried takeaway and something healthy and tasty.
This moment of reflection helps us to make better choices, which we really benefit from. It takes discipline to stop rushing into everything, but ultimately you will save time, as you spend less time dealing with your wrong choices. It will also show you that you have much better intuition than you might have thought. The more you practise intuition, the stronger it becomes.
Treat Others How you would Want to be Treated.
Try seeing life from the other person’s perspective. Are you treating other people how you would like to be treated yourself? This simple golden rule can be life changing, if we actually implement it. It is the key to sympathy, oneness and helping others in a positive way.
Smile
The simplest exercise is for the last. Just because it is so simple, don’t devalue its importance. Smiling makes us feel better, but also changes how we present ourselves to the world. If we grimace and scrunch up our face, it is a completely different world to offering the world a smile. To smile is to automatically choose the positive and avoid the negativity we are trying in many other exercises.
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Photo credit: Unmesh Swanson, Sri Chinmoy Centre Galleries.
I was literally waiting for your next post for the past few months! And it hasnt disappointed. Your posts are simple, practical and down to earth advise.
A lot of things in this post resonate deeply with my own experience.
It often seems difficult to change your life or implement some of the suggestions talked about in self-help books, but I find it interesting that the things you talk about here, in some sense, are also very easy. I particularly like your advice about not rushing, about taking moments of silence, reflection, and meditation. I think that nearly all of us have tremendous capacity for wisdom and good decision-making, which we often ignore, but which we can easily tap into if we only give ourself the opportunity to.
I find that a lot of problems in our lives can be solved almost effortlessly if we simply ask ourselves, in the moment, if we really want to say or do certain things.
thank you so much for this reminder. sometimes it is difficult not to criticize others or to not judge. but everyone is capable of behaving for the better…it just takes time and awareness. i appreciate your wisdom and am grateful. thank you again.
Very neat, simple and wonderful.
Tejvan, I found your writing this morning by chance and what a wonderful practical advice resource for everyone. I’m already back and I am sure I’ll be visiting often when I need a little life lifting reminder. Venus Cow, the site I’ve chosen to link back to, has also helped me so much so I hope you don’t mind me sharing the free life coaching with your readers. “It is the space between the notes that makes the music.” ML
Thanks for sharing your wonderful thoughts.