Happiness and Self-Help Related Posts

How to live a happy, peaceful, and fulfilling life. How to create a sense of joy, inspiration, enjoyment, wonder, excitement, peace, and passion in life.

Keep Life Enjoyable, Interesting, and Fun By Breaking Out of the Routine of Things

Posted on by Joseph M. Brennan Jr.

A good way to keep life fresh, fun, enjoyable, and interesting is to break out of the routine of things every once in a while. One good way to do this is to take what I often refer to as a “free weekend” where once a month or so you spend a weekend doing new things or things you greatly enjoy to include those you haven’t done in a while to break out of the routine of things: No cleaning, no project or maintenance work, no schedules, and no other kinds of work. Only fun doing new activities you’ve never done before that you would like to try out or activities you know you already greatly enjoy to include those that you don’t get to do very often. Since many people tend to be routine oriented, myself included, breaking out of the routine can be fun and exciting from time to time and can be just what you need to relax, rejuvenate, and re-energize yourself to maintain the motivation and stamina you need to meet your ongoing life demands and challenges.

When I began implementing this monthly “free weekend” activity it became such a wonderful, enjoyable experience for me and always gave me something to look forward to. I’ve done everything from going to the beach, going to plays and movies, going hot air ballooning, going bike riding, relaxing by the pool, doing some creative writing, going canoeing, doing some enjoyable reading, engaging in movie marathons at home, going to concerts, going to charming cities and towns, going to lakes and parks, exploring creativity via music and art, getting psychic readings, going out to new restaurants and cafes, getting massages and spa treatments, going to events, going to theme parks, going shopping, renting scooters, going to farmer’s markets, spending quality time with friends and family, and countless other activities. It’s so wonderful not having a schedule – doing whatever you want, whenever you want, and going to bed and sleeping in as late as you want. The only rule is that there are no rules aside from enjoying yourself and having fun.

Sometimes my “free weekends” were filled with new and exciting activities, sometimes they were filled with activities I already greatly enjoy, sometimes they were filled with low key, relaxation activities, and sometimes they were filled with a combination of these. All in all, I generally had such a wonderful time during my “free weekends” and got to do pretty much everything that I wanted to do. It felt so enjoyable, peaceful, and freeing doing this for myself from time to time and I encourage each and every one of you to give this a try by taking a “free weekend” for yourselves every once in a while. It’s such a wonderful experience.

I frequently tell people to reward themselves all along the way towards their dreams and goals and when performing their regular life activities. And taking a “free weekend” from time to time can do just that. It’s something that I’ve really enjoyed over the years. So do this for yourself from time to time if you can.

Now… While I fully encourage and embrace the idea of taking a “free weekend” from time to time, I know that there are some people out there who do things like this all of the time – often to the point that they lack progress in other areas of their lives. If you happen to be one of these people then I would encourage you to do the opposite by perhaps taking a “productivity weekend” once a month or so focused on making progress. Once you get in the practice of doing this progress will become easier and more consistent for you.

This article describes one way in which to keep life fresh, fun, enjoyable, and interesting, and rewarding yourself along the way, by breaking out of the routine of things from time to time. I hope that some of you will do this for yourselves every once in a while.

This and other happiness and self-improvement related tips are provided throughout my self-help oriented books: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/published-books-and-life-coaching-services/ 

#selfimprovement #selfhelp #selfdevelopment #intention #fulfillment #success #inspiration #happiness

 

Joseph M. Brennan Jr.
CEO/Life Coach – Brighter Days Life Coaching
“Your Brighter Days Life Coach for Life”

Brighter Days 1

 

 

 

Make a Bad Day Better
Make a Good Day Better
Create a Brighter Life

 

 

Achieve Greater Happiness By Prioritizing Life Activities

Posted on by Joseph M. Brennan Jr.

One of the keys to happiness involves mindfully and intentionally ensuring the activities you perform on a day-to-day basis contribute, or add value, to your life in some fashion. I always tell people to make it a regular practice to evaluate the activities they perform on a day-to-day basis to make this determination and continue those activities which do contribute, or add value, to their lives while eliminating or reducing their participation in those which do not. By mindfully and intentionally living in this fashion, you will begin to remove the “clutter” from your life and achieve greater peace, happiness, and balance throughout the days, weeks, months, and years of your life.

In my own life, I performed such an evaluation and came to realize I spent a significant amount of time on social media, obsessively reading everyone’s posts, without realizing how much time it consumed. I am glad that I broke that “addiction” and encourage some of you to give it a try if you experience similar compulsions. I’ve been so much more productive and made so much more progress since letting this go. So, make it a regular practice to mindfully and intentionally evaluate the activities you perform, prioritize these, and make adjustments accordingly.

This and other happiness and self-improvement related tips are provided throughout my self-help oriented books: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/published-books-and-life-coaching-services/ 

#selfimprovement #selfhelp #selfdevelopment #intention #fulfillment #success #inspiration #happiness

Joseph M. Brennan Jr.
CEO/Life Coach – Brighter Days Life Coaching
“Your Brighter Days Life Coach for Life”

Brighter Days 1
Make a Bad Day Better
Make a Good Day Better
Create a Brighter Life

A Wonderful Way to Gain a Greater Appreciation of Others

Posted on by Joseph M. Brennan Jr.

Having experienced heartbreak recently, I thought I might use this as an opportunity to write a post about appreciating others. One thing I often tell people to do is practice experiencing as if for the last time from time to time. And this especially includes those you love and care about. A wonderful way to gain greater appreciation for someone you are currently spending time with involves imagining this will be the very last time that you will see this person in a very long time. When you do this you might find yourself: (1) less eager to share and more eager to listen,  (2) seeking to capture every subtle facial expression, eye movement, and gesture, (3) smiling in love and amazement and appreciation, and (4) expressing some heart-to-heart something you’ve never told the person but always wanted to. What a wonderful experience for you. But, think about how wonderful the experience will be for the other person when you focus your full and complete love and attention on him or her and express your deepest thoughts and feelings. And every action has a reaction so don’t be surprised if you find that same love and appreciation beaming right back at you.

If you do this, you will create special, quality, loving moments all along the way. Then if something should happen where those you love and care about are no longer in your life, for whatever reason, you will at least be comforted in knowing that you spent many special, quality, loving moments together while you had the chance.

Now, sometimes others no longer being in our day-to-day lives are not necessarily related to dismal circumstances such as those involving death but due to relocations, job transfers, or something like that. Whenever this happens, I always encourage people to practice experiencing these people as if for the last time from time to time even then.

For example, you might imagine this will be the very last conversation you will have with the person in a very long time via the phone, video chat, social media, or other long distance methods. Notice how this changes you and how this changes the dynamics between the two of you. You might also use the “practice experiencing as if the last time” technique when visiting the person or when the person visits you.

All of these are wonderful ways in which to gain greater appreciation for others in our lives and to create special, quality, loving moments all along the way. So do this for yourself, and others, if you can. It can add such warmth, color, and vibrance to your life if you do this from time to time.

This and other happiness and self-improvement related tips are provided throughout my self-help oriented books: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/published-books-and-life-coaching-services/ 

#selfimprovement #selfhelp #selfdevelopment #intention #fulfillment #success #inspiration #happiness #relationships