Many of us have heard a lot of these before, but it is always good to be reminded, especially at the beginning of the year. A lot of these small changes make a lot of sense to me to better both myself and my business. I think I am going to try 6, 22, 40 and 48. What about you? Let me know with your comments.
57 Small Changes You Can Easily Make to Improve Your Life
I’ve already posted most of the advice below but scattered among five or six posts. I thought it would be useful to collect all of my happiness and success rules in a single place. Enjoy!
- Assume People Have Good Intentions
Since you can’t read minds, you don’t really know the “why” behind the “what” that people do. Imputing evil motives to other people’s weird behaviors adds extra misery to life, while assuming good intentions leaves you open to reconciliation.
- Avoid Using Negative Words
Stop using negative phrases, such as “I can’t,” “It’s impossible,” or “This won’t work.” Stop using profanity, too. What comes out of your mouth programs your mind. When you talk trash, you’re transforming your brain into trash.
- Avoid Spending Time with Stressed-Out People
You may not realize it, but your physiology is programmed to mirror the physiology of those around you. In other words, you can “catch” stress from other people. So although it may not be possible to avoid stressed people all the time, avoid them as far as possible.
- Begin Each Day with Expectation
If there’s any big truth about life, it’s that it usually lives up to (or down to) your expectations. Therefore, when you rise from bed, make your first thought be, “Something wonderful is going to happen today.” Guess what? You’re probably right.
- Breathe More Deeply
Breathing deeply calms you down but, more importantly, it helps ensure that plenty of oxygen is getting into your lungs and into your blood stream, where (among other things) it helps your brain work more efficiently.
- Celebrate More Frequently
The small and large successes and accomplishments in your life deserve recognition. It’s a mistake to head straight for the next task or the next goal without celebrating, even if it’s only patting yourself on the back.
- Daydream More Frequently
The idea that daydreaming and working are mutually exclusive belongs back in the 20th century. It’s when you let your thoughts wander that you’re more likely to have the insights that will make you both unique and more competitive.
- Decide That You Must Achieve Your Goals
When you approach a task that leads toward your goal, never start out by saying, “I’ll try…” When you use that phrase, you’re giving yourself permission to fail. Instead, phrase your action in terms of “I will…!” or “I must…!” No wiggle room allowed.
- Define “Failure” as “Failing to Take Action”
Regardless of your goals and milestones, you don’t have control over anything except your own behavior. Redefining failure as “failing to take action” puts failure (and therefore success) within your control.
- Deflect Partisan Conversations
Arguments about politics and religion never have a “right” answer, but they definitely get people all riled up over things they can’t control. When such topics surface, bow out by saying something like: “Thinking about that stuff makes my head hurt.”
- Don’t Waste Energy on Hate
Hate is an emotional parasite that eats away at your energy and health. If something is wrong with the world and you can change it, take action. If you can’t take action, you’re better off to forgive and forget.
- Don’t Take Calls from Strangers
Unless you’re working in telesales or product support, there’s no reason you should ever take a call from somebody you don’t know. After all, when was the last time you took an unexpected call that was truly important? If it’s important, they’ll get you through email.
- Don’t Take Yourself Seriously
The ability to laugh at your foibles not only makes you happier as a person, it makes you more powerful, more influential, and more attractive to others. If you can’t laugh at yourself, everyone else will be laughing behind your back.
- Don’t Try to Win Every Argument
Some battles aren’t worth fighting, and many people are easier to handle when they think they’ve won the argument. What’s important isn’t “winning,” but what you, and the other people involved, plan to do next.
- Don’t Succumb To Malice or Gossip
Before you tell a story about anybody else, or listen to such a story, ask yourself four questions: Is it true?, Is it kind?, Is it necessary?, and Would I want somebody telling a similar story about me?
- Don’t Worry What Others Think About You
You can’t mind-read and you don’t have everyone else wired into a lie detector. Truly, you have no idea what anyone is really thinking about you. It’s a total waste of time and energy to cling to your own idea of what that might be, especially if it’s negative.
- Drink More Water
Even a tiny amount of dehydration can “drain your energy and make you tired,” according to the Mayo Clinic. They recommend that men drink roughly three liters (about 13 cups) and women 2.2 liters (about nine cups) of total beverages every day.
- Eat a Big Breakfast
There’s truth to the old saying that you should eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a merchant, and supper like a pauper. Fueling up early makes you less likely to need that extra jolt of sugar at about 10:30 AM.
- End Each Day With Gratitude
Just before you go to bed, write down at least one wonderful thing that happened. It might be something as small as a making a child laugh or as huge as a million-dollar deal. Whatever it is, be grateful for that day because it will never come again.
- Exercise Your Eyes
While working at a screen, periodically stare at something that’s far away, like out the window. If necessary, get up and find a window or at least a hallway so that you can focus at a distance. This keeps your eyesight from degenerating.
Read the rest here.
In our business we have to worry about tenants giving us bad checks; tenants trashing our rentals; tenants sneaking in dogs, cats, ferrets, snakes, and anything else into our houses. On top of that there are droves of lawyers waiting for us to screw up so they can swoop in like vultures on fresh road kill.
In spite of all of that, I’ve always held to the theory that 96 percent of the people out there are honest, hard-working folks who just want a decent place to live.
Therefore, I’m going to put a copy of your Rule 1 next to the phone in my office … just as a reminder.
George Lambert
Author, What You Must Know BEFORE Becoming a Greedy Landlord. How to build a portfolio of investment properties for an income that lasts a lifetime.