5 Ways to Make the Best of Today
All too often we fall into the trap of letting our external circumstance determine our internal circumstance. I see it all around me- whether or not friends and co-workers have a good or bad day depends on what happens during the day- it doesn’t have to be that way. Life can be so much more than what happens to you.
Regardless of what happens you can make the best of today. When you make the best of each day you make the best of your life. When you make the best of your life you can manage the ups and downs of life a little easier. When you make the best of your life you can be happy, healthy, and content.
Years ago I lived a reactive life. My life was determined by my circumstances- either bad or good in my mind. Despite being a generally positive person, I let everyone and everything else set the tone for my life.
I wasn’t living the life I wanted so I sought new ways of interacting and engaging in my life. Making the best of each day is just one way I turned my life around and began to respond instead of react to life. It really makes every day a little easier. Scratch that, a LOT easier. And not just easier, but more enjoyable, too. Today, in my life, more good stuff happens than bad and even the bad doesn’t feel all that bad.
5 Ways to Make the Best of Today
01. Live in today
Don’t carry yesterday’s sorrows into today. What happened yesterday happened yesterday, not today. Practice leaving what happened yesterday in the past.
You can try journaling about what happened, or even just jotting a note on a slip of paper, and leaving the past on the page instead of in your heart and mind.
And on that note, let tomorrow happen tomorrow. Anxiety, anticipation, and excitement for tomorrow robs today of it’s joy. Take a deep breath and open yourself to this day.
What are you doing right now? Are you going through the motions or being actively involved in today? Practice mindfulness in the moment.
02. Do good work
Whether it’s a weekday or a weekend, productive activity is good for the soul. Take on small, easily accomplished tasks and enjoy the satisfaction of a job well done! You can break up bigger projects into smaller parts.
The important thing is to get something done- something you can be proud of.
03. Have fun
A good life isn’t all work- get out there and play! Find ways to add fun to your day!
Yes, you can have fun at work, even if your day-to-day job isn’t all that fun. And no doubt you have plenty of ideas to have fun in your personal time. Are you having fun outside of work, too? Get out there and play!
Adding fun to your day helps you keep a balanced perspective on your day and your life.
04. Recharge
You need work, play, and rest to live a full and balanced life. Ideally you’ll have a little of all three each day.
Get a good night’s sleep. Take a power nap.
Even a 5 minute break can be restorative. Stop what you’re doing and do nothing for 5 minutes. Just sit there and breathe for 5 minutes. Let your mind wander or focus on your breath- as long as it restores you.
Find some way to relax and recharge today!
05. Rock this day!
Embrace an attitude of awesome and rock this day! Whatever happens, know that you’ve got this. Make a choice to rock this day! Oh yeah, you’ve got this.
Photo credit: Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos
I love your comments! How do you make the best of today? What are you going to do today?
Join the Conversation18 Ways to Have Fun at Work (And Life!)
We think of work as, well, work. How often to you hear someone share the dreaded Monday lament? Work doesn’t have to be all bad. In fact, it doesn’t have to be bad at all.
Having fun at work has many benefits including minimizing boredom and fatigue, relieving tension and stress, improving morale, inspiring innovation and creativity, reducing conflict, and improving mental health.
Our life experience is guided by our attitude, and finding ways to have fun at work can turn a bad day great! Fun isn’t something that happens to us- it’s something we create. To have more fun you have to be fun.
Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. For this article I turned to the funnest person I know- my husband, Corey. Together we came up with our best ideas for creating fun and enjoyment at work and the great thing is all these ideas create fun in every aspect of work and life.
Read on for 18 silly, spontaneous, tried-and-true ways to have fun!
1. Pick a Partner
Teaming up is a great way to have more fun in anything you do. Sharing a boring task makes it go by faster, and collaborating on interesting projects maximizes pleasure.
In addition, we humans are not truly solitary creatures, and partnering with someone else satisfies our desire to be social.
2. Lighten Up
Don’t take work or life too seriously! Your job is important, and it may even be serious, but it’s more important to keep it in perspective and have a little fun when you can. Very few of us boast jobs that are life or death, and even those that do know you have to find ways to keep it light. You can’t be serious, stressed out and happy, so embrace happiness instead!
3. Play Games
Games can add fun to your work day. You can play trivia, guess the song/band games, what would you do if you won the lottery, and so much more. Most of us can add a game to our workday from time-to-time, with co-workers in person or remotely. Get playful!
4. Participate
Join a professional organization or be on committee to build relationships with professionals and peers. Being part of a professional group is not only good for your career, it can help you keep perspective when you start to feel stressed. (Here’s a hint, your job is not the be-all end-all of your life.)
Participation in organizations and committees has the added benefit of adding variety to your day. No more excuses- get involved!
5. Give Props
When you see someone doing a great job, let them know! Better yet, pass the praise on to their supervisor. Sharing positive feedback is sure to improve your mood. Yes, your mood. Plus, the more you recognize others, the more likely you will be recognized.
6. Give Compliments
A really fun way to brighten your day is to compliment someone else. You can even do it anonymously by leaving a kind note for someone to find. I dare you to compliment someone else and not feel great!
“I never did a day’s work in my life. It was all fun.” ~Thomas Edison
7. Take Breaks
Find more enjoyment in your day by taking regular breaks. Take a fun break to try one of the ideas on this list!
Think you’re too busy to take a break- think again. Taking breaks can improve your productivity.
8. Share a Treat
Bringing a snack to share with others is a fun way to break the ice with co-workers you don’t know well, and say thanks to those you do.
You can break from the tradition of brownies in the breakroom and bring a healthy snack to share. (You can send those brownies my way- I love them!)
9. Start a Competition
Starting a competition with your co-workers can be a great way to add a little fun to your day! You can compete for bragging rights, Happy Hour drinks, or a homemade trophy.
Your competition can be based on your work or completely non-work related. Find an interest you share with your peers and have fun with it!
10. Learn Something New
Mastering a new skill builds your resume and your confidence. Volunteer for a special project, take a class, or study on your own. Applying your new skills in your day-to-day job can make your work more enjoyable.
11. Survey Your Peers
Solicit ideas from your co-workers for ways to enliven your office. Your peers are sure to appreciate sharing ideas and you just might come up with a new idea that will shake things up (in a good way!).
12. Be Spontaneous
I’m all for planning and preparation but let’s face it, fun is often spontaneous. Try doing something unexpected and new-to-you to add a little fun to your day.
“People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.” ~Dale Carnegie
13. Add Color
Color affects our moods and an easy way to boost your mood is add color to your work environment. Colorful office supplies, toys, and coffee cups can add more fun to your day. Adding color to my office not only helps me stay organized it cheers me up when I walk in every day.
14. Celebrate Your Accomplishments
When you do a great job or complete a project, don’t forget to celebrate your accomplishment. Stop for a moment and recognize your achievement! Treat yourself in some small way and enjoy the moment.
15. Practice Random Acts of Kindness
Do something nice for someone else, or yourself, and you’ll make your day great! A kind word, a small favor, or unexpected gift can really make your day fun!
16. Challenge Yourself
Doing the same thing every day is boring but you can find ways to challenge yourself to keep it interesting. If your task is measured by time or volume, try challenging yourself to beat your average productivity.
Another way to challenge yourself is to take on another aspect of a job- even if it isn’t in your job description.
17. Smile
Smiling is contagious! When you smile you improve your mood, and soon others will be smiling right back at you.
18. Enjoy Yourself
Decide to have fun in whatever you do. Think of the most enjoyable part of your workday and write it down every day. Keep the fun times at the top of your mind and you’re certain to have many of them!
“Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.” ~Dr. Seuss
Image courtesy of Bingo Jesus
I love your comments! What other ways do you add fun to your workday?
Don’t take life too seriously
Life is serious and taking it too seriously robs you of happiness, fun and productivity. A solemn outlook increases stress, squanders creativity and innovation, and stifles progress. If you’re reading this blog I hope these are not qualities you want in your life!
I was a terribly serious child, with a serious case of perfectionism. When other children played and laughed, I worried over problems that were out of my control. Even the smallest of issues needed to be carefully considered and intently studied. I focused so much on everything that was wrong that I lost sight of everything that was right, and I was deeply unhappy.
Learning to love life and myself was an amazing and challenging journey. Today my life is far from perfect, and yet I am happier, healthier, and more prosperous than ever before. A significant influence in creating this change was learning not to take life so seriously.
So let’s get on to the good stuff, here are some of my best ideas to adjust your perspective, have a little fun, and love the life you have today!
Be fun.
Smile. Laugh. Skip, hop, and run. Do something you truly love and have fun doing it!
Be entertained.
Read a comic. Tell an amusing anecdote. Share your most embarrassing story. Laugh at yourself, and with others.
Be unpredictable.
Give yourself a little room for spontaneity! Do something unexpected. Take a different route. Order a different drink. Do something unplanned.
Be flexible.
Write your to do list in pencil. Reassess your progress and adjust your goals halfway through the day. Embrace the unexpected.
Be responsible for and to yourself.
Don’t take on all the world’s problems because you can’t change them anyway. You can change yourself, and being the person you want to be, and being responsible for yourself, and to yourself, is the best way to affect progress.
Be positive.
Refrain from criticism, negativity and judgement. A positive attitude is contagious and freeing.
Be grateful.
A grateful attitude will help you celebrate the good things in life, and mitigate everything else.
Be human.
Unless you’re a hero in an epic tale, your actions rarely determine the fate of the world. You can make mistakes, fall down, and pick yourself up again. Mistakes are okay!
Be patient.
Everyone else is human, too. Give others a little room to learn and grow in their own time, and their own way.
Be yourself.
Embrace your quirks and foibles. Be perfectly imperfect. Accept and love yourself as you are in this moment!
I love your comments! What are your favorite tips to stop taking life too seriously?
Image courtesy of aleeed.
Join the ConversationBe the fun you want to enjoy in the world.
Are you having fun yet? It is often tempting to focus on the end result of our actions, on expectations and emotions, and forget to have fun and enjoy what you are doing.
Today, I challenge you to practice having fun in your day. Perhaps you can set aside a project for another day. If you have work that must be done today, actively enjoy your task as you do it. Add a little humor, energy, silliness, laughter and fun to your day.
You can lighten up burdensome tasks by taking a break and going outside and enjoying the sunshine. Take a walk, or even a skip. Revisit a comic, joke or website that makes you laugh. Share your laughter with others. Whatever you do today, have fun!
Enjoy these fun websites:
The Fun Theory Dedicated to the thought that something as simple as fun is the easiest way to change people’s behaviour for the better.
Sign Spotting Funny signs from around the world.
Sensational Quotes Funny and Humorous Sensational Quotes for Smart People
The Humor Project We seek to help people get more smileage out of their lives and jobs by applying the practical, positive power of humor and creativity.
Deep Fun with Bernie DeKoven, FUNCoach FUNcoaching helps people make things fun again.
Join the ConversationLet's Connect!
Chrysta Bairre
