Why freedom is the new currency.
We live in a world where everyone is constantly connected, but we're not necessarily any happier or more fulfilled. In fact, I think the opposite might be true. You know what makes me happy? The ability to wake up without an alarm clock and spend my mornings doing whatever I want. That's freedom—and it's the new currency.
Wake up for yourself, not for the alarm
Wake up in the morning without an alarm.
You know how important it is to get a good night’s sleep, but does your daily routine consist of hitting snooze over and over again until your body forces you awake? Or do you wake up tired because your phone or iPad is blaring at 6:30 a.m., telling you to start working on something that wasn't important yesterday? The easiest way to avoid this situation is simple: don't use an alarm clock.
You might be surprised by how much better—and more productive—you feel when waking up naturally instead of being forced awake by some machine or app.*
Get happy before your phone
The first step to happiness is to get into the habit of waking up before your phone. If you’re sleeping with your phone by your bed, it is too easy to wake up and immediately start checking Instagram or Facebook. It seems like a harmless habit but it actually makes you feel worse and more anxious in the long run.
By putting your phone away when it is time to sleep and giving yourself enough time to unwind before bedtime — no last-minute scrolling on Instagram! — you will be giving yourself a chance at a better night’s sleep that leads directly into a happier day tomorrow (and every day after).
Design a morning that helps you start the day energized
Design a morning routine that works for you.
Wake up at the same time every day.
Create a morning routine that helps you start the day energized.
Exercise is an excellent way to wake up and start your day right!
Meditate every day.
Meditation is a powerful tool for managing stress. It can help you focus and be more productive, clear your mind of clutter and improve concentration. Meditation will also help you sleep better and reduce negative thoughts.
This doesn't have to be traditional meditation.
This doesn't have to be traditional meditation. You can meditate while sitting, lying down, with eyes open or closed and in silence or music. It could be 5 minutes or an hour.
Stretch every day.
Good posture is the key to great health and long life, and stretching can help you get there. Stretching helps improve flexibility, reduce stress, improve muscle and joint health, circulation, sleep—the list goes on. Here are five things you should do every day:
Stretch before bed. If you're in a rush and don't have time to stretch right before bedtime (or if it's too cold or hot), try doing it when you wake up instead of in a hurry before your morning commute or workout. It's important to incorporate this into your routine every day so that your body gets used to the feeling of being stretched out after resting all night in one position.
Stretch during workouts . This will make sure that there are no sore muscles after working out."
Find an exercise routine that works for you.
You can find an exercise routine that works for you. Maybe it’s running, swimming, or yoga.
Maybe it’s dancing or stretching. Maybe it’s doing yoga while dancing and stretching! The point is that there are many ways to move your body regularly and keep it feeling good in the long term.
Here are some things to consider when choosing an exercise routine:
Spend time with like-minded people.
In order to be successful, you need to surround yourself with people who share your values. You should choose friends and co-workers that have a similar life philosophy. It’s important to find people who are driven and ambitious, but also kind and compassionate towards others.
If you want to be happy in life, don’t waste time on negative people! They will drag you down with their negativity. Spend time with people who are positive about everything in life because it will make them even happier than they already are!
Read every day.
Read every day.
The book can be related to your work, hobbies, interests or life. It's okay if it's not related to your family as well. The goal is to read something that doesn't immediately grab your attention and hold it for more than a few pages (or paragraphs). Try reading something by an author you've never heard of before--this will help stretch your mind beyond the latest news cycle and give you new perspectives on whatever topic interests you most.
Unplug at night.
If you're like me, you've been conditioned to believe that if something isn't on your phone, it doesn't exist. I mean, how else would you know what's going on in the world? You could be missing out on breaking news or some interesting facts about a historical figure or location! But those days are over.
You can still get all the information you need from other sources. The only difference is that now instead of mindlessly scrolling through your feed before bedtime and getting sucked into an abyss of never-ending content (or worse: checking your social media accounts first thing in the morning), take advantage of self-care by finding other ways to spend time with yourself and disconnect from technology for at least an hour before bedtime.
You'll be surprised at how much better you feel when you do this—not just physically but mentally too!
Create a sacred space in your home that's all yours.
Make sure you have a space in your home that is all yours. A place where you can be yourself, relax and enjoy yourself, get away from the hustle and bustle of life and be creative.
I know what you're thinking. How am I going to do that when I live with my family? When the only place available for me is my bedroom? Don't worry! The solution is simple: create your sacred space in a corner of one of your rooms. You can use it as an office if you like (mine is just behind my bed).
The important thing is that it's only for you and no one else uses it unless invited by YOU AND ONLY YOU! So make sure that no matter who enters into this room they will respect its sacredness because they know they're entering YOUR sacred space!
Stop comparing your life to other people's highlight reels on social media.
You know this, but you still fall for it.
You're scrolling through Instagram, and a friend posts a picture of their yacht trip with their squad.
You think, "Wow! I wish my life was like that." Or maybe someone else posted about going to an awesome party last night, and you think about how much fun it would be if you were invited too.
We all do it—we compare ourselves against other people's highlight reels on social media. But here’s the thing: social media is not real life. Those pictures are filtered and they only show what we want others to see—a curated version of our lives that doesn't represent the whole truth or even half-truth of what actually happened in reality! Social media is literally designed to make us feel bad about ourselves so that we'll buy more stuff (and ads). It’s designed specifically not to show us reality as it happens but rather as we want it to happen or wish it could happen...and then advertisers capitalize off our dissatisfaction by selling us things they say will fix whatever problems they discovered during their analysis of our data sets (which means nothing good can come from this).
You can take control of your own life and live it on your terms
You have to make time for yourself, and that's not just a luxury. It's an investment in yourself.
We all know the importance of taking care of our physical bodies, but mental health is just as important. Self-care is crucial for your overall wellbeing and happiness, so make sure you're making the time for it!
Making time to do things you love can be difficult when life gets busy; however, it's important to try and find balance between work life, family life and play time (and social media). The more balanced your life is overall with respect to these three areas of your life - work/family/play – the happier you will be in all aspects of your life (including at work).