Five Ways to Improve Your Life Right Now

As soon as you change your attitude, you change your life. There's no need to wait for something to take effect. It kicks in right away. Too often we get stuck in negative thought patterns that bring a self-defeating attitude. When that happens, what's needed is an attitude "jump start" to get back on the road. Here are some ideas:

1. Do something new or do something in a completely different way. Go somewhere new for lunch or take another route to the office. Buy and read a magazine from a field that you know nothing about. Try a new kind of soft drink. Listen to a different radio station. Look for opportunities to open your mind.

2. Do something for someone with absolutely no expectation of return. Look for opportunities to do this. They're all around. Help someone who looks lost -- go beyond what you would normally do out of politeness and really make sure they know how to find what they're looking for. Again, go beyond just doing it out of a sense of obligation. Do it cheerfully and excitedly.

3. Call an old friend you haven't talked to for years. Not to sell them anything or tell them about your latest opportunity, but just to find out what they're doing. Take an interest in how their life has been since you last saw them. Ask about their family, their job, their interests and activities. Try to ask and listen to them three or four times as much as you talk about yourself.

4. Get some exercise. Move your body and enjoy the feeling of your muscles working. Enjoy movement and physical effort. Get your heart pumping and work up a sweat.

5. Enjoy a simple pleasure. A walk in the woods. Eat your lunch in the sunshine. Something with no noise, no confusion, no big expense. It is possible to enjoy yourself without being spectacular and extravagant. Find a way to enjoy and appreciate the simple beauty that is always around you.

-Ralph Marston