How to Add Value to Your Life (And Get Rid of the Bad)
I have talked a lot about upgrading your life and adding adventure. Some of you guys wanted to have smaller steps to get you started. The first step is starting simple, especially when you are younger and just starting out. One small thing that I have done is that if something will take me a minute or less to do, I just do it right away. If I need to do a lot of chores, I will start with laundry because it takes less than a minute to start. Then, I will arrange the dishes. I don’t need to do everything at once. When you do things that take a minute or less, they all add up.
Adding value to your life is partly getting rid of what you don’t need in your life. One thing you can do is assess what you currently have in your life. Take a piece of paper or use the note app in your phone, and jot down the things you do in a day, every day for one to three days. You want to make sure you have a good idea of how your time is spent, what fluctuates and what doesn’t such as when you are working or not working.
Once you make that list, to see if it works or not, ask yourself these questions:
Does it inspire, educate, or entertain me?
Does it move me towards the future, or keep me stuck in the past?
When I consume it, does it make me happier, more confident, and more secure?
Does it fuel my tendencies for comparison?
This is just a place to start. It’s a guide to get you going and see if you need to take things off of your list. It doesn’t have to be intense. Things might work in your life temporarily as well, then you assess and make changes. Keep reassessing things as you go, working through the things in your life and getting rid of what you can so that you can have the space to add more good things into your life. It doesn’t mean that everything in your life has to be productive or push you towards something, like being in a higher state of being. It is taking what you do watch and do, and making sure those things are adding to your life in some way or another.
You don’t have to change it all at the same time either. You can start by getting rid of one or two things first so that you have the time to add things you want to do, such as journaling in the evening or talking to your kids after dinner. Maybe you love watching movies. In a sense, they can educate you, but they also entertain you. You can also spend that time reading, drawing, binge watching Netflix, or whatever else you want to spend your time doing.
There are some things that you won’t be able to get rid of. You can’t avoid doing the dishes or going to work, but you can change how you do those things or the circumstances around doing them. Sometimes you also don’t like doing something, but it helps you work towards something in your future. For example, going to school or participating in a training. It is enriching your life in some way. Spread things out and make changes slowly.
