Tuesday Truth: "Tips for Living Life"

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"We sometimes underestimate the influence of little things." -Charles W. Chestnutt

One of my favorite blogs about mindful living and embracing siplicity is Zen Habits, by Leo Babauta. Last week, Babauta wrote a beautiful piece entitled "28 Brilliant Tips for Living Life," which he created by putting out the following question on Twitter: “What’s your best tip that has made life better/easier?” In response to this question, he received some inspiring tips that I think are very powerful--even moreso because they aren't famous quotes (as I originally thought when just glancing at the post), they're just tips from regular people who have found this advice to be helpful in their own lives. 

Babauta presents all of these tips with the reminder that even one or two small changes can make a huge impact on your daily life, and I wholeheartedly agree with this statement. So, I'm including a selection of the tips that struck me the most from this list, below (FYI, the links to the right of each tip are links to the person's twitter handle). What one tip would you give others if asked how to to live life better? Mine is at the very bottom...

1. Use travel delay as opportunity to stop rather than get stressed. When the world stands still, let it. [Karl Durrant]
2. Whenever your spouse says something the first thing you should hear is “I love you & want to spend my life with you”. [David Inman]
5. Wash your bowl immediately after eating! [niekstarr]
6. The daily practice of silence. [dimovich]8. Friendship is a gift, not a possession. [Chris Reetz]
10. Before you go to bed, write down only 3 things that you want to do the following day. This is how to prioritize. [Ziba]
15. Love where you live, and work in walking distance from where you live. [Anoel]
17. Allow extra time in your schedule for wandering. [dylan]
18. Meditate — it makes everything fall into place. Being happy makes life so much better and easier! [Gabriel Rocheleau]
19. Do something relaxing before going to bed. No electronics. [Rozanne Paxman]
26. When in doubt, take a deep breath. [Kevin Cuccaro]
27. Define what’s necessary; say no to the rest. [Dana]

Simply beautiful. I love the one about flight delays--very appropriate for all of the holiday travel coming up for so many of us in the weeks ahead! 

My "best tip that has made life better/easier?" Make sleep a priority. Get at least 8 hours every single night. It will change how you see the world.

I hope that you can find a little way to tweak your life today, and that this little tweak makes a big impact in the longterm. For the full list of tips on Zen Habits, click here, and for another GREAT recent post by Babauta, check out "The Clutter-free Holiday Guide." It's fabulous. 

Namaste!
Mary Catherine