Are you already feeling a mid-life crisis? Well, there is a still a lot of do and if you want to live a fulfilling life, you need to know the life affirming practices that work!
The rush of busy life tend to put us in the strict routine where we get a very little time and room to embrace our authentic self. A lot of people do not even get ample time for self exploration as they are quite busy in their professional lives which create burnout for personal life as well. By the time you reach to your 30 years of age, you will realize that constant hustle can be also bad for your well-being.
Instead of just following habits to become more and more productive in life, you should also look for the life affirming practices that make you feel proud about your existence. While financial freedom and comfort is the one of the main goals for most individuals, it is also important to appreciate little things and embracing the small happy moments which allows us leading a meaningful and satisfying life ahead.
20+ Practices to Find Meaning in Life
- Meditation
Meditation is quite a hard process even though it seems like just stilling and doing nothing. It is one of the greatest practices and art of doing nothing and conserving energy just like the Yogis and Sadhus. However, we are just normal trying to deal with a better life and not being a part of any yogic cult. It is the ancient breathing process that calms us down and is considered to be highly effective for mental well-being and for reducing panic, anxiety, and stress. The idea here is to keep your mind blank from the jumping thoughts and try to think nothing instead of overthinking about every aspect of life. In the beginning, performing only 2 minutes of meditation can be very hard. But once you master the art, you can slowly increase it to 5 minutes and then 15 to 20 minutes after long practice. Only 15 minutes of meditation can help you rejuvenate your mind and body on a daily basis. It can help to improve focus and offer a proper direction to your thoughts without making them more complex.
- Morning Routine
Most adults these days are sleep deprived as they have too much to work and then need spare time to spend with their own self before going to bed. The busy lifestyle and immense need for money are making people not sleep at night and they tend to wake up very late. It can potentially hamper your physical health and make you cranky at work. The idea here is to wake up early every day so that you can utilize more of the daylight rather than staying up late at night. Waking up early will also make you tired soon and you will feel sleepy early, which can improve your sleep cycle and overall health.
- Your Daily Pages
While this is an old-school habit, it can still help you out in the modern days. After waking up early in the morning, you can check out the pages of some daily newspapers where you can find the latest updates and news of what is happening around you. Reading newspapers, news articles, or anything else has nothing to do with your participation and political inclination. It is more like keeping yourself aware of the current affairs. You can also sit on your daily journal pages for a healthy mental start in the morning. Writing down things or reading can help you calm yourself and stay more grateful for life.
- To-Do List for Everyday
To-do lists are great and they can offer you a sense of achievement when checking off things from a list when it is all done. Just like we save things on the wish list to buy later, you can also schedule your tasks on the to-do list that you might do later. This can help to stay in the right direction with discipline and punctuality. You can set a to-do list for your everyday tasks or you can also set different lists based on different days. The key idea here is to write it down which can help more remember the tasks better and it works like a reminder even if you forget. If the tasks are not done in one day try not to worry as you can start again. As well as long you are not willing to give up.
- No Snooze Button is Required
A lot of people among us use the snooze-in Alarm as many individuals struggle with waking up in the morning even after setting up the alarm at the right time. But in reality, the snooze does not really help to wake up early. A person who can swipe and ignore the alarm once can also skip the snooze if wanted. If you are trying to wake up early, try to wake up with one alarm only instead of setting multiple snoozes which can only make you lazier. It can feel daunting at the beginning but once you acquire the habit, you will start enjoying your morning rituals.
- Travel with Medicine
Well, this is a virtue that we have already acquired from our parents, didn’t we? Well, now are the adult ones who need to take care of us and that is why carrying your medicines wherever you go is the best thing you can do. Even if you do not have any strict medication, try to carry basic medicine considering the situations of emergency. It can include fever and cold, stomach ache, headache, first aid, bandages, water purifying agents, and many others. Those who have regular medicines must stock for the entire time on vacation so that you can easily have them when you need them.
- Eat Green and Drink Green too
Eating greens is something we hate in childhood and then start instilling in our lifestyle once we become adults. It is helpful for food digestion and overall good health. However, those who are still struggling with having enough greens on their plates can opt for an alternative option which is green juice. Green juice or smoothies are mainly made from veggies, fruits, and seeds which make them highly enriched with nutrients like minerals, antioxidants, and vitamins. It works like a detoxifying agent which can help to improve your mental and physical health.
- Water and Water Bottles
Drinking ample amounts of water on a daily basis is not only important but mandatory for every individual. You need to consume at least 3 to 4 liters of water on average which helps to maintain the fluidity in your body. 70% of our body is made of liquids and drinking ample water can help to keep the balance. It is also good for your blood circulation and its purification through the kidneys. Not only internally but the benefits of drinking water can also be reflected through good and hydrated skin. Make sure to keep a reusable bottle that helps you keep track of the amount of water you drink. Go for the good old tap water rather than the modern-day flavored water and sparkling water.
- AM and PN Skincare
Skincare is an essential part of a good lifestyle and in order to have beautiful and rejuvenating skin, you must follow a daily routine of AM and PM skincare where you have to take care of your skin or the face for two times a day. It does not have to expensive products but rather anything legitimate that can help to fulfill the basic needs of cleansing, toning, and moisturizing. Skincare is important for both men and women and there is no discrimination here.
- Learn to Say ‘NO’
Saying ‘No’ sounds easy but is hard for many in reality. You cannot easily say no to your friend but what if the person is asking something that crosses your boundary? Learn to say ‘No’ to people when you really do not want to be part of it. It takes a lot of courage and confidence to stay to your true self and you should never compromise with it. When you do not like something, learn to say ‘No’ right away. Another important thing to understand here is that you are sharing an opinion or a statement and you should never apologize for being who you truly are.
- Invest in Your Relationships
We are not talking about monetary investments here but more like investing yourself as a presence and your time to spend a quality time with your family, friends and the loved ones. Our busy life stops us from spending enough time with the people we love and it is time for you to invest in your relationships. It offers a positive and invigorating essence of life that stays with a lasting impact.
- A Pocket-friendly Life
Life has become very expensive either way and we need to understand how to live our life with more clarity and financial management. Yes you are precious and you should believe in your worth but that does not mean you have to fulfill your life with whatever precious assets you can purchase. Being an adult and navigating in your life is not very easy and if you are trying to improve it; do not be fixated with any tags or brands. Opt for whatever you find suitable and pocket-friendly rather than spending on something that is not going to last for long.
- Support Small and Home-grown Businesses
In this age of startups and small businesses, entrepreneurship reflections could be noticed in every sector and these businesses are growing in a rapid number. As an adult consumer, you can support these businesses by making purchases from them. While you can get a similar deal at a big brand, it might cost you more for the brand value. Try to interact with more small businesses where you can find better quality products at a cheaper price. Besides these business owners do not have a huge turnover and any profit you help them gain will be beneficial for their business growth. Besides, the treatment you will get for supporting them can make become a loyal customer as well.
- Working Out for Your Soul
Regular exercise is important for everyone, especially for adults who have a lot of stress in life. When we are young, the need for physical exercise is more like a superficial need where most people want to have a model-like figure. However, those appearance-based values do not matter anymore when you think about well-being and staying fit. At some point in life, you will realize that regular exercise, having protein shakes, and seeking a Greek God like body is kind of absurd because most of us just want to be fit and spend a healthy life ahead. Therefore, work out for the rejuvenation of your mind, soul, and body rather than just lifting heavy weights to satisfy your ego.
- Hot Yoga
This something you can do once in a weak and it can still offer you a massive amount of health benefits. Sweating during hot yoga feels like cleansing your body. It is meditative, calm and greatly energizing even if your do not believe it. Also, it works great for the joints and bone hinges which can help us stay flexible and agile for the rest of the week. Make sure to do yoga at least one day a week or else you wont be feeling the changes.
- Sunday is for Self Care
After a week of a heavy workload, you need to set your Sundays for rejuvenation, unwinding, and self-care. Self-care can take place in many ways. Starting from skincare to cooking healthy food, watering your plants, reading a self-help book, and so on; there are plenty of things to do on Sundays that can make you feel a lot better and make you prepared for the rest of the week. Do not hesitate to find your comfort even if you just enjoy your coffee while the scented candle is lit. Everyone has their own terms of self-care and you should focus on that too.
- The One Minute Rule
It is quite normal to feel lazy and lethargic with a busy life and a lot of work pressure. This makes us even more drained and we tend to skip the tasks even if they are not that major. The one-minute rule essentially says that if you think of something to do and you can do it in less than one minute, do it. So if you are thinking of something that can be done right away, you should do it right away rather than waiting for the right moment. Procrastination is a terrible thing and it is better to get out of it. This can help you become more productive.
- Pause the Inbox
This digital age has made us incredibly biased towards technology, devices, apps, and of course, the inbox where we receive the messages. Sometimes you just need to pause the inbox to give yourself some slack in life. You can also use some app that helps to keep your inboxes clutter-free. The idea here is to stay away from the messages and the digital obsession at least one day a week. It will offer you more time and room to cultivate other things, and skills and offer you a situation to self-improve.
- Limit Your Social Media Usage
Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc are heavily used by online users where they spend most of their digital time. If you are also one of them, perhaps it is time for you to limit your obsession with social media. It can practically take a lot of your me-time. It is not easy to stay completely away from it and in the modern days, you will also need it. Therefore, try to take one or two days off from social media which can make you feel less overwhelmed. Life on social media is important to many but the obsession with these platforms can be harmful for all.
- No Devices on the Bed
This is healthy practice that you can implement to reduce your screen timing. Most of us people has a bad habit of staying up at night by watching shows or gaming through electronic devices like laptops or phones on our beds. This can significant affect your sleep cycle. Nobody is asking you to stop having fun but once you are on the bed, try to sleep deliberately as it will take time. If you start engaging at that moment, it can ruin your slumberous mood.
- Bet on Yourself
You don’t need to gamble when you have a life to lead. Life is the biggest gamble and we like to play it safe. We try to find comfort and we get fixated in the comfort zone. However, this can make a barrier to getting new and fruitful opportunities. Therefore, learn to bet on yourself! Believe that you can do it and you will be able to do it. Taking risks is also important for morale.
