Tag Archives: lifestyle tips

Easy Shortcuts to a Better Life

Posted on by

By Books Author Denise Turney

blackboard with your life matters writing related to shortcuts for better living
Photo by Brett Sayles on Pexels.com

Easy shortcuts to a better life are linked to rest, peace and greater satisfaction. These shortcuts help you to live in your natural state, more in tune with how you were created to live. Think about it. As a child who was loved, you may have spent hours, if not entire days, in a cocoon of love, peace and restfulness. Yet, by the time you entered kindergarten, your habit of living in peace, love and restfulness may have started to slip.

Other People’s Expectations

Gone are days spent enjoying being alive. Enter in other people’s expectations of what you “should do” and “ought to be” like. Once this happens, it’s not enough to just be yourself. An invisible “ruler” of what a good kid is like, what your parents or caregivers most want you to mirror and other people’s hopes for the specific personality that you should develop starts to show up and solidify.

Before you know it, you start glancing at other people, monitoring their approval or disapproval of you. Spot someone frowning in your direction, and you might hang your head. Let someone smile at you, and your head and shoulders rise. During those instances of external approval, it’s easy to feel good.

If only this world were filled with nothing except people who appreciate you. Easy shortcuts to a better life might be a snap then.

Key Shortcut

Think about it. Are you more confident while surrounded by friends or while in the company of a crowd who has repeatedly made it clear to you that you are not enough? Furthermore, each instance when you felt insecure, uncertain and uncomfortable were you either recalling an experience when you felt unaccepted and unloved or were you being disapproved of in that present moment?

This brings up one of the easy shortcuts to a better life. To step into your better life, commit right now to consistently give yourself love. It doesn’t matter what another person says. Regardless of how anyone else looks at you, gossips about you or judges you, love yourself. Put your commitment into practice and you’ll always be loved.

Forget dismissing the importance of this act. The love that you give yourself is as valuable as the love that you receive from others. Love covers all, is whole and complete and has no variation. In other words, love that flows through you is as good as love that flows through your best friend, neighbor or anyone. So, love yourself. You’ll be taking a reliable shortcut to a better life.

What Do You Really Want?

Other easy shortcuts to a better life are to consider what you really want. Because you’ve likely received verbal and nonverbal messages from others about what they’d like for you to do with your life, you might think that you know what you really want when, in fact, you might not know. Instead, you might have spent the last 10 years working hard to be what you think someone you admire (or someone who you’re afraid of) wants you to be.

That’s definitely not the path to happiness and inner peace. Should that be the track that you’ve been living on, it’s time to start moving down a different path.

Get clear about what you really want – what you really want, not want someone else wants for you. Also, start to map out specific actions you could take to get what you really want.

Explore What You Really Want

For example, if you want to open a bookstore, start to map out how to find and build relationships with book distributors, wholesalers, publishers and hybrid authors, and identify realtors who have experience locating retail buildings in the areas that attract large numbers of book buyers.

Additionally, you could contact your local chamber of commerce and find out the specific business licenses that you need. That’s just a start. Each action that you take brings you closer to what causes you to experience joy.

More Easy Shortcuts to a Better Life

More easy shortcuts to a better life follow. Check them out. See if they aren’t easy to implement.

  • Revisit activities that you loved as a kid. Age and time are no reasons to eliminate daily fun from your life.
  • Read a good book, the kind of book that’s so good you can’t help but tell all your friends about it.
  • Explore the great outdoors. Get outside and have loads of natural fun! This is a favorite of the easy shortcuts to a better life.
  • Schedule time to hang out with friends one or more times a month. Don’t let a busy schedule rob you of opportunities to be with your friends.
  • Go for a drive to an area you’ve never been to before. You might be surprised at how being in a new environment picks you up.
  • Try your hand at the arts. After all, self-expression is one of the easy shortcuts to a better life.

Keep Seeking Easy Shortcuts to a Better Life

Honesty is a must to get from where you are now to the life that you truly want to live. Keep seeking more ways to tap into your inner peace and joy. Ideas about new actions that you could take to experience an increasingly good and better life might come as you travel.

In this situation, you might see someone living a full life while doing something you’ve yet to do. Exercise enough courage to try the new thing and you might find another way to shorten the time it takes to live a life that finds you feeling better, more vibrant and more alive.

So, get out and explore. Try new things. Meet new people. Laugh. Add a spirit of newness to each day. It’s your life. Make it wonderful!

Better Living Thru Constant Change – What’s Leading You?

Posted on by

By Books Writer Denise Turney

photo of woman in orange long sleeved dress reflecting on life changes
Photo by Fliqa India on Pexels.com

Thinking that “change is constant” is easier to consider than accept. Yet, it’s true. Constant change is part of this world. Further into this article, I touch on a path forward that you might find advantageous as you face change at the same time that you take actions to develop the life that you want.

What I share is part of a recent discovery. But, first, let me share some of my experiences dealing with change. See which parts resonate with you.

Resisting Change Using Patterns and Routines

When I was a kid, life was fluid. Back then, all I had to do was find creative ways to fill up my days with  fun. Then, my first major shift happened – school. Along came structure, patterns and routine. That shift caused me to perceive the world differently. Monday through Friday no longer seemed as fun, and this despite the fact that I performed well academically.

Over the years, more and more change has entered my life. On top of that, my beliefs, perceptions and aims have changed. Moving through the changes has been, at times, challenging. All in all, the longer that I’m in this world, the more I feel that constant change makes me feel as if I’m not in control of my life. Constant change also seems to make me feel as if I’ll end up anywhere, not where I want to be.

Getting What You Want Requires Constant Change

As an example, my desire and aim to earn a full income writing and selling novels has appeared to be offset by economic, family and other work shifts. Added book marketing tool algorithm changes has found me feeling even more like my dream has alluded me. My response to constant change has not always been advantageous.

In fact, there have been instances when adjusting to book marketing changes that I didn’t initiate has seen me start to believe that I’ll never achieve my dream of earning a full income writing and selling novels. If you have a long term goal that’s linked to your deepest passion and you’ve seen actions that you need to take to fulfill that goal shift due to external changes, you’re familiar with the impact that these types of change can have on your faith and confidence.

Facing Uncertainty Disguised as Change

Recently, as I was waking, it occurred to me that I’m being led. Key is to be led by love. What I did as I considered this was to revisit past experiences. For instance, I thought about times when I felt certain, safe, happy and encouraged. Then, I thought about beliefs that I’d heard other people share with me repeatedly.

You may have heard similar sayings, things like, “practice makes perfect,” “you can do anything you put your mind to,” “do what you love and the money will come” and “where there’s a will, there’s a way.” For me, these sayings were reinforced with sermons that I heard preached in church.

Because of my belief in these sayings, I expected to receive the experiences that I wanted with a snap of a finger. Oh, I was prepared to work hard. I’ve been a hard worker much of my physical experience. But I didn’t expect to experience the delays and frustrations that I’ve faced.

Yet, give up – I will not do.

Check Out These Examples of Overcoming Change

What I surfaced from these early morning musings was that outcomes depend on what’s leading me. If I’m led by fear, I’ll seek a “safe” or “comfortable” path to a goal. I’ll try to avoid constant change. That by itself could present more challenges and delays. An example could be my emailing a literary agent or bookstore owner instead of picking up the telephone and calling that person, all because I feel afraid to speak to someone I never met before (change) directly.

Or I might ship books to a representative scheduled to attend a large regional or international book festival simply because I feel apprehensive about attending the event in person. For sure, either way I’d be taking actions to introduce my books to potential book buyers and readers. However, if I’m led by fear of change, I could diminish the impact of my efforts.

Let Love Lead

If I’m led by love, I’ll trust and follow guidance, not needing to know the next step (not needing to see how every change is going to turn out). As an example, should I receive guidance to invite a bookstore buyer to lunch, I’ll telephone the person or stop by her bookstore and ask her to lunch. In another instance, I might be directed to write and publish a novel on a heady topic. Trusting in the love-rooted guidance that I receive, I’ll simply sit down and start writing the novel.

Following love-rooted guidance eliminates confusion and delays. It builds trust instead of fear when facing constant change. I’ve noticed this in my personal, social and workspaces. Simply taking direct action has paid off hugely.

Consider looking back at your prior experiences. Notice if you spot times when you were led by fear of change. Also, see if you spot instances when you were led by love. It’s the latter that will produce a good result. Howbeit, it’s also the latter that requires faith and courage which might be a reason why it’s been said that it’s impossible to live a good life absent faith.

Signs You’re Following Fear or Love

Furthermore, signs that you’re following (or being led by) fear of change include experiencing:

  • Anxious thoughts and feelings
  • Anger surfacing each time you think about the guidance
  • Disbelief that works its way into rationalizing over and over
  • Feeling safe or “protected” when you think about the fear-based guidance (which is often simply a way to avoid change)

On the other hand, signs that you’re being led by love include:

  • Sense of newness (as you’ll likely be led to new experiences)
  • Curiosity at what’s coming next
  • Feeling that your life is about to change for the better
  • Wonder at your ability to do what you’re being led to do (again – this could tie into the fact that you’re being led into a new experience)

You also might have a feeling of “overwhelm” should you choose to be led by love. Love knows what you really are. It knows what you’re capable of, so smallness (staying stuck in a life of little change) is not its thing. What you won’t have is boredom or the comfort of routine. Also, if it’s miracles that you want, you’re going to have to be led by love. It’s the path to great change, empowering newness and a very good life.

What’s leading you?