As I was waiting for an auto ride at the stand, I was getting derailed in my thoughts. I had planned to leave home early and meet one of my friend before reporting to work. I didn’t want to cut a sorry figure to myself that I didn’t have time to pay a timely visit to an ailing friend.
We live in world that is constantly trying to make you what you are not. And my struggle is to live up to my own authenticity.
Today, I didnot go for run. I had risen early in the morning by 5:30 am and spend an hour on writing. Afterwards, I had plan to go and run from 6:30 am till 7:30 am. But, due to discomfort in health, I had to pull the quilt and spend some more time sleeping to feel better which I did.
But, I had lost the opportunity to run today. And only after you lose doing something so loving, you don’t feel that great inside. But, I always try to check my ego. Sometimes you never know, it may be just your ego that will force you to do things that you shouldn’t have done in the first place. Most of the injuries that people receive while running is not due to running itself but due to their quest coaxing their egos.
Anyways, the next train of thought I caught was this, how to live my day to the best of its potential despite initial derailment.
I googled for help and found some really nice things to share. So, I am sharing here :
To live your day to its fullest potential, focus on being present in the moment, setting clear goals, engaging in meaningful activities, stepping outside your comfort zone, building positive relationships, prioritizing self-care, and practicing gratitude, all while aligning your actions with your core values.
It’s easier said than done. What these wise words would mean may be different to different people.
Key strategies:
- Set goals and priorities:Clearly define what you want to achieve each day, whether big or small, to give your actions direction. And don’t bother much if you didn’t.
- Mindfulness and presence:Practice being aware of your thoughts and surroundings throughout the day to fully engage in each moment. We live so much of our lives without realizing what we are living for. Our intent should be there as to what we are trying to achieve out of actions. And if we are heading in that direction!
- Embrace new experiences:Seek out opportunities to try new things, learn new skills, and challenge yourself to step outside your comfort zone. Many a times we miss living the best experiences because because we so much pre-occupied with our own thoughts and feelings that we have no time and space to allow the beautiful things to sink in us. Please do provision for those experiences that you may have not planned.
- Nurture relationships:Invest time in meaningful connections with loved ones, showing kindness and support. I missed meeting friend but I am glad atleast I got this nice thought that I wanted to see him and I am sure it will materialise shortly.
- Self-care:Prioritize activities that nourish your physical and mental well-being like exercise, healthy eating, and relaxation. Ignoring ourselves is the biggest crime that we commit. Self care is much more needed than the outside world’s validity. I realised it’s true potential only after I have started to care for myself. This is a bitter truth that if you don’t care for yourself, no one very will! Sad but true.
- Practice gratitude:Take time to appreciate the good things in your life, big and small. . Being thankful for whatever you have is such a blessing. If you don’t want to regret later for what you lose in due course of time, then, start looking for the graces that you have and celebrate them as much and as soon as you can. Keeping a gratitude journal is one of the best ways to practice gratitude.
- Align with values:Identify your core values and make decisions that reflect them in your daily life. If you are willing to forego your career fir your health, then your health is your value and vice versa. Have clear values as they will allow you to define and measure your life and take thoughtful actions.
- Time management:Effectively plan your day to optimize your time and avoid unnecessary distractions. Time management is nothing but investing your time in doing what you need to do and not distributing your time to doing everything. You cant be everything. So, forget about managing time. Just do what needs to be done. And you will find time for it.
- Celebrate small wins:Acknowledge and celebrate your achievements, no matter how small.
- Reflect and adapt:Regularly evaluate your progress and adjust your approach as needed to keep moving towards your goals. Reflections on our own actions and thoughts greatly help to align and realign ourselves to our values without which we have all the tendency to become what we don’t intend to as I said earlier.
