Our generation is perhaps the most fortunate in terms of comfort and convenience. Yet, we are all stressed and frustrated, constantly chasing happiness. In my quest for happiness, I realized though everyone’s definition of happiness might vary, certain overarching principles form a framework of a life lived well.
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After great contemplation and deliberation, I came up with my personal list of 12 Commandments to Live Your Best Life. Let’s dive straight into it.
1) Understand yourself at a deeper level
Ask yourself those difficult questions. Take time to discover your true self, your values, passion, strengths, work ethics, habits, and weaknesses. Understand yourself at a deeper level, for if you don’t know who you are, you cannot become who you want to be. Self-improvement starts with self-awareness. If something isn’t in sync with who you are or want to be, take corrective measures and fix the gap.
2) Overcome limiting thoughts, beliefs, and patterns
Take self-awareness a notch higher. Reflect on your limiting thoughts, beliefs, and patterns because they are the stumbling blocks that prevent you from living your best life. Understand that beliefs are opinions that can be altered, not the absolute truth.
Identify the limiting beliefs, reframe and challenge them with a new positive belief, and then act on it.
3) Live authentically by discovering and pursuing your virtues
You live an authentic life when your actions align with your purpose, values, and virtues. If not, you are just living the hamster wheel of life. Discover and use your strengths and virtues for the larger good and live a meaningful life for lasting happiness.
4) Heal negative inclinations
Yes, the human brain is hardwired for negative, to expect the worst in any scenario. But that is a sure-shot way not to live your best life. Whether it is a state of mind, a substance, or toxic behavior, take time to heal your negative inclinations. Use tools like mindfulness, breathwork, meditations, and affirmations. Observe the negative tendencies, label them, and consciously restructure them.
5) Release judgments
When someone’s behavior does not conform to our expectations, we judge them. Such opinions almost always come from a place of individual perception, not facts. Again, releasing judgments is only possible with self-awareness. Putting yourself in the other’s situation, agreeing to disagree, disapproving of the act, and not the person are ways you can respect one another and release judgmental behaviors.
6) Trust in the universe, release the need to control
It’s a human tendency to surrender only after failure. The surrender is not spontaneous but comes from a place of helplessness and choicelessness. When you trust the universe, you submit to the flow of life and release the need to control events, people, and circumstances, thereby releasing yourself to live your best life.
7) Speak freely with love
Words have the power to heal or hurt. Be conscious of how you express yourself through speech. A heartful communication brings joy to the one who speaks and listens. The brain is above the tongue for a reason; to always think before speaking.
8) Love deeply through acceptance
True love is synonymous with total acceptance. Not just of people but situations and yourself as well. There can be no love where there is no acceptance. But acceptance is not approval. Even if you don’t approve of something, respecting others’ opinions allows them to be their authentic selves.
9) Mindfully engage with everything
Mindfulness is not something you master in a day. It is an ongoing process that helps you evolve and learn to live in the moment. Whether observing the ebb and flow of your emotions, eating food, driving, or listening to music, mindfulness allows you to have laser-sharp focus and engage with the task at hand.
10) Be grateful for everything
If there is just one thing you can take away from this list, let it be Gratitude. It is human nature to reflect on miseries and lacks in life rather than appreciate the blessings bestowed. But there is ample research to prove gratitude attracts abundance and lasting happiness. Incorporate it in your morning ritual or before bedtime. Maintain a gratitude journal.
11) Allow experiences for learning
Knowledge in itself is not empowering, and it is the experience that is engaging and empowering. Learning by doing is essential for evolving as a person. It’s like the difference between theory and practical. So allow experiences for learning in your quest to live your best life.
12) Be patient, compassionate, and tolerant
The virtues of patience, compassion, and tolerance make the world a better place. The world needs these virtues now more than ever when everyone is stressed and fighting a battle on a physical, emotional, or mental level.
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