A Life Well Lived: Ralph Waldo Emerson

When your life is complete, will people say yours was a life well lived?

On my birthday I like to refresh and reset my commitment to life. When I turned 50 I decided to come up with my 'list of 50' for things to do or think about differently--one for each year.

This became an annual way of opening me up to think and act differently throughout the year--providing me with a road map to a renewed and unencumbered self.

It doesn't matter if I achieve everything on my list (spoken like a true ENFP). What matters is I open myself up to saying YES to better ways of thinking and being--and I find ways to view life as an adventure.

At the end of my life I want to be able to say I had a 'life well lived'.  What about you?

A Short List of 50

• Take 50 hikes within 50 miles of home
• Let go of 50 ways of thinking that no longer serve me
• Learn 50 new things
• Create 50 new Affirmation Hearts
• Gift 50 people with 50 Affirmation Hearts
• Study 50 inspiring people
• List 50 people you admire
• List 50 people you love
• List 50 people who have made a difference in your life
• Send 50 inspirational notes
• Thank 50 people who have made a difference in your life
• Study 50 quotes from 1 inspiring person

What's on your list of 50? How will you free yourself up this year?

 
A Life Well Lived: A Study of Wisdom from Ralph Waldo Emerson

When I started my quest this year I started with 'a life well lived' and discovered the term came from Ralph Waldo Emerson so studying 50 quotes from Emerson became my kicking off point.

Below I share a few items off my list of 50 and the Emerson quotes I choose to ponder to help me open up to change.

Let go of 50 ways of thinking no longer serving you

“You become what you think about all day long.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

• What are you bitter about? Let it go
• What old story are you holding on to about someone doing you wrong? Let it go
• Who are people you think are holding you back. Let it go

“Most of the shadows of this life are caused by standing in one's own sunshine.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.”Ralph Waldo Emerson

“For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Learn 50 new things

“The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

 “Always do what you are afraid to do.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Reach out to 50 people in Need

“Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting some on yourself.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Refresh and Reset your Commitment to Life Daily

“Write it on your heart that  every day is the best day in the year.He is rich who owns the day, and no one owns the day who allows it to be invaded with fret and anxiety.

Finish every day and be done with it.You have done what you could.Some blunders and absurdities, no doubt crept in.Forget them as soon as you can, tomorrow is a new day;begin it well and serenely, with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense.

This new day is too dear,with its hopes and invitations,to waste a moment on the yesterdays.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Live in the sunshine, swim in the sea, drink the wild air.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Words to Inspire--What Are Yours?

What are Words that Inspire You?

Here's an exercise for you to engage in some dark and dreary day when you're down in the dumps: Take a moment to consider words that inspire your strength, courage, or soothe your aching soul--words that encourage your best self to actively engage in life. Try conversing with a friend over a cuppa, or write back to share words with me that uplift your spirit. 

Really, you only need one word to catch your attention and ignite you into positive action, but why stop at one? As W Somerset Maugham once said, 'Excess on occasion is exhilarating.' 

Your Words Speak to Who YOU Are

We are not all the same, and our differences show up in the words we prefer. For you, the word 'inspire' may leave you flat. You may prefer words like 'drive' and 'determination'  or 'principles' and 'objectives' to move you while others may prefer words like 'inspiration', 'harmony' or 'peace'. The words you prefer speak to who you are, so trust the wisdom within you to identify the words that inspire or drive you.

I Am What I Am--And You Are Too

As an ENFP (Extroverted, iNtuitor, Feeler, Perceiver) on the Myers-Briggs typing system--'what you see is what you get' with me. So the words that inspire me are abundant, endless and energizing--and you will clearly see them in the way I live. You, on the other hand, could be an ISTJ (Introverted Sensor Thinker Judger) who is more private and measured with your words as you strive for a 'conservation of energy' found in precise thoughts and actions. 

One person's preference for  'wisdom and insight' is not better than another person's preference for 'astuteness and acumen' it's just different. Find what moves you.

 'Life is a succession of moments. To live each one is to succeed.'  Corita Kent

As an ENFP, I will never be done adding inspirational words to my list. It's in my nature to always stay open to finding new possibilities. I hope you discover a word or two to inspire you to take bold, positive action that makes your life better today and keeps you engaged in creating a promising future.

Words that Inspire me

Auspicious

Serendipitous

Epiphany

Exuberant

Exhilarating

Engaging

Tender Mercies

Tranquility 

Gumption

Compassion and Forgiveness

Inspiration

Wisdom

Creativity

Inspiration

Harmony

Generosity

Laughter and Mirth

Whimsy and Whimsical

Audacious 

Happy Endings

If you don't change your beliefs, your life will be like this forever. Is that good news?   W. Somerset Maugham

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For more than 30 years, Susan Meyerott has been helping people lighten up and step over invisible barriers to change one step at a time. She speaks to your heart, puts you at ease, and makes changing easier than ever before.


If you're interested in learning more about closing the gap between where you are now and where you want to be, join the Lightarted Living mailing list. Sign up for free e-mail updates from this blog in the top right-hand corner of the page.

Tricky Life Lesson Learned from a Trick Ankle

LESSON LEARNED FROM A TRICK ANKLE

I have a trick ankle that acts up when I least expect it. I can be walking along the hiking trail feeling great and in a blink of an eye, my ankle suddenly twists and I'm down for the count.

Life is sometimes tricky like my ankle--taking you down when you least expect it.

But I've learned a very important lesson from my trick ankle I apply to life. The proper response to being taken down is to get back up, brush yourself off, and keep on walking. The injury you endure from your fall will be lessened when you just keep going.

SNAP OUT OF IT! GET UP AND TAKE THE NEXT STEP!

As I sat on the couch treating my most recent twisted ankle using the R.I.C.E. protocol, I considered how similar the treatment of an acute soft tissue injury is to the treatment of an acute injury to the spirit.

Just as the R.I.C.E. principle of Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation is prescribed for the early treatment of acute soft tissue injuries, such as an ankle sprain or strain, the four R.I.C.E. steps can be used to guide you in the treatment of an acute injury to your spirit.

R.I.C.E. FOR ACUTE INJURY TO THE SPIRIT

Rest your spirit. Give yourself down time to calm rather than inflame the situation. An Epson salts soak can help remove the aches and pains, and calm you after a fall from grace or a twisted ankle.

Ice--Apply a 20 minute period of 'chilling out' every hour as needed for the first 48 hours after injury to your spirit. Do something else to take your mind off your problem.

Compression--Contain the injury to your spirit by pulling in and creating a safe place to just be. Compress the time you dwell on the problem.

Elevation--Look up from your problems to find the the solution for moving on out there. The recommendation for healing an injured ankle is to elevate it at or above the level of the heart. It is the same for healing your tender spirit--elevate your view above the level of your heart. 

Keep it simple...and keep on going.

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For more than 30 years, Susan Meyerott has been helping people lighten up and step over invisible barriers to change one step at a time. She speaks to your heart, puts you at ease, and makes changing easier than ever before.


If you're interested in learning more about closing the gap between where you are now and where you want to be, join the Lightarted Living mailing list. Sign up for free e-mail updates from this blog in the top right-hand corner of the page.