1. Turn Up the Quiet

There’s a lot of noise and distraction in the world. There are many interruptions and it’s tough to tend to it all.  It seems we have a yearning for peace and quiet, and it has more significance than just taking a well-deserved break, it’s actually an important and integral part of growth, and renewal.

Though it may feel like making the time to find comfort in solitude and silence is often seen as something you jus don’t have time for, but this is the wrong way to look at it.

When you’re quiet and engaging in self-reflection. You need it to rest and renew. Being quiet helps you take time to discover what is important, to listen to yourself and prioritize. Being quiet with just yourself allows you to hold space for yourself, to be with just yourself.

When you think about it, even machines need a reboot.  Give yourself the time and space you need, even if you start with just 2 to 5 minutes a day sitting in silence with just your breath.

2. Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate

Drinking water flushes waste from your body and even helps your brain function.  Drinking enough water, and staying hydrated can ensure that your body temperate is regulated – your body can sweat when it needs to – and that you excrete waste regularly, aiding in digestion and reducing constipation. In addition, drinking enough water aids in maximization of physical performance for exercise, and helps can help improve mood, increase energy and brighten skin.

3. Prior, Proper, Planning

Planning helps identify goals, both short-term and long-term. When you sit down and write these things out, you can better prioritize your goals.  Often times when you can see an organized roadmap of goals that are in a prioritized order, you can create direction for yourself.  While there is a balance between planning every aspect of your life out, and being carefree, there are parts of your life – like you profession, or possibly your calendar, or managing you time – where planning adds a level of profession. Overall, planning helps you stay organized and focused.

4. Don’t Underestimate Sleep

Sleep is important for various aspects of brain function, including cognition, concentration, productivity and performance. All of these are negatively affected by sleep deprivation. When you allow your body to rest completely, by catching some much needed Z’s, you ward-off depression, the urge to eat more calories, reduce the stress on your body, and even boost your immune system. Studies have shown an increase in athletic performance when athletes get the sleep that they require. If you still need more convincing to sleep, studies have shown that sleep can reduce risks of heart disease and stroke and promote optional immune function. Your best health can only be achieved by getting enough sleep. Next time you feel your eyelids get heavy and the sandman start to approach, get some shut eye and catch some Z’s!

5. Keep It Light

I’m sure that you can remember an experience where tensions where high and a joke, or something funny happened and a light-heartedness, even if just for a brief moment, helped change the tone of moment. Oh the joy of laughter! Laughter, humor and joy are all an important part of life. Laughing has shown to reduce stress hormones in the body, and lower blood pressure.

Laughter touches our souls and connects us. In addition, it often times helps us to keep things in perspective, and not take ourselves too seriously. Often times it seems that when we can get too “in our heads” we lose our perspective, and often times, laughter can assist with this.

Laughing can evoke such a change of emotion within us, it can create positivity  – even if just for a brief moment – and it can also remind us to have humility. We are human, we all make mistakes, and if we can forgive each other and approach situations with some laughter, and not take ourselves too seriously, we can receive and experience this wonderful gift.