How to Create Positive Well-Being

Posted: 31 Oct 2010 10:16 AM PDT

It is essential to our well-being, and to our lives, that we play and enjoy life. Every single day do something that makes your heart sing. – Marcia Weider

Article written by guest contributor Joe Wilner. Please visit Joe at Shake off the Grind.

When it comes to enjoying life and maintaining a positive outlook, it's important to take an active approach. Having positive well-being doesn't usually just "happen." It can be tough to stay upbeat and grateful through all of life's dilemmas. Though, by examining how we approach life, and how our habits and perspectives impact our attitude and behavior, we can begin to change the areas that aren't working.

To do this involves discovering what's important to you, making real effort to change unhealthy habits, and working toward a sound mind, body, and spirit. It involves balancing work and relationships, and finding healthy outlets, where you are able to spend your time most optimally and enjoyably.

Are you doing what you need to do to feel your best? Here's a few suggestion to create positive well-being.

Cultivate a positive mental attitude

A major way to enjoy life is by developing a positive outlook and developing skills to manage emotions. This involves having a sense of optimism and hope, even through those difficult times, and developing the awareness to recognize and deal with these emotions.

When upsetting or discouraging emotions arise, you can learn how to reframe the thoughts and feelings that tend to sour your attitude.

This is not always easy and can take much commitment. One suggestion to cultivating a healthy attitude is to focus on what you're grateful for. Learn to focus on what you like about yourself, your life, and people around you. Learning to respond to what you have in a healthy and productive manner can help you increase appreciation and avoid resentment.

Learning to manage emotions comes from awareness and understanding of how stress, anxiety, and anger impact your life. Understand what triggers you to be angry or distressed, and respond to these triggers in a timely and consistent manner.

Live a balanced life

Maintaining balance between the many roles and responsibilities you hold is one factor that can contribute to the above suggestion of a positive attitude. Making time for personal, physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual areas of your life is crucial for true well-being. Make time for family and friends, get sufficient sleep, and work toward exercising and a healthy diet.

Don't get burnt out with always being on the go. You are a human "being" not a human "doing." Learn to organize your life in a way that lets you devote time towards what's truly important.

Decide what isn't working in each of these domains, and how you can start to improve this aspect of your life. When you have decided what isn't working, start to implement what you can now in order to achieve more balance.

It can be tough to stick with new habits and patterns of behavior, so find someone to hold you accountable to making and keeping these changes. Also, make sure to celebrate the small changes as they come to maintain motivation and encouragement.

Show kindness to others

Being able to give time to serving others provides serious emotional well-being. Start to cultivate compassion and empathy for other people. This involves a conscious effort to really care about another person, particularly when this individual is someone with a difficult temperament.

Designate a person in your life who you will encourage and support each day. This may be a close loved one, a professional acquaintance, or even a stranger, but the important thing is that you consciously provide kindness to others and show them you care.

Who will you make efforts to show kindness to today? You will be amazed at the impact this has in the lives of other, and how wonderful it makes you feel as well.

Note: Don't forget to take care of yourself in the process. If you're a "giver" be careful of this suggestion. You must take care of yourself first before you can care for others.

Strive to be your best, though know you're not perfect

No one is accidently excellent or great. We all must strive and work hard to reach our biggest aspirations, and we're all learning and growing each day. This is an important value to uphold if you want to achieve serious success in life. Hard work may be the one thing that separates a champion from a contender. Furthermore, hard work will open up new opportunities and improve your self-confidence.

Though, at the same time, remind yourself that you aren't perfect. It's great to have an ideal image of ourselves that provides motivation and confidence, but unless you're a super-hero, cut yourself some slack and recognize your limitations.

Know that true achievements take time and require learning and development. You may have many endeavors you are focusing on, so begin to prioritize the areas that are most important to you. Remember that reaching your potential is different than being perfect. Remain patient and stay focused on developing the skills you need to be the best you can be.

Are you doing what it takes to live a happier and more fulfilling life?
How will you know when you have achieved a level of positive well-being? What will be some indicators for you? Please share in Comments below. Reading this by email? Please visit the blog to share – just click here.

About Joe Wilner
Joe is an entrepreneur and career coach who manages the personal development website Shake off the Grind. Subscribe to his blog via RSS and receive a copy of the free eBook Think Big Act Now.

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