​Spend More Time Outdoors

This doesn't mean become the next Park Ranger. It is as simple as it sounds. Get outside, get some vitamin D, appreciate the world you live in. Our world is consumed with blue salty oceans, galaxies, and lively green forest larger than our minds can imagine. Go see them, feel the earth in between your toes. Take the time to appreciate that we are a part of something larger than ourselves. If you think about it, we are all connected in the smallest of ways. Trees are giving off oxygen, while we are giving off carbon dioxide. We provide each other with what we need to survive and flourish. Go outside, allow your mind and thoughts to clear. Take a deep breath in and out – that's real. That's a blessing.

​Be Mindful and Present

Have you ever been excited to tell people good news? The feeling where you couldn't contain your happiness if you tried. You meet up with people, and see everyone distracted, frustrated, or on their phones. Suddenly, without even saying a word, you feel smaller. Your good news feels insignificant.

How would it feel if it was reversed? What if you were greeted with a presence?

This is why it is important to be mindful and present. Living your life walking around with a mind-full of outward factors is not living. You miss out on the simplicity of life. The sunset, the stars, the live music down the road, the way the breeze feels just right. Most importantly, you miss out on people. By taking the time to clear your mind and actively listen to people, trust is established. That's all anyone wants… to be heard. To be understood. To know they matter. That's why social media has become an outlet of getting gratification you aren't getting in real life. Try listening to someone today, without letting your mind wander. Without trying to think of what to say next, or making it about you. Let someone be happy and have their moment. By being present, our relationships can be replenished.

Listen To Your Calling

When you were a kid everyone asked you "What do you want to be when you grow up?" For most of us, it was the craziest thing our child-like brain could think of.

Was it crazy though? Or were we not thinking large enough?

Who said you COULDN'T do those things? Who said you weren't enough? Or that it wasn't realistic?

For most of us, the answer is society, our families, or perhaps our self-doubt. I want to challenge every person reading this to think bigger. Ask yourself "what brings me happiness?" and follow that passion. Dive into it with your entire being. Don't allow a degree or money to hold you back from what you were born to do. Show your talents, and if it doesn't work out, keep trying. Pursue another passion. You see those famous actors, inventors, singers, writers, etc. They chose to break out of what society told them they could be and became it. Someone has to do it… so why can't it be you?

The most liberating feeling is to follow your heart and do what feels true to you.

Travel

There are 195 countries in the world today. These countries are made of a variety of cultures, religion, languages, landmarks, and more. Perhaps one of the big reasons we are constantly comparing each other is that we do not understand one another.

Traveling allows you to become an outside perspective to others' everyday life. You become rich with the knowledge that you can't learn everything in textbooks or on google images - but with experience.

We were not meant to sit still. We were given legs to move, eyes to see, hands to touch, and a mind to think. Take a weekend trip, walk through a city you pass through on your drive, talk to people. Allow yourself to feel more open to others, and watch your life transform.

If money or time is an issue, create a plan. Make a savings account, even if it's just putting cash in an envelope. Put money away each week. Pick a time, pick a place, and don't give yourself an excuse not to go. Hold yourself accountable for making this adventure happen.

Take Time To Yourself

Turn off your phone, go sit in your favorite spot, and take a breath – allow your mind to clear. Relish in that fact that you are a person and you are alive. There is no replica of you in the world. People can look similar, have the same interest and talents, but they can never be you. How freeing is it to know that no one can take that away from you? As you are doing these things, see where your mind wanders. Ask yourself some questions and write down your answers.

Some of my go-to questions are: What do you love? What do you think about yourself? What do you want to change? What music do you like? What clothes feel like you? What brings you happiness?

When you can visually see these answers, you realize the only person you have to answer to is yourself. The pressures, expectations, and judgments of others disappear. This activity will allow you to feel more in tune with yourself and your desires in life. Like a cup of coffee, you have picked yourself up and reminded yourself of who are you. When you realize this, you realize that no one else's opinions define you. You are not your past, you are not your mistakes. You are a person, and no one can tell you who you are.