Motivation Mondays: 12 Life Hacks for Living Well

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” Helen Keller

12 Life Hacks for Living Well: Simple Monthly Lessons for a Healthier, Happier Year

At Church on Sunday, my pastor spoke about developing a spirit of discernment to help us choose when to speak up and to do it mindfully. He raised some key points that stood out for me and even made me laugh because sometimes I need to remind myself to let things go. Some of his vignettes were the following:

But you may ask, what does that have to do with the 12 hacks for living well? Everything. Every day, we are bombarded with ads and messages to do and be more, and we internalize them and give them life, either verbally or internally. Both can impede our progress and affect our ability to live well on our own terms. We are constantly being told how to improve our lives: Exercise more. Sleep more. Spend less. Save more. Declutter. Meditate. Travel. Drink water. Eat your vegetables. Call your mother. Put down your phone. While most of it is good advice, the longer I live, the more convinced I become that living well isn’t a checklist, and it isn’t about doing everything perfectly.

My own life has taught me that lesson repeatedly, and yet, like everyone else, it is an uphill battle to shut out the noise, choose mindfully, trust the process, and stick to my action plan. I’ve had chapters I planned and chapters I never could have imagined. I’ve experienced joy and loss, good health and health challenges, achievement and disappointment. I’ve been an educator for much of my life, yet some of my greatest lessons have come not from a classroom but simply from living. Over time, I have learned that it is never too late to surprise yourself and that living well is a choice we can make at any stage of life. We can start today!

I didn’t become a marathon runner until I was 62. It was not on my to-do list. Had I told a younger version of myself that I would someday run marathons around the world, I’m not sure she would have believed me. Life does that. Life reminds us that we are never quite finished becoming.

Over the years, I’ve come to believe that some of the most valuable changes we can make are surprisingly simple. They aren’t really “hacks” in the traditional sense because there are no shortcuts to a meaningful life. Instead, they are small practices and shifts in perspective that can make life healthier, calmer, richer, and more fulfilling. In short, they help us simplify our lives. So instead of trying to transform everything at once, what if we focused on just one idea each month? What if we borrowed task/time and neuro-agility chunking from Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and applied it to our one-task-a-month goal? We would train our brain to break tasks into doable plans/chunks each month so that, in twelve months, we complete twelve practices, with the results opening doors to twelve opportunities to live a little better.

Below are my 12 tips/tasks/hacks, each assigned to a month of the year. Of course, you don’t have to stick to the month; it is simply a guide. Begin today!

 January: Begin Before You’re Ready

How often do we postpone something because we don’t feel ready? We wait until we have more time, more money, more knowledge, more confidence, or less fear. I’ve learned that we don’t always become confident and then begin; sometimes we begin, and confidence follows. That lesson became very real for me when I started long-distance running later in life. I didn’t begin because I was convinced I could run a marathon. I began with uncertainty, curiosity, and plenty of questions about what my body could do. I started anyway. What about you? Did you jump feet first into a task or a new direction? How is it going, and what are you learning along the way?

A perfect moment to start a business, take a class, travel somewhere new, change careers, write that first page, or pursue a long-held dream will rarely arrive. Sometimes courage is simply deciding to begin while you’re still a little afraid.
Life Hack for Month #1: Choose one thing you’ve been postponing and take one concrete step toward it. Not ten. One. Start today.

February: Invest in Your Relationships

The older I become, the more clearly I understand that our relationships are among our greatest forms of wealth. Our friendships need attention, our families need nurturing, and our treasured relationships need time. Sure, life gets busy, and it is surprisingly easy to assume the people we love know how we feel. Let’s develop the habit of telling them anyway. I’ve lost people I loved deeply, and loss has made me more conscious of the importance of appreciating people while they are here. This year alone, I lost several close friends, including my best friend, Linda, from childhood days.

Call the friend you’ve been meaning to call. Have dinner with your friends and family without staring at your phone, and send the thank-you note you’ve been putting off. Celebrate someone’s success and listen without immediately trying to solve the problem. Don’t wait until someone is gone to tell everyone how wonderful they were; tell them now, and when necessary, put that muzzle on before you say something you will regret in the heat of anger. As the popular saying goes, give people their flowers while they can still smell them.
Life Hack for Month #2: Reach out to someone you care about simply because you care.

March: Move Your Body Every Day

Movement remains one of the great gifts of my life. For me, movement included dance, martial arts, golfing, yoga, swimming, jogging, hiking, and eventually long-distance running. But living well doesn’t require anyone to run 26.2 miles or even one mile. Bloom where you are planted and embrace what interests you. You can take a leisurely walk. Do daily stretching or dance in your kitchen, garden, swim, practice yoga, ride a bicycle, or take the stairs when you can. The ball is in your court, and the choice is yours, so do it.

Through my own experiences, I’ve learned that our bodies may have limitations, but limitations don’t automatically mean inactivity. We can learn to work with the bodies we have rather than constantly wishing for different ones. The best exercise isn’t necessarily the one that burns the most calories or earns the most applause. It’s the one you enjoy enough to keep doing. Consistency is key, and as long as it gives you joy, do it. Don’t get caught in the social media FOMO trap. You are not missing out on anything. Movement can strengthen the body, clear the mind, and lift the spirit. It reminds us that being able to move at all is something worth appreciating.
Life Hack for Month #3: Find a form of movement you genuinely enjoy and make it part of your life.

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” Mary Oliver, The Summer Day

April: Protect Your Peace

Not everything deserves your reaction. It took me time to understand this. As my pastor said, “Having peace is more important than being right.”  We cannot control what other people say, think, post, believe, or do. But we can become more selective about how much access we give those things to our peace of mind. Protecting your peace doesn’t mean avoiding difficult conversations or pretending problems don’t exist. It means learning the difference between what requires your attention and what merely drains your energy.

Sometimes peace requires boundaries. Sometimes it means saying no without writing a three-paragraph explanation. Sometimes peace means turning off the television, leaving the argument, putting down the phone, praying, sitting quietly, or accepting that someone may misunderstand you. You don’t have to attend every argument you’re invited to. You don’t have to fight every battle.
Life Hack for Month #4: Before reacting, ask yourself, *Does this really require my energy?

May: Spend More Time Outside

Some of my happiest and clearest moments have happened outdoors. Running, walking, hiking, traveling, or simply noticing a beautiful landscape reminds me how restorative nature can be. I feel enormous joy and freedom when I walk through a park, sit beside the ocean, hike my favorite trail, plant flowers, watch a sunrise, and look at the stars. The list goes on, and it could fill a small book, but you get the drift. Maintaining a spirit of awe keeps us young at heart, so don’t allow life’s hard knocks to make you feel jaded. Stay connected to the simple things that give you joy.

To set the tone for your outdoor pleasure, leave the headphones behind occasionally. Listen to the birds, the wind, the lull of flowing water, the rustle of leaves, and then silence. Our lives have become so dominated by screens, schedules, notifications, and noise that simply stepping outside can feel like an act of restoration. You don’t need an exotic vacation or a magnificent national park. Sometimes a neighborhood walk beneath a canopy of trees is enough. Nature doesn’t demand anything from us; she simply invites us to notice.
Life Hack for Month #5: Spend a little intentional time outdoors every day.

June: Stop Comparing Your Timeline

This may be the lesson I wish more people understood because there is no expiration date on becoming. Someone else got married earlier or bought the bigger house. Someone else traveled farther, earned more, retired younger, got promoted faster, or reached a goal you are still pursuing. Good for them. Their timeline is not yours. One of the first things I learned as a marathoner is to run my own pace. Whether you are running at age 20, 40, or 80, your pace is your race, not mine.  I returned to running in my sixties after a 30+ year hiatus, picked up long-distance running, and the experience has changed how I think about age, possibility, and all those invisible deadlines society quietly hands us.

Who decided when we are supposed to accomplish everything? Some of life’s greatest adventures may begin after the age when we thought adventure was supposed to end. We can change careers. Discover new passions. Fall in love. Start businesses. Write books. Travel. Learn. Become athletes and begin again. Our dreams do not come with an expiration date.
Life Hack for Month #6: When you catch yourself comparing your life to someone else’s, turn your attention back to your own journey.

“If one has courage, nothing can dim the light which shines from within.” Maya Angelou

July: Make Room for Joy

Joy doesn’t always arrive as a major event. Sometimes it is good music playing while I’m cooking or a beautiful meal. It can show up as fresh flowers, a fabulous outfit that makes me feel good, nature photography, local travel, a book I can’t put down, and laughter with people I love. I’ve come to appreciate these seemingly ordinary pleasures more as I’ve gotten older because the simple things add joy to our lives, and we ought ot pay attention to them. Tempus fugit!

We sometimes treat enjoyment as something we have to earn after all the serious work is finished, but the work is never finished. Another email, bill, appointment, errand, problem, or responsibility will always come up. Joy isn’t frivolous, and it is an important part of living.
Life Hack for Month #7: Do something every week for no other reason than it brings you joy.

August: Learn Something New

I have spent much of my professional life teaching, but one reason I have always loved education is that the teacher never stops being a student. Curiosity keeps us young in a way age cannot measure. I am always looking for ways to enrich my mind, and the choices are endless. I can learn another language, take a photography class, try a new recipe, read about a country I’ve never visited, learn an instrument, or study history. Don’t be afraid to ask someone younger than you to teach you something.

Being a beginner can feel uncomfortable because adults get used to knowing what they’re doing. In Yoga and Meditation, there is a term called Beginner’s Mind, and it reminds us to stay open to possibilities and new insights. Become a beginner. Make mistakes. Ask questions. Laugh at yourself. I’ve discovered that one of the great pleasures of getting older is realizing how much there still is to discover.
Life Hack for Month #8: Choose something you know almost nothing about and become curious about it.

September: Simplify Something

Clutter isn’t limited to closets. We accumulate possessions, commitments, subscriptions, obligations, emails, expectations, and routines that no longer serve us. I keep learning that more isn’t necessarily better. Sometimes more is more. September is a good month to ask: What could be simpler? Maybe it’s your morning routine. Your calendar. Your finances. Your closet. Your kitchen. Your digital life. Maybe it is an obligation you have outgrown but continue out of habit or guilt.

Simplifying doesn’t mean getting rid of everything. It means creating more room for what matters. And sometimes what we need most isn’t more space in our homes. It’s more space in our minds.
Life Hack for Month #9: Choose one area of your life and remove what is unnecessary.

 

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others,” attributed to Mahatma Gandhi.

October: Practice Gratitude—Especially When It’s Hard

Gratitude is easy when everything is going well. Its real power appears when life isn’t. I’ve lived long enough to know that life can change suddenly. There have been moments when circumstances didn’t go according to plan, and times when I had to draw on faith, family, friendship, and reserves of strength I wasn’t sure I possessed. Those experiences have deepened my understanding of gratitude. Gratitude doesn’t mean pretending pain, disappointment, grief, illness, or difficulty aren’t real. Nor do we have to be grateful for suffering.

Instead, we learn to recognize what remains alongside it. The friend who showed up. The stranger who helped. The body that carried us through another day. The prayer. The lesson. The second chance. The grace. Gratitude doesn’t erase difficulty. It changes what we notice while we’re going through it.
Life Hack for Month #10: Before going to sleep, name three things from that day for which you are grateful.

November: Give Something Away

Generosity isn’t reserved for wealthy people. We all have something to give. Money, certainly. But we can also give time. Knowledge. Encouragement. Attention. Mentorship. Clothing. Food. A recommendation. An introduction. A listening ear. As an educator, mentor, runner, friend, and mother, I’ve seen again and again how much difference encouragement can make in someone’s life.

Sometimes people don’t need us to fix anything. They need someone to say, “I see you. Keep going.” One of life’s beautiful paradoxes is that giving frequently enriches the giver as much as the receiver. So look around because someone needs something you know how to give.
Life Hack for Month #11: Give something—time, money, encouragement, knowledge, or service—without expecting anything in return.

December: Take Inventory, Not Score

At the end of the year, we’re tempted to measure ourselves by asking a thousand questions. How much did I accomplish? How much money did I make? How much weight did I lose? How many goals did I achieve? But the older I become, the less interested I am in measuring a life solely by its visible accomplishments. Instead, I want to take inventory.

I want to learn the answers to these far more important questions: What did I learn? Who mattered? Who did I help? What surprised me? What did I survive? Where did I grow? What brought me joy? What should I release? What do I want to carry forward? And perhaps most importantly: Who am I becoming?

In Ecclesiastes 3:1–8, there is a season for everything. Some years are for achieving. Some are for rebuilding. Some are for healing. Some are for exploring. Some are for beginning again. And some years are simply about putting one foot in front of the other. All of them count.
Life Hack for Month #12:Before making next year’s resolutions, acknowledge how far you’ve already come.

“Do what you can, with what you’ve got, where you are.” Squire Bill Widener

To every thing there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to get, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to rend, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time of war, and a time of peace. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 KJV

One Final Life Hack

Our goal is to accomplish, in twelve months, twelve ideas: Begin. Connect. Move. Protect. Restore. Accept. Enjoy. Learn. Simplify. Appreciate. Give. Reflect. None of these ideas is revolutionary, and perhaps that’s precisely the point. I believe that a meaningful life is rarely built through one enormous decision. More often, it is shaped quietly through thousands of small ones. One walk won’t transform your health. One phone call won’t sustain a friendship. One grateful thought won’t erase a difficult season. One brave decision won’t eliminate fear. One act of kindness won’t change the entire world, but it may change someone’s day, and then we can do it again.

Small choices become habits. Habits become ways of living. And our ways of living eventually become our lives. If my own journey has taught me anything, it is that we should be very careful about deciding that we are too old, too late, too afraid, too inexperienced, or too ordinary to begin something new. Life can and will surprise you. Don’t hesitate to surprise yourself. You don’t have to master all twelve of these ideas at once.

You don’t even have to wait for January. Start with whichever one you need most today and remember perhaps the best life hack of all: Don’t wait for a new year, a new month, or a perfect moment to start living differently. Begin wherever you are. There is still life to live. There are still things to learn. There are still people to love. There is still joy to find and, God willing, there are still chapters waiting to be written.

 

Positive Motivation Tip: Embrace and enjoy the life you have. Keep it simple. 

PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos: via Pixabay:  Adobe Free Photos

Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet