Tools and Principles

These are tools and principles that I practice. (note the word, practice)

Principles

Treat others how you would like to be treated – (DUH, but easier said then done, sometimes I need to remind myself, would I like it if someone was doing this to me?)

Don’t take things personally – I have no clue where that person is coming from, they could of just lost a loved one or is just having a bad day.

Seize the moment- There are so many times where I have chickened out to talk to a girl or take the opportunity to do something really cool, but haven’t because of FEAR…Well fuck that, do it anyways, were only here for so long, do everything you can.

Be honest – Even the little lies can be lethal because they build up without me even knowing. For example, exaggerating. Sometimes when telling somebody an event or story I will embellish the story almost automatically to make it sound cooler than it really is, this for me adds up and eats away at my happiness.

Treat life as an adventure – if your not excited about life, your not living. I like to look at everyday as an adventure. What’s going to happen today?, What do I want to do?, Do I want to talk to new people?, go somewhere different, swim in the ocean at 1am. This is our playground, just because we look bigger doesn’t mean we can’t be curious anymore.

Help others – I cant stress this enough! This is the main reason I am happy with my life. By helping others live life, in return people help me, I know, strange.

Be open and willing – I need to always remain open or else my life is over. I will be stuck in a closet. I need to always see that there are other ways to do something or think about something. Also I learn nothing new when I’m doing the same shit all the time. The willingness is the thing that gets me to actually do these new things. When I do something new, I grow and as I said before I need to be growing in order for me to be happy.

Tools

To do list – This is how I get shit done, I do one every night for the next day. When I have everything I want to do that day in my head I am lost and it either takes longer to do or I just forget to do it. Plus it feels so good to cross that task of your list.

Commit to others- When I am having trouble doing something, like homework, emails, projects, the gym etc. I call someone up and say, “hey, I am about to do this and I will call you when I am done.” This makes me accountable to finish the task because now I said I would do it and call them back.

Exercise – I feel so good after a good run or a session at the gym for the obvious reason that this releases endorphins, but also because it feels good to know that I am taking care of my body.

Write – Writing helps me out a lot even though I don’t like doing it…it takes effort!! But when I have a hard decision to look at, if it’s in my head it’s mixed up with the millions of other thoughts that are in there. When I write it out, it’s there, I see it, now I can see what I need to do. Then I write a pro’s and con’s list and choose from that. Writing also helps me release bad feelings I may be experiencing. When I write about it, it clears my head up and leaves some space in my head for more productive thoughts.

Spirituality – That’s the only word I could think of for this, but I need to have something that takes me out of my normal day head and reality. For me meditating, nature, discussion groups on something greater than myself brings me back to whats important. This is essential for me, if I don’t have this, I am headed for the shitter. Find out what works for you, some people surf or make music to get this.

Service -This is the best remedy when I’m feeling like shit. There are many ways to do this, but I like to call someone and see how they are doing. Also, I like to actually do something that helps someone, like helping them move or give them a ride etc.
When I am about service my day can’t go bad. When I started to practice service not just when I was feeling like shit, is when my life really took off. Helping people just to help and not expect to get anything in return is the greatest feeling.