Master How To Make Your Life Better With These 10 Secrets

These 30 Secrets Will Give You A Healthy and Happy Life No Matter What

Hello friend! Wanna live healthy and happy? Follow me!

It is another exciting day to take on an extra layer of learning to ensure you are in tune with the rhythm of success.

Speaking of rhythms, today I am going to talk about something that is fundamental to the outcomes you get in life. It is as sure and steady as the rhythm of the heart sets the pace for the biological processes of life.

What exactly do you need to be doing to make your life better?

I’ll introduce this not-so-strange concept with a riddle:

It is something so easily overlooked yet so intricately woven into every fibre of our being.

“Closer than any guide you’ve ever known,

I determine where you’ll eventually go;

You, I most certainly own,

Although by you I’ve been steadily grown…

What do you call me so?

You guessed right – Habits.”

No doubt you have heard so much about it enough to do a dissertation on it. But then, I would like you to savour this journey with an imaginary new palette; feel in it a new flavour.

30 Secrets to living healthy and happy

Perhaps what you have been waiting for is to nudge you off your butt and get you building the life you’ve only so far wished for.

Suffice it to say that your habits form the building blocks of your character. Your character turns out to be your life’s incontrovertible driver.

I write this as a tribute to every one of you that rises every time you fall. Everyone does not hesitate to put up another try even though it didn’t work out so great the last time.

Take these (re)new(ed) sets of tools, and add them to your armoury in your bid to dismantle bad habits as well as your toolbox to build new ones.

1. Always Visualize the Future You’re Headed… Always!

Looking into the future for a better life
These 30 Secrets Will Give You A Healthy Happy Life No Matter What

There’s no better place to begin a journey than the end. Yes, you heard me right.

This is taking into consideration the fact that time is a loop. The beginning can be the end, depending on which direction you’re facing.

Visualizing the end even before the journey starts makes sure you’re not on the wrong journey, needless to say, headed for the wrong destination.

Doing this helps you think before you act. It also helps you develop strategic plans. With this in place, you don’t just make things up on the fly and are left wondering what you didn’t do right when things go wrong.

People don’t stumble into significance, my friend, except you, are satisfied with mediocrity. You should be the ‘see and do’, not the ‘do and see’ kinda guy or gal.

2. Jail that thief of time

Defeat procrastination to achieve a better life
Master How To Make Your Life Better With These 30 Secrets

Of course, you know what that thief is – procrastination.

And I dare say that ever since mankind had something to do, there has been procrastination to keep him from doing it right. If it does allow him to do whatever there is to be done at all.

Truth be told, I actually took this write-up seriously on the very deadline I was supposed to hand it in. Yes, it’s got me too.

To help understand how procrastination works in a rather funny and insightful manner, I strongly recommend Tim Urban’s 2016 TED talk on ‘How the Mind of a Master Procrastinator Works’.

But then, I dare say too that anything that steals something irreplaceable or irrecoverable actually kills the consciousness of the owner. 

Therefore, since lost time is well lost, procrastination actually kills you literally. So, think of the chunk of time you lose every time you procrastinate as losing a chunk of yourself.

Now, further, imagine how much of yourself you’ve lost since your first procrastination.

Take a further step in your imagination to visualize how much more you should have been than you actually are.

Let this sense of loss drive you to commit to losing less of yourself hereon.

3. Do Less Pointing, Do More Pulling

Pointing accusing fingers instead of making your better life work
These 30 Secrets Will Give You A Healthy Happy Life No Matter What

I had to abridge that to make it a little poetic. Frivolous, right? Don’t mind me.

The full gist is this – stop pointing your finger in a bid to blame other people for the outcomes of your life and start pulling your own weight by actually taking responsibility for your life.

Your life is like your laundry. Except you pay someone to do it for you, chances are that they won’t do it well. In the same way, if someone has a direct stake in your life, they will care about it as little as possible.

But then, the thing about life is that it’s such that no one has nearly enough stake in it as you do. Not even your closest pals, spouse, or parents.

So, as the CEO of ‘You Inc’, with yourself as the largest shareholder, how committed do you think lesser contributors will be, given the ‘inferior’ position they occupy in the pecking order?

On this note, I’ll move on to the next point by saying this. You may delegate duties but to really position yourself to command influence, don’t ever delegate decisions that directly affect the critical outcomes of your life.

4. Leverage Relationships

Leverage on relationships to make your life better
These 30 Secrets Will Give You A Healthy Happy Life No Matter What

This comes on the heel of the last point where of course I said to always stand up for yourself.

But then, standing up for oneself is not the same as always opting for being isolated.

So, how do you leverage relationships without compromising your individuality or your ability to stand on your own feet?

The first thing is to realize that ‘leveraging’ is not spelled as ‘relying on’ – there is a huge difference, as much as there is between parasitism and symbiosis.

Neither is it taking advantage of friends who you know can’t say no.

Simply put, leveraging stays intact until you start thinking that the outcome depends on another person or situation and not on the choices you make.

In leveraging relationships, you should understand that you multiply your efforts and increase your chances for success. Why? more heads are brought into the equation of a situation’s solution.

Obviously, the heads that are brought in should be as competent, capable, and committed as you would have them be, as loyal friends, faithful employees, or even co-workers.

Needless to say, leverages don’t work except if there is a unilateral agreement between all the parties involved.

Another thing about getting heads together is knowing the optimum number and the temperament of their carriers. It is as that old saying goes – too much cook spoils the broth (just as an insufficient number of cooks can come up with a tasteless sauce).

And even if you have to invite ‘everybody’ to the party, they don’t all get to sit in the same seat.

So, get yourself good heads that are facing where you’re headed. People whose hearts beat in rhythm with yours and are set out to do great things. Things like changing the world and sometimes mundane things such as landscaping your lawn.

Not only do you do more in these kinds of partnerships, but you can also actually BE MORE and the relationship is better in the long run.

5. Pay Attention to Detail

That could feel like a punch in the stomach, especially for those of you that love the easy way out.

The truth is that the easy way is not always the easy way.

Short-term thinking does not deliver long-term benefits and things do actually look different when examined at close quarters; and the closer you get, the more you see and wonder at.

You know, back in my high school geography class, I remember my teacher telling us a story. He said that clusters of stars – nebulae or even galaxies, appear as a single light source when viewing with the unaided eye, here on earth.

Imagine for a moment that mankind had not worked hard enough to develop devices like telescopes. How would we be able to take a closer look at the cosmos?

How many wonders, the beauty of individuality, and above all knowledge through detail we will be missing!

But then, you don’t need to be a stargazer to require attention to detail.

As an intelligent person, your daily tasks, both the simple and the not-so-simple ones also require the highest quality of execution.

So, take the ‘telescope’ of conscientiousness or at least the magnifying glass of cross-examination and see to it that a task is done to the level where it doesn’t need redoing.

The advantage here is that the more often you do this, the more you are known for being committed to excellence.

Well, this earns you a ‘conspicuous but imaginary’ badge on your lapel that is bound to get you noticed and recommended for greater opportunities at some point.

You may be the guy or girl that everyone doesn’t like for being somewhat prickly. But then, you will also be the first they will run to when they hit a wall they are so lazy to jump.

6. Learn to say NO!

Decide when to say no!
Master How To Make Your Life Better With These 30 Secrets

There is no telling how important this is.

I was going to phrase this subtitle as ‘Learn to be assertive’, but then it sounds like an ultra-mild attempt inspired by trying to be politically correct.

Well, I’m not much of a political commentator but I do know that one thing about a politician is the way they find it difficult to say ‘No’ by actually saying ‘No’ to you. Lol

But then, your life isn’t exactly a political structure. Should you consider it to be, you are both the candidate with the highest mandate and the party that dominates the largest constituency. Thus, loving yourself should be a priority.

So, you can afford to say ‘NO’ (in capital letters) and still get away with it!

In fact, the greatest test of being assertive is how often one says NO.

This may sound like negativity but then there is nothing positive about agreeing to something in the meantime that undermines your ability for long-term productivity.

In your bid to please people, especially the ones you care about (never mind if they don’t care as much about you) you become ‘yes man’ with as little restraint as possible on who and what you commit yourself to.

Sometimes, you even play the ‘circus monkey’. A monkey whose existence is all about pleasing people who care enough only to laugh seeing it risk its life with amazing but frivolous stunts.

They even clap and maybe drop some coins to ‘encourage’ the monkey. But then, a circus monkey is what it is. It feeds off the attention and approval of others (such constipating diet indeed) and not its own goals and ambitions.

Saying NO when it harms you doesn’t make you a bad person. On the other hand, it does make you a responsible person whose senses are good enough to tell him what is good for him and he is brave enough to do it.

A wise General chooses his battles. That way his army stays fresh and fully functional. Not bickering over a pile of dirt when they ought to be strategizing about overtaking a whole country.

Basically, this whole point boils down to how well your choice cells have been developed over time.

The better you get to make choices and take mature decisions, the lesser the chances that you’ll say Yes to every Tom, Dick, and Harry that comes your way.

Strength is a measure of the extent of resistance, not the copiousness of compliance.

Read: How to Apologize in a professional way

7. Go out on a Limb for a Friend

I know this is something quite a number of you would rather not do. Especially if you have been burned for doing so in the past or if you are barely hanging in there yourself.

Let’s face it – the world is a broken place and as Gandhi so nicely puts it: an eye for an eye makes the world go blind.

The world has had a lot of tragedies and painful experiences such that it is now more or less the norm.

But who says it always has to be like that?

You might think that the cog in the wheels of wrongdoing and offense in the world is so huge. What can just one person do about it?

In any case, who’s asking you to be a superhero?

Just look at the person next to you, just one person. It might make you feel more comfortable if that person was your friend as stated in the subtitle. Think of that one thing you can do for him or her irrespective of how incapable you feel you are.

Do that, and repeat the same thing for the next person or friend at your earliest convenience. And then again and again until it becomes a spontaneous impulse.

I guarantee that you will find yourself feeling empowered and even desiring to do more good to more people. This is a personality strength but could also be a weakness.  However, it all begins with the one good you do for a friend.

I would have you see this not as you being your friend’s benefactor but as an outlet for the capacity for the goodness God puts inside you.

So, you end up being a co-beneficiary of your own good. When you go out on a limb for a friend, you end up strengthening that limb. Do the same thing for the other limb and you strengthen that limb also.

Keep doing that often and you have for yourself a nice strong pair of limbs. This can inspire others to do just the same.

In the long run, the world can actually become a better place. Why? because you went out on a limb for a friend.

8. Take Initiatives

Make things happen to make your life better
Master How To Make Your Life Better With These 30 Secrets

Have you ever been in a situation where you long for things to be better? That someone would just stand up and do something about the mess that seems to be everywhere?

Now run through your memory bank again; how often do you imagine that the difference-maker had your face and sounded just like you?!

Very often I presume.

This innate disposition that makes us drool over so-called superheroes outwardly but makes us wish we were them inwardly is not unjustified.

In fact, we were all designed to be ‘super’ in our own special way, to be different. But the issue with this all-consuming desire is how hard it is to start.

Breaking the ice and building momentum might be the hardest thing we do when it comes to fulfilling our dreams.

Let us think of it this way:

It’s like having a pressurized vessel, say a gas cylinder. While the cylinder has a lot of potential to do useful work, as long as the valve stays closed it will be as useless as a comatose piece of buried stone.

Taking initiative, no matter how small, is what really separates Movers from Mediocre. The most potent ability of superheroes – real or imagined – is that single decision to alter that very little thing. Within their grasp and like a pack of dominoes, the world seems to clear a path for them, one opportunity at a time.

Therefore, what makes for bravery is not extreme ability nor is it a skill for the writer of history.

The infallible instrument that has ever shaped humanity is that one man or woman that simply decides to do that little thing the rest of the crowd isn’t doing.

9. Develop Immunity Against Pessimism and Scepticism

Two words readily come to mind when pessimism and/or skepticism are mentioned – doubt and discouragement.

You, my reader, would agree with me that very little, if anything, gets done in such an atmosphere. It’s like trying to plough through thick mud on a rainy day – there’s no better recipe for failure.

To put it very simply, a pessimist thinks, “why try since it can’t be done?” while a skeptic thinks, “I’ll try just hard enough to prove it’s going to be really hard getting it done… If it can be done at all.”

The worst thing about any of these two is how toxic it can be to a positive attitude.

Whatever little effort one may hope to put in seem to get ‘killed’ when pessimism or skepticism finds its way into the equation of the situation.

This evil pair saps one’s energy and cast a cloud of despondency on every intent and resolve to fight through.

No one ever puts in their best when they are under the influence of any of these two; and when the best is not what you give, it can hardly be what you will get.

To put things in perspective, the presence or absence of any of these affects our internal inertia level.

The extent to which you allow them to toss you is the extent to which you are not going to resolve whatever issues you face.

Most importantly,

Not only should you detoxify your system of skeptical and pessimistic tendencies, but you should also stay away from external factors (mostly people) that bear the aura of these traits. Truth is one hardly works without the other close by.

Skeptics and pessimists take the colour of life; see the throne in every rose and neglect the finest fragrance it could ever offer.

They magnify the unpleasantness in every situation and amplify the voice of doubt and difficulty in every decision.

They just leave you wondering if life is worth living at all!

But I tell you, ridding yourself of them/it is like getting that annoying pebble out of your eye; all of a sudden you seem to be able to see the world in clearer, more colourful light than ever.

Read – Why you are never satisfied

10. Be Grateful

Master How To Make Your Life Better With These 30 Secrets

I know you’ve heard that a zillion times, if not more, but then I challenge you. Do you still find yourself thinking of how you have not attained your goals? or do you feel you deserve to be in a better place than you are right now? Do your challenges seem to be bent on limiting your chances of a better life?

There’s more on the list but I do hope you get the gist. Don’t be so grumpy and all whiny about how things don’t go your way that you forget that despite that, you are not where you once were.

In fact, you are better off!

Living in Nigeria does put a spin on things a bit. There is so much to complain about that we can actually make a career out of it – if someone is willing to pay the price.

But then, when I think that I still have a place to go back to after the day’s work, a phone to call my loved ones on, a great blog to write for, and excellent grades in my past school work, I simply thank God for giving me so much.

I wouldn’t want to mention how a lot of people would gladly trade places with me right now or how my present position provides a perfect platform for further advancement.

I would simply say this – “It could have been worse… ” but thankfully, it isn’t!

11. Take Responsibility

One of the ways to keep living healthy and happy is by taking charge and responsibility for your life. plan the way things should be, how they can be done, and the best way to do them.

Don’t be a shifter of responsibilities, grab it and hold firm to it. Doing things the way you want them, makes you happy and healthy.

12. Never Procrastinate

Procrastination is a thief of time, avoiding it is avoiding regrets, and avoiding regrets boosts healthy and happy living.

Train yourself to be that one person that dislikes, hates, and creates enmity between you and procrastination. It is one of the ways to develop a growth mindset.

13. Create time for family and friends

30 Secrets That Will Give You A Healthy Happy Life No Matter What

Laughter, gists, and healthy chitchats are the characteristics that hold family and friends together.

When one makes out time to be with this set of people, one is happy, and happiness is a determinant of a healthy and happy life.

14. Be more of a listener

Listening to understand a point, and the ability to handle issues based on the point made creates a peaceful atmosphere.

Misunderstanding issues are a result of hasty listening, avoiding it gives peaceful, healthy, and happy living.

It will also help you to be emotionally stable as being an active listener is one of the ways to manage your emotional intelligence.

15. Pay attention to what you eat

30 Secrets That Will Give You A Healthy Happy Life No Matter What

Careful eating is an important factor to consider when dealing with healthy and happy living.

What one eats is paramount to one’s health. Healthy eating guarantees healthy living.

Pay close attention to the food you eat, the water you drink, the kind of wine you sip, the fruits you eat, and the general input of your well-being healthwise.

16. Always sanitize your thoughts

Keeping your thoughts clean and devoid of evil helps you live longer and happier. It will also help you to be more responsible as you would have learnt how not to blame others for your problems.

Be peaceful and loving in thinking, and sanitize your thoughts always by being godly with your thoughts.

Think of things that will better your life and that of family and friends. Be more of a helper than a receiver of help.

Be more of a giver than a receiver. The thought of doing such good to people helps boosts one’s health and happiness.

17. Stay in a healthy environment

30 Secrets That Will Give You A Healthy Happy Life No Matter What

The environment one stays in contributes immensely to one’s health.

Making sure that you stay in an environment that is always healthy is key to healthy and happy living.

Airy, flowery, and dust-free environment, mosquito and insect-free environment contribute to good, healthy and happy living.

18. Keep lively friends

Show me your friends and I’ll tell you who you are.

Keeping friends that are lively exposes you to much more happiness because friends connect you to opportunities that tend to better one’s life.

Discussions on possible business opportunities are discussed while with friends.

Friends that share in your sorrows and joy are worth keeping, those are whom I refer to as lively friends. They are always ready to help.

Even if the relationship goes sour; work on fixing it. Find ways to get over the friendship gone bad.

19. Make God your best friend

As your best friend, God who’s the greatest physician and giver of health and life will always make sure that you’re in good health.

He’ll always see that you are without any form of sickness, and He’ll always be there to heal you of any ailments that will come.

So in making sure you’re healthy and happy, remember God has it all, embrace Him, and know peace.

20. Wear clean clothes

Not costly clothes, but clean clothes. The way one dress is the way one is addressed.

Making your daily clothes clean is a sure way to healthy living. When you’re clean, you’re healthy, and when you’re healthy, you’re wealthy, because they say that health is wealth.

Having good health will make you happy with your life.

21. Learn a skill

A skilled mind is a happy mind. Use your time to learn a skill, any skill that you have passion for will always boost your living healthy and happy.

Learn a skill that will help you even in your old age. The skill one learns becomes more beneficial when one is old and needs a companion, probably when one’s partner is no more.

22. Engage in things that make you happy

Things that make you happy are things one has to engage in. Go swimming, biking, and jogging.

Do knitting, weaving, sewing, etc. Anything that makes you happy also makes you healthy.

There are countless fun activities you can do all by yourself. Engage in these activities; they will make you healthy, and happy.

23. Dress modestly

30 Secrets That Will Give You A Healthy Happy Life No Matter What

Dressing is another way of boosting one’s morale.

When one dresses well, one is filled inwardly and it reflects outwardly.

Happiness is attracted when one is complimented, hence, healthy and happy living.

24. Do exercises

Engage in exercises to keep the body and mind fit. There are many surprising benefits of exercise that you need to find out.

Work out, burn unnecessary fat, reduce cholesterol, and reduce weight.

These activities will keep you healthy and happy. It will enhance longevity, boosts immunity, and makes you super strong.

25. Love and appreciate yourself

30 Secrets That Will Give You A Healthy Happy Life No Matter What

Look into the mirror and appreciate the beautiful work of God on you. Love yourself as you are, give yourself a treat, and host yourself.

Cook that delicious meal, and eat it, open that costly wine and drink it.  Give yourself a manicure, pedicure, and massage.

Sit by the beach side and take in the fresh air. Decorate your life with these beautiful things and see how happy and healthy you will be.

26. Smile more

Avoid getting angry, and always stay happy. Smile, relax, groove, rest, and greet people with a smiley face.

Stay active, make new friends, new contacts, new discoveries, do research, learn, unlearn and relearn. Get yourself happy all the time.

Stop being too emotional as much as possible. Avoid unnecessary anger, if possible, avoid anger totally. Life is a beautiful thing and it is best enjoyed when one is healthy and happy.

27. Have plenty of rest

30 Secrets That Will Give You A Healthy Happy Life No Matter What

Rest is very important in our daily lives. Every living being must rest.

Rest helps the brain to be at optimal function, it enhances all the organs of the body to function effectively. It generally boosts healthy and happy living.

28. Give compliments

When one is trying to be happy and healthy, one also needs to appreciate the good work of God on other people.

Compliment them adequately, and tell them how beautiful and good-looking they are.

Tell them how beautiful their clothes and outfits are. Making other people happy also makes you happy.

When people around you are happy and healthy, there’s no way you cannot be fulfilled, happy, and healthy.

29. Go swimming

Swimming is another beautiful thing that most people don’t know. In fact, a swimming pool is one of the must-have outdoor amenities for apartments.

It’s true that not all know how to swim, but if you’re fortunate to know how to swim, please make it part and parcel of you to swim.

It’s good practice to swim, it keeps one healthy and hearty.

30. Meditate

Meditation is divine. Sit quietly, and have a personal deep thinking.

Do yoga; connect your spirit with the divine.

Speak to God while you meditate, thank Him for all He’s been doing for you, and finally ask Him for a healthy and happy life because He’s the author and finisher of our life.

Conclusion

One thing may bother you so much and in the resultant gloom, lose yourself in the alley of impossibility.

But when you choose to snap out of it and draw strength and grace from the many blessings that surround you, you will find that gratitude in itself drowns the negative perspective that beclouds your interpretation of a situation.

Gratitude inspires you to look back. With these past victories in mind, you find the propelling force to launch into a future that is not so certain.

You hence see that it is not the uncertainty or difficulty in itself that constitutes a challenge. It’s your attitude to it.

And there is no better way to prime yourself for positivity and its attendant bliss than to be grateful for all you are and have – seen and unseen.

Cheers!

So tell me which of these secrets resonates with you the most?

What critical decision in the past made your life better?

I would love to hear from you in the comment section.

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Post Author: Explicit Success

Explicit Success is a place you can get some impetus and at the same time, get some relaxation. The articles you’ll find here have a lot of anecdotes you can relate to, which will help you to feel good about yourself and achieve success. Connect with our Team Lead on Instagram @abimbolajoe.

38 Replies to “These 30 Secrets Will Give You A Healthy Happy Life No Matter What”

  1. Excellent! My hardest is saying no and I work at home it seems everyone thinks I do nothing. I had to start reserving a room at the library so I could work. So still haven’t mastered no because I had to go to library so I can actually tell people I’m going to work yet it’s a start.

    1. Well done, Karie. Reserving a room at the Library is a good idea. Although if it costs you more or gives you some inconvenience, I’ll encourage you to master tip 6 thoroughly. All the best.

  2. Thanks for sharing these success tips! It’s clear that the path to success is paved with a healthy amount of self-care and just plain going for it! Also, that success isn’t a destination, it’s a journey (and a holistic one at that). True success involves taking care of our mind, body, and soul, as well as including the community. We also like how you included gratitude on this list. We’re big believers in being grateful in all things, finding the lesson in every opportunity, etc. Keep up the good work!

  3. Every single one of these is amazing and valuable. Number 9 is the most difficult for me as I fall into pessimism quite easily. I need to work on that. I love the idea that you are the CEO of You, Inc.! I need to take that job more seriously!

  4. 10 excellent and well thought out suggestions! So grand, I find myself wanting to take one on at a time. Specifically “Attention to Detail”. I’ve worked pretty hard at incorporating many of the others into my daily routine so I think I’ll start working on that one. Thanks for the inspiration!

  5. Love love love the idea of leveraging relationships. Sometimes when you are aiming for a goal it can feel like a lonely journey, but you have friends, family, coworkers etc surrounding you that are willing to help, if you just ASK! And they often have fresh ideas or perspectives you never would have thought of if you stayed boxed off on your own! Great post!

    Lauren | https://livebythesunshine.com/

    1. I appreciate the points that you make. Keeping your I on the long term goal is a must. Eliminating distractions and staying focused and learning to say no is also key to moving ahead. Thank you for sharing.

  6. The gratitude tip is a big one for me! I also enjoyed reading saying no! It really resonated with me.

  7. I agree with ALL of these! Gratitude is sooo important! I need to learn how to say no more. I’m not the best at it even tho I’ve done videos and told my clients the importance of it.

  8. I have a hard time saying no. So I end up being totally overwhelmed and stressed out. Thank you for the list!

  9. Such a lovely post with so much depth. Loved how you explained the concept of procrastination, honestly felt a little guilty thinking about all the wasted time. But thank you for sharing this!!

  10. My favorite is number nine. Being positive and surrounding yourself with other positive people are two of the most important pieces of life!

  11. I totally agree that your goal must be something you can visualize, in detail, and feel it! Having a lukewarm goal never did anyone any good!

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