<em>Joan Moran:</em> 10 Ways to Measure Your Life

Measuring your life with a practice of self-reflection is a very powerful way to enhance personal and profession development and increase individual fulfillment. It's time to take 10 minutes a day and celebrate our awesome life.
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By Joan Moran

It's rare that you have time to reflect on your life.

Self-reflection is a considered a luxury these days instead of a necessity. You rush from pillar to post and the minutes tick by until the end of the day when you literally fall into bed, into a stupor of dreams or no sleep at all because the mind chatter won't stop spinning.

It's time to get out of your stupor! Celebrate life instead of slogging through muddy waters.

If you want to measure how your life is going, first slow down the endless, mindless mental chatter. Take 10 minutes a day to decrease the incessant conversations you have with yourself. There's no best friend in your head. It's just you! And you are the only one who can measure your life in all its awesomeness.

Here are 10 ways to measure your awesome life: 1. Are you simplifying your life?Are you making your life more complicated than it needs to be? Are you collecting people, places and things that get in the way of making clear intentions? Living light eliminates the superfluous and reframes mindsets that reflect purpose. Simplicity is the new luxury.

2. How good is your ability to say no?Do you say yes to people, places and things because it's easier, requires little thought or no effort. Crucial to being responsive to your amazing self is your ability to discern and reflect about what adds value to your life. NO is a powerful word when used appropriately because it is a cogent measure of how you establish boundaries and belief systems that add value to your life.

3. Are you going about the business of being you every day?Or do you bend to the reflections of people around you, taking on their opinions and observations as if they might be your own but are not compatible with your perceptions, values or beliefs. Be wise and don't let anyone else influence you or tell you who you are. You are unique unto yourself.

4. Are you stretching your mind daily? Are you being mindful about how your brain functions? Do you know your brain has the element of plasticity, and, therefore, can grow? We loose thousands of neurons a day so we have to work hard to replenish them. It's like running a marathon to keep your brain functioning, but it's worth the run because if you grow your mind, you definitely grow your life.

5. Do you make good choices? I mean conscious choices and not the mindless kind, the happenstance decisions that come and go like the wind. The more mindful decisions you make, the better your life gets, the more freedom you have to be your authentic self, the more effective you are in facing challenges that cross your path daily. Being able to make good choices in life is a gift, a blessing because you and you alone get to figure it out. The best things in life are free.

6. Do you start the day thinking about you, feeling grateful, positive and happy about being you? Think of your life is as a giant goodie basket, and in this basket contains everything you are as an individual. You are a gold mine of thoughts, emotions, passions, dreams and virtues. Everything that's happened to you, every joy or struggle is in this basket. Everything you are is the ultimate measurement of your day.

7. Do you experience the joy of achievement and know that your work is a winning accomplishment in and of itself?The truth is that no one has to tell you that you have achieved something wonderful during the day. Your internal insightful value gives you all the information you need about how amazing you are. Simply be responsive to your amazing self.

8. Do you begin your day with the attitude of success?Or do you wait until the end of the day to find it? If you start the day with clarity and intention to do the most important work, success surrounds you. It's the main ingredient of how you measure your life.

9. Do you have passion in your life?Are you excited about a person, place or thing that will add value to your life and create opportunities for learning and growth? Passion makes life worth getting up for? Every day is an opportunity to find passion and experience joy.

10. Do you keep an open heart during the day?. . . a heart that reflects a generosity of spirit and a sense of encouragement and inspiration for others? An open heart will give you a measure of how you are managing your expectations and how your mindsets can be changed to reflect more positive perceptions, peace, joy and fulfillment.

Measuring your life with a practice of self-reflection is a very powerful way to enhance personal and profession development and increase individual fulfillment. It's time to take 10 minutes a day and celebrate our awesome life.

Joan Moran is a keynote speaker, commanding the stage with her delightful humor, raw energy, and wealth of life experiences. She is an expert on wellness and is passionate about addressing the problems of mental inertia. A yoga instructor, Moran is the author is "Sixty, Sex, & Tango, Confessions of a Beatnik Boomer." Visit her at www.joanfrancesmoran.com.

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