12 Unique Life Resolutions/Habits to Improve Your Life Today

 As we go through life, it's easy to fall into certain habits and routines that can hold us back from reaching our full potential. Of course, we all know that we should exercise more, eat healthier, and manage our finances better, but there are other habits that we can cultivate that can be just as valuable.

Here are 12 unique life resolutions/habits that can help you improve your life today:

1. Intentionally laugh every day - Laughter has been proven to reduce stress, lower blood pressure, and exercise muscles. But, more importantly, it can change your outlook on life and bring you joy and hope. So make it a point to practice laughter daily, especially on tough days.
2. Practice solitude - Find time to be alone in quiet regularly. No books, no music, no outside voices. Just you alone with yourself. This habit can help you discover things about yourself you never knew and give you a better understanding of who you are.
3. Make gratitude a discipline - Express gratitude to someone or something each day. Gratitude refocuses our attention away from what we don't have and redirects it towards what we do. As a result, it naturally causes contentment and generosity to spring up in our lives.
4. Slow down - Take the time to slow down, whether while driving or in your daily activities. Life is not a race; by slowing oy the journey and being more present.
5. Fast one by slowing down day each month - Fasting has been practised in nearly every religious tradition, teaching us self-control, self-denial, and sacrifice. It can also heighten our senses and give us a better appreciation for the things we have.
6. Adopt a "Do it Now" mentality - Procrastination can result in unnecessary stress in our lives, so try to cultivate a habit of doing things right away instead of putting them off.
7. Eat more vegetables - Eating more vegetables is a simple and measurable approach to achieving weight loss goals. Additionally, it gives us more energy, more self-esteem, and more opportunity to fight off illness and disease.
8. Read classical books from different centuries - Books that have lasted centuries contain timeless human truths that can still apply today. Rediscovering how men and women approached life hundreds of years ago can give us a new perspective and help us grow.
9. Remove pornography - Pornography can limit our capacity to appreciate the natural world and its people. By sacrificing the temporal pleasure of pornography, we can live a life that can better appreciate the simple joys of the people and relationships around us.
10. Go to bed earlier - Changing just the first hour of your day changes the remaining 23, and the best way to change the first hour is to get a good night's sleep. In addition, going to bed earlier may surprise you with how it naturally benefits other areas of your life.
11. Give to a charity - Pick and donate to a cause you believe in. The act of giving can bring joy not only to yourself but to others as well. If you can spread that much joy by filling out a check, just imagine the joy you'll spread if you volunteer your time and talents.
12. Date your spouse - Take your spouse/partner on a date at least once a month. This can help you have fun, reconnect, and strengthen your union. It doesn't have to cost much, as plenty of low-cost or free date ideas exist.

These unique life resolutions/habits may not be mainstream, but they can be just as valuable in helping you live a life with full potential. 

Living Authentically

How to Break Free from Seeking Approval

Are you someone who constantly seeks approval from others? Do you need someone to push or tell you you can do it? If so, you're not alone. Many people struggle with the need for external validation, and it can be a challenging habit to break.

The need for approval can stem from various sources, including childhood experiences, cultural norms, and personal insecurities. In addition, it can manifest in different ways, such as constantly seeking validation from others, people pleasing, or avoiding disapproval at all costs.

While seeking approval can be beneficial in certain situations, such as building relationships or achieving career success, it can also be problematic when it becomes the sole motivator for our actions. If we constantly seek approval from others, we may lose touch with our values, principles, and goals. We may also become overwhelmed, overworked, and unable to refuse others' requests.

In this situation, taking a step back and evaluating why you seek approval is essential. Ask yourself questions like: What do I value? What keeps me awake at night? How do I prefer to spend my time? You can live a more fulfilling and authentic life by listening to what you genuinely want and aligning your actions with your values, principles, and goals.

Here are some tips for breaking the cycle of seeking approval:

First, be honest with yourself: When you take on a new commitment, evaluate whether you are doing it because it's right for you or because you want to gain approval and avoid disapproval.

Set boundaries: Learn to say no when a request doesn't align with your values or goals. Setting boundaries can be challenging, but it's essential for living a more authentic life.

Practice self-care: Make time for yourself and prioritize activities that bring joy and fulfilment. Self-care can help you reconnect with yourself and your values.

Focus on intrinsic motivation: Instead of seeking external validation, focus on intrinsic motivation. Set meaningful goals for yourself and work towards them because they align with your values and principles, not because you want someone else's approval.

Seek support: Breaking the cycle of seeking approval can be challenging, and it's okay to seek support from friends, family, or a therapist.

In conclusion, seeking approval from others can be a challenging habit to break. Still, it's essential for living a more authentic and fulfilling life. By reflecting on your values, setting boundaries, and focusing on intrinsic motivation, you can break the cycle of seeking approval and living a life aligned with your true self.

Orange Butterfly

"The orange butterfly is believed to carry the message that there is life after death and that death is but a transformation like that of the butterfly."

Grieving a loved one is the most challenging. Long ago, when I lost a baby and then a parent, I never thought I would choose to work in grief in the future. We lose our loved ones, uncles, aunts, cousins, friends or grandparents. Still, sometimes it doesn't hit that hard because we are not aware of the significance of that relationship. As a child, we have been told that they are in a good place, and we don't understand what a good place means and why they have to leave us and go to that good place. Long story short, I do not have a more profound emotional attachment with who passed earlier than the first death I remember, and it's always in my thoughts when my best friend lost her parent one after another.

I can see that emptiness in her eyes, her craving for that warmth, and her loneliness. I always try to be with her in the ups and downs of her life. But I can not fill that void of losing both parents at that tender age.

Time passed a little more, and I sailed through my life. Then the first whirlpool of my life was when I lost my baby in late pregnancy; it was a shock. After that, I could not express my feelings and was pushed to live everyday life with the same sentence. She is in a good place, and as a parent, I think, what !! A good place … why and how …

Finding in my thoughts what I have missed, how this happened etc. I still feel I missed that grieving part or suffering inside. And again, when I lost my father, I still grieved him even after 17 years. Some days it feels like I am healed and accepted it. There are some days when I think it doesn't happen, that loss is still in the denial phase, and then there are days and times to relive the story or just like it happened yesterday.

But now I work with grief every other day: a new loss, a pang of guilt, a wave of anger, either delayed grief or just happened a few weeks back. I stay with them in their pain and longing and listen to their stories and grief. I tell them they do not have to follow a to-do list provided by society or religion on how to grieve and what to do.

Just live in the moment, a day at a time. It's never too late or too soon in grief. I learned how to respect and live my relationships to the fullest; I may have some regrets, but still, so many moments to cherish. Grief is the price we pay for our love, and it will never dim down or go away. It stays there. We just build a life around it brick by brick every day.

Orange butterfly

Flying around the sun

Orange butterfly

Flying through the sky

Orange butterfly

Touching me softly

Dance with me

Float with the wind

Fly with the birds

Come to my side

Just for a moment

Touch me softly

Dance with me

Float with the wind

Fly with the birds

Just for a moment

Before you say goodbye

by Zahra

A poem about Grief and Bereavement expressing Loss and Death