Give yourself the gift of rest.

In today’s world, work seems to trump many other important aspects of our lives including: meaningful relationships, health (mental/emotional/physical), sleep and more.

We have control over how we choose to spend our time and giving your body enough sleep is one of them.

Pulling all-nighters or staying up late into the night, only to get up early, fill yourself up with caffeine and hit it again, is no way to treat your body.

Take some time to arrange your schedule if you can – to go to bed earlier. Maybe you start off one night a week and go from there.

Your body and your mind will thank you.

Sometimes the most difficult aspects of moving forward in the face of obstacles is determining whether or not you’re on the right path. Often times we can become paralyzed because we are too concerned about taking the perfect approach.

What if this isn’t the answer. What if the best way to overcome the hurdles in front of you is to face them. Acknowledge them and engage them.

As I’ve heard before, the solution is in the problem. Upon facing the hardship, we find out more about the circumstances that caused the hitch, what may prevent this from happening again and more about who we are in handling bumps in the road like this.

I know one thing is for sure: NOT facing the problem isn’t going to do anything. It might make it worse.

When we become – what I call – “intimate” with anything (spending time with the subject matter) we become informed to make stronger choices on how to move forward.

Educated decisions are how I want to roll. How about you?

No one says you need to bring a cold water to a person on the street on a hot day. You certainly don’t have to slow down let that car cut in front of you on the freeway as you watch his blinker signal flash on and off. And you most definitely don’t need to apologize profusely after one of your passengers in your vehicle (even though you just told them to be careful 15 seconds prior) opened their door in parking lot and hit the car next to you – as the driver gets out of her vehicle and is cussing you out.

You have every right to go about your business and justify staying in your lane (literally and figuratively), shouting back and ignoring that human being as they stare at you with their “anything helps” sign written on tattered cardboard.

We tend to justify our behavior to suit our needs rather than pull back the zoom and look at the big picture. I know I do. Often times I also know what it feels like to be the person to let that car cut in front of me. I’m not a hero because of it. But, the idea of letting go can be.

The moment I change my tune from, “What’s in it for me?” to “How may I serve?” my world changes around me for the better.

Guaranteed.

Sometimes the best thing to say is . . . nothing.

We feel at times obliged to make a comment, give our opinion and let others know about our experience. There are times when this helps, no doubt. However, there are many opportunities missed to keep our mouths shut and actively listen.

In fact, more times than not keeping quiet can not only be a great opportunity to learn, but also a sign of strength and a time for the other person in the conversation to talk it through for themselves. In essence, you’re there to support them.

We tend to learn a lot when we listen. Whether it’s to your children, an employee or even someone you just met. We all can get a bit too eager to share our list of accolades, epiphanies and breakthroughs rather than remaining quiet and actively listening to another person’s opinion and/or life experiences.

You never know, you might just learn something you didn’t know, you may empower them more than you know and/or may make a deep connection with another human being by empathizing with them and finding a common bond.

Isn’t that the case with everything? “Hindsight is 20/20.” We all know the maxim’s and sayings that describe the desire to have the ability to know all the information in this moment in order to make the “right” decision.

Well, how about this. You are exactly where you need to be in this moment and you know exactly what you need to know. This is not a cop-out, but rather a tool to give you a perspective in which you can spring off and gain momentum.

After all, life is perspective. You can wake up in the morning and choose to have a bad day or a good day. It’s your choice. There is nothing different about Christmas morning than a Monday morning is February. The only difference is how we choose to look at it.

In the meantime, learn. Grow. And evolve. Connect with others. Empathize. Love. Give. Listen. Lead. Create and respect others. These are the elements that slowly creates a person who has the tools to make the strong choices to put him/her in a position to succeed and lead.

Stop looking back and get present. You know what you know right now and that’s more than enough.