If Like Me, You Want A Better Life, Then Learn These Ten Thoughts

1. You know the saying, "count your blessings"! Be thankful for the things that you do have, instead of thinking about the things you still don't have. Remember that the majority of the world's population are in poverty and get hungry everyday.


2. Enjoy good art and music. Take a trip to the local museum, try to appreciate the culture and history of your local place. Today we are bombarded with cheap and pop media, and it's rare to savor great minds and ideas. Pick up classic books by Dickens or Dostoevsky. Listen to Bach or Mozart. Look at the paintings by Rembrandt.

3. Choose to take a few minutes and just lie down on the grass and stare at the sky. If it's daytime then just go cloud-gazing, and watch the shapes change, or if it's nighttime then count the stars or identify constellations. The sky doesn't have troubles, but it is always wide and awesome, and it makes your soul stand still. Also don't forget the best part in between night and day, spectacular sunsets and sunrises!

4. Life is not all about work. Learn how to take breaks. A good rule is to always have a "sabbath" day of rest every week, where your goal is to just recharge your batteries and not do anything work related. However, the opposite is also true, if you have too much spare time, that can lead to overthinking and depression. Choose not to be idle and try to be a diligent worker. Find the balance between work and rest.

5. Be wise in your dealings with money. Greed will destroy you. Instead, think of money as a tool to love other people. Provide for your family well, and give gifts to your friends. But apart from that, it's useless to work for simply more money. You won't find your happiness in money, but you'll find it in relationships.

6. Treat yourself and your loved ones every now and then. Have loud and long conversations over good food. If you know how to cook then try a new recipe, or ask others to let you taste their special dishes. Schedule a gathering for now reason at all except for each other's company.

7. Don't neglect to spend time with your friends, and show your appreciation to them. Try to build long and substantial friendships, rather than lots of shallow relationships. It's better to have a few good people who will stick with you in thick and thin than be popular.

8. Love your family, they're the only family you've got! One of the biggest secrets when it comes to family relationships is acceptance and forgiveness. If we all had more of these two things, then there would be less broken families in the world. Acceptance and forgiveness guarantees that the home becomes a safe refuge in this world, where you can always run to when life doesn't treat you right, and always experience love.

9. If you're married then be as faithful as you can possibly be. Resist the temptations to look for someone else. Remember your marriage vows. No epic journey was never without its rough times and near-breaking points. But those who work hard have the widest smiles in their late wedding anniversaries. If you're not yet married to your girlfriend or boyfriend, ask yourself why not? Isn't this the person you'd like to spend your whole life with?

10. Enrich your relationship with God. It's not about religion, or about being holier-than-thou, but it's about love between you and something much more powerful and greater than you. Learn how to talk to God and pray. Grab a Bible and just read the words by yourself. Think about eternal things because we know that we won't live forever.