The Game of Life

Life is a game - it's worth learning how to play it! I am a very passionate lover of life. I believe our souls come to earth school to learn and to grow and to experience happiness. While that sounds simple, we get caught up in lots of stuff that don't matter. Here are the eight things that I think we need to do to have a life well lived.

1. Get to know yourself.
   Know what you ARE like and what you DO like. Learning about yourself is your job. Listen to what the world says about you and then decide what you want to offer the world. Taking time to get to know yourself is essential.  We get to decide who we are going to be. We can reinvent ourselves continuously...Start noticing yourself in situations - what you respond well to, what you don't. Try asking some people close to you for how they describe you and what they think are your best bits!
   

2. Get your needs met.
   While we are very similar,  each of us has particular needs. We all have preferences. Things we like and don’t like, need and don’t need. It is your job to get your needs met, to complete yourself! We have been taught that a magical person will come along and be everything we need, I think we need ourselves. We need to be at home with ourselves. The greatest relationship you ever have should be with yourself. It's tempting to lean on others but being codependent on a partner, spouse, sibling or friend is not the best way to live your life!
   

3. Collect experiences.
   We learn when we do things. Learning new things is a wonderful way to stay curious and humble. Only doing things that we are good at is very limiting. I am a big fan of Nelson Mandela's theory of win or learn - going into new things thinking that you will either win or learn is an excellent learner's mindset.
   

4. Be good, do good.
   Be nice. Be kind. Be loving. If you have the opportunity to make someone's day, I think it's worth making that happen. I love the idea of leaving people better than you found them. We all have so many opportunities each day to BE good and DO good. Look for them. Keep an eye out for someone whose day you can make!
   

5. Get out of your own way.
   Most of us want the thing that we are avoiding. We want money in the bank but never save. We want a relationship but won’t put ourselves out there to meet people. We want a certain career but avoid the opportunities that could get us there. Our heads are often the thing that gets in the way! Regularly checking in with how you may be blocking yourself is a great idea.
   

6. Make your health your wealth.
   Look after your body and your body will look after you! Being healthy can feel like a lot of work but feeling unwell or unfit is less than ideal! Doing something proactive for your health each day - making a good health decision is a great way to improve your overall health. "If you fuck up your body then you will have nowhere to live" is an idea that motivates me everyday to do something my future self will be grateful for.
   

7. Honour others.
   Learn how to honour those you love. Learning about and treating your loved ones with generosity and respect is the way to honour people who are important to you.
   
   Doing small acts of kindness, knowing the things that they like and do not like, understanding their love languages and paying attention to dates and things that are important to them is a wonderful way to honour people.
   

8. Follow your heart.
   This is your life. Not your parents', not your partners'… yours. I think it's important to ‘do you’. To follow your own threads. To grow and morph into who you want to be. Be careful of falling into the trap of being what everyone else wants you to be.