Do these 5 Things Today and Make Your Life Better Tomorrow

Simple Activities That Induce Immediate Profound Change

There’s a Hole in My Sidewalk By Portia Nelson

Chapter One

I walk down the street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I fall in.

I am lost……I am helpless.

It isn’t my fault.

It takes forever to find a way out.

Several years ago, I attended a Nursing Conference in Las Vegas. More than one thousand nurses from all areas of the U.S. were present. Besides needing credits to maintain my critical care nursing certification (CCRN), I was pulled to watch successful Nurse Entrepreneur speakers. The dream of one day starting my own business was strongly embedded in my heart. I carried it everywhere, in secrecy, ravenously feeding it whenever I could. The pinnacle of the experience was listening to a nurse entrepreneur reading The poem, “There’s a Hole in My Sidewalk”, by Portia Nelson. More often than not, the prominent message in this poem is what keeps us separated from our dreams. The ramifications of not internalizing this message may not only result in the death of a dream, but also getting to the end of the line with regret.

Chapter Two

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I pretend I don’t see it.

I fall in again.

I can’t believe I am in the same place.

But it isn’t my fault.

It still takes a long time to get out.

Wanting to start a business, losing weight, go back to school, double our income, stop smoking, and write a book have a common denominator. They are goals, leading to aspects of our life that we want to change. Impending changes might be imposed on us by ourselves, our doctor, urgent needs, or family members. Goals are important. They make us grow and feel happy and accomplished. Achieving goals provide our life with purpose and meaning. Why then is it such a struggle? Why do we fail to reach our goals again and again?

Chapter Three

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I see it is there.

I still fall in…….it is a habit……but,

my eyes are open.

I know where I am.

It is my fault.

I get out immediately.

Photo by Gus Moretta on Unsplash

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results”.

-Albert Einstein

How many times do we have to change the impending business model, lose, and find the same weight, decide that going back to school is a stupid idea, spending the tax refund instead of putting it in the bank, smoking the last cigarette, and writing the introduction to our Magnum Opus Novel? The answer is easy. We will do it until we figure out how to do the darn thing. We may think it is too hard, that we don’t have enough time, we don’t have enough money, and that we are afraid to fail. The truth is, we don’t know how to do it. If we knew how to do it, we would have done it already. There will always be obstacles, internal and external barriers keeping us from reaching our goals. We may not feel ready to initiate the work process, have enough money, time, and emotional support to embark on the journey to the goal, but that does not have to stop us.

Having a clear vision and a meaningful why, are more important than the how. The how will reveal itself when the process is initiated. Iterations and adjustments are natural developments in any form of purposeful development. Becoming clear is about seeing our future self as already having achieved the goal. In his book, Be Your Future Self Now, Dr. Benjamin Hardy, organizational psychologist, author, and an expert on the future self-science, writes, ” If you get clear on your Future Self, and invest specifically toward your Future Self, you will become incredibly successful”.

Chapter Four

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I walk around it.

Once the vision of the why is clear, we must commit. As we commit, that vision of our future self will pull us forward and make us more resilient to distractions. Dabbling is what we do when we have a goal in mind, and work towards it until something better comes along. Because we are driven by what we are most committed to, small daily improvements bring us closer and closer to our long-term vision of who we want to become. When we commit, there is no turning back. Obstacles become challenges, and challenges make us better at who we are. We get out of our own way and allow a deeper sense of our spiritual being to guide us.

“Once you decide, the universe conspires to make it happen”

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Getting connected to our future self may take some introspection. Coming to terms with the fact that life is what we make of it, is a sign of self-reliance. We are responsible for our own actions, and therefore we create our own circumstances. The universal law of cause and effect creates order and provides us with the privilege of being co- creators of our own life. Because all progress starts by telling the truth, prior self-made truths may have to be amended. Out of this grows the courage to stand up for ourselves and become who we want to be, do what we want to do, and have what we want to have. Without shame and excuses, we reach for our higher self and take ownership of the future self that we want to become. This is how Ben Hardy drives his message home.

“You can be your future self now. It just takes massive honesty, it takes courage, it takes the willingness to not be afraid, to admit what you want and stop playing other people’s games.”

~Dr. Benjamin Hardy

This is what I have learned. Every small choice we make, will either move us away from our goal or towards our goal. Small dopamine hits and instant gratification offer no resilience and make life instantaneous comfortable and pleasant. We thrive on that. Unfortunately, indulging in the present moment, instead of working towards our better future self, create regret.

Chapter Five

I walk down another street.

When everything is said and done, regret is the heaviest of all burdens to carry. I decided that I do NOT want to get to the deadline with regrets. With that in mind, almost two decades after the Nursing Conference in Las Vegas, I started my own business. I was 72 years old.

Here are 5 things You can do Today that will make your Life Better Tomorrow and move you closer to your Goals and Future Self.

1. Take a deep breath and stand up straight. Shoulders back, chest forward, and intentionally breathe. Breathe in and nourish your entire being, breathe out and cleanse your entire being. Embrace yourself and celebrate the fact that you are one of a kind, and no other of the 8 billion people on the planet is like you. You matter. You deserve to live life on your own terms. You deserve to be, to do, and to have what you want. The best thing I ever did was to celebrate my uniqueness and stop comparing myself to others. It moved me from a place of doubt and fear and into a place of self-appreciation and gratitude. I am thankful for everything that I am, everything that I can do, and everything that I have. When I feel low and want to pick myself up, I take a deep breath, straighten out my body, pull in my stomach, and bring awareness to tightening the gluteus maximus muscle. Then I take a walk around the block, and I walk like I own the world. In a state of gratitude, everything is possible. Try it! Not only will this make you feel better in body, mind, and spirit now, it will make tomorrow better. Create a new habit and all your tomorrows become better.

2. Become clear on your goal. You may have to do a little journaling and get your ideas from your head and into the world, by putting them on paper. If you are not crystal clear, don’t worry. Just pick the goal that makes most sense to you right now. You can always iterate and adjust later. But you’ve got to start somewhere. Becoming clear on my goal was easy for me. From a young age, living and growing up in Norway, I always knew that I liked to write, and I liked to help people. It did not make my journey easier, but it gave me a sense of knowing what mattered to me. My father died of a sudden heart attack when I was 14 years old. I lost direction. A couple of years later I dropped out of high school and came to America to work as an au pair. My mother later suffered a debilitating stroke that changed her life and the life of my family. By then, I had gone back to school, studying to become a Registered Nurse. I become a proactive advocate for cardiovascular health. Wanting to prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD), the leading cause of death in the world, became my mission. Helping people, not to die from a heart attack or a stroke, is the core reason for my business. When you are clear on a goal, think about it, journal about it, and aim for it, your tomorrow will have a whole new meaning built into it.

3. Eat real food. This ONE thing will totally change your life and prevent more problems than you can imagine. What is real food? Examples of real food are potatoes and whole grain bread, meat and fish, apples and oranges, broccoli and green leafy vegetables, garlic and onions, milk and cheese, and tomatoes and cucumbers. This includes no added sugar, salt, high fructose corn syrup, trans fat, artificial sweeteners, colors, and flavors. Food is meant to nurture our cells, build strong, healthy bodies, feed our brain, and create enough stamina to withstand physical and mental challenges. Buy food in its natural form. Take it home and prepare the food to your own liking and KNOW that your Future Self will be on his knees, thanking you. Best of all, choosing real food for your next meal will make your life better tomorrow.

4. Bring conscious awareness to the choices you make. This is easier said than done. During the course of the day, we make unlimited number of choices. Most of them are automatic, created from repeated behaviors that are stored in our subconscious mind. The mind taught the body how to act on behaviors that we have done hundreds of times in the past. This is why cemented behaviors are difficult to change. It is all right to perform certain activities without fussing about them. But because our habits become our life, and our habits can make us or break us, we must jump in and become the traffic guard in what we allow ourselves to do. In the Be Your Future Self Now book, I read this entry, words from Victor Frankl, the Austrian neurologist and psychologist , famed author and survivor of the Nazi concentration camp.

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”

-Victor Frankl

Don’t take me wrong. I know it takes more than this when confronted by what we want to do, versus what we know we should do. But it is a start. When we become conscious about working towards our goals and future self, we will continue to fall into the hole, from time to time. But the getting out part will become easier. One significant change that I made concerning my health was not to eat after dinner. The why behind this goal is that I want to metabolize the food, use up most of the post dinner blood sugar, and prevent going to bed with a stomach full of undigested food. This allows the liver to do its house cleaning job of detoxifying my body while I am asleep. I also take a quick walk around the block before bedtime, to aid in the process. This improves my sleep. It also allows me to wake up next morning feeling like a million dollars and ready to rock the world. Do it! Try to have your last meal before 6pm. This simple habit will not only help you wake up with a healthier body and a clear, rested mind, it will move you towards your better future self. It will transform your health in more ways that you can possibly imagine.

5. Count your Blessings. The fifth and last easy thing you can do in order to improve your tomorrow, is to count your Blessings. Morning, noon, and night, count your Blessings. In a matter of a few minutes, this will change your entire existence from living in lack to living in abundance. The only way to experience the profound benefits of gratitude is to actually do it. Flooding your mind with gratitude, spills positive emotions and imbues your cells with appreciation for the ongoing work they do in order to keep your body healthy and happy. The more you do it, the better environment you create for your cells. The benefit from this simple habit is mind boggling, and will infuse health, wealth, and happiness into every area of your life.

These 5 simple steps make our tomorrows better. They have transformed my life and can transform your life as well. Not everything has to be difficult, arduous, or earn us a Nobel prize for working on it. Begin now! Take a deep breath and stand up straight, strong, and steady while embracing the wonder of who you are. Take time to consider what goal will help you and your future self. Eat good wholesome food and nourish your body. Become conscious about the choices you make. Ask yourself,” Will this choice move me closer or away from my ideal future self?” Then act accordingly, on most days of the week. Count your Blessings, all of them. Weave these easy steps into your daily practice. They are the best gifts you can give yourself today, tomorrow, and always.

🇳🇴Annelie Holmene Pelaez believes that everyone has an attribute to share with others. Promoting cardiovascular health and helping adults over age 65 is her contribution. When we don’t let age define us, but rather empower us to grow, we discover health and happiness are byproducts of who we are.

What are your unique attributes? Sign up to my website for free information that can help you become a Northbound Spry.

Annelie is the author of the book, Say Yes to A Better Life, available at Amazon.

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