To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist. That is all.
~Oscar Wilde

Life is a gift. When we wake up every day to that realization and do the things that really matter, we move from a place of mere existence to one of living.

So what DOES matter? Below is a simple formula for living your best life.​

Take care of yourself, body, mind, and spirit.
Learn from the past. Plan for the future. Live in the present.
Be kind, even to those who are unkind.
Take responsibility for your actions.
Realize mistakes are learning opportunities not something to beat yourself up over.
Listen more. Talk less.
Do something nice and try not to get caught.
Strive for excellence, not perfection.
Be humble.
Be gracious.

With all the beauty, opportunity and abundance life brings, there are many things that can cause us stress, worry, irritation, anger, and anxiety.

One of the simplest and best ways to help us manage these and other emotions is with our breath.

When we are overcome with negative emotions, our breathing becomes shallow. Our inhalations and exhalations are short, with only results in heightening the effects of the emotion we’re experiencing.

By breathing properly, our bodies and minds benefit in the following 5 ways:

1. Our muscles relax, reducing our physical tension
2. Oxygen flows throughout our bodies, improving our body’s function and mental focus

Digital media is everywhere and most of us are engaged in its use on a daily basis, both personally and professionally.

Digital media is defined by the Digital Media and Society report as “products and services from the media, entertainment and information industry, it includes digital platforms (websites and apps), digitized content (text, audio, video, images) and services (information, communication, entertainment) accessed via a variety of digital devices.”

Life as we know it has changed thanks to digital media, including how we connect and collaborate. Hyperconnectivity, the increasing digital interconnection of people and things, has done much to improve our quality of life including speeding up the dissemination of knowledge and information, building bridges over the boundaries of time and location, and fostering unparalleled levels of communication and social interaction.
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Many of digital media’s positive effects are found in our professional lives. We can collaborate and communicate more easily with people around the world. We can improve our skills via online courses. We can work virtually.

​As humans, we innately form immediate impressions about those we meet.
 
For over 15 years, social psychologist and Harvard Business professor, Amy Cuddy, and her colleagues, Susan Fiske and Peter Glick, have been examining first impressions, arriving at a very interesting conclusion.
 
And no, physical appearance isn’t the primary factor.
 
Cuddy has authored a book, Presence, that details many of the study’s findings. The book states that when we meet someone for the first time, we unconsciously ask ourselves two vital questions:
 
First: Can I trust this person?
 
Second: Can I respect this person?
 
In a nutshell, this initial judgment is one of whether we feel good or bad about this person. Warmth and competence are the two critical variables, accounting for approximately 80 percent of our overall evaluations of people. 
 
According to Cuddy, though the majority of people would prefer to be perceived as capable, especially when it comes to interviewing for a job opening, trustworthiness and warmth play a bigger part in first impressions.
 
States Cuddy, “From an evolutionary perspective, it is more crucial to our survival to know whether a person deserves our trust.”

​So many of us utter this simple statement without realizing the impact it is having on our lives.
 
Our rationale for not being hopeful is that we are being realistic and rather than setting ourselves up for disappointment when our hopes fall short, we instead have steeled ourselves against the worst (and in our mind, probably the more likely scenario). 
 
According to psychotherapist Katherine Schafler, we validate this ‘emotional restriction as mature and disciplined.’ But what this avoidance of hope is really doing is dampening our decision-making, perspective on life and ability to creatively problem solve.
 
A quote by Zig Ziglar conveys how important hope is: “The door to a balanced success swings wide open on the hinges of hope and encouragement.”

Resilience, the ability to recover quickly from adversity, is a skill that proves its worth throughout our lives. The characteristics of this personal toughness include:

• They practice mindfulness and purposefully pay attention to their life
• They possess a solid self esteem
• Recognizing that this too shall pass
• Use past successes to confront current challenges
• Not comparing themselves to others
• Realizing setbacks and adversity are stepping stones to transformation
• Finding humor in every situation
• They relinquish control

Harnessing the capacity to recover from difficult times is critical for healthy childhood development but this characteristic is often needed most as we enter midlife. During this time, life can serve up innumerable stressors: divorce, loss of a parent, financial concerns, illness, or obstacles in our careers.
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Thankfully, with the perspective gained from life experience as well as the ability to better manage emotions, those in their middle years possess characteristics and behaviors that may allow resiliency to be more easily developed.

The true benefits of friendship are immeasurable. Friends make our lives better and studies show that friendship has a much more significant impact on our physical and psychological wellbeing than family relationships.
 
Women are the central pillars of a family, providing integral care for children, their spouses, extended family and this care often extends into the community. This outpouring of care can and does leave women feeling depleted. This is where the power of female friendship comes in.
 
Natural nurturers and empathic givers, women innately understand how to support one another. Being with other women with whom you connect on a deep level is restorative and grounding.

Wayne Dyer was a profound person whose wisdom about honoring ourselves and living in truth give us great insight into how to live life. Below are 13 life-changing lessons we can learn from this incredible man.

1. Cooperation is healthier than competition
When we constantly work on bettering ourselves rather than comparing and competing with others, our focus shifts from one of separation to one of inclusion and cooperation.

“If you’re always in a hurry, always trying to get ahead of the other guy, or someone else’s performance is what motivates you, then that person is in control of you.” ~ Wayne Dyer

2. Don’t try to change those you love
We should love people for who they are not what we want them to be. Love means not imposing our expectations, will and beliefs to mold others into someone else.
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“Love is the ability and willingness to allow those that you care for to be what they choose for themselves without any insistence that they satisfy you.” ~ Wayne Dyer 

How we begin each day can set us up for success or can set us forth on a path of feeling frustrated, anxious and stressed.
 
How many of us wake to an alarm to only hit the snooze button again and again? Then when we final rise, we are already behind and feeling rushed.
 
Others of us make a point of checking social media, again discovering that our latest post didn’t get acknowledged with likes or comments. Now, not only are we feeling rushed but unappreciated and a touch insecure.
 
Even more of us watch the local news and are bombarded with all of the negativity and lack of kindness happening around the globe.
 
Instead of a morning that infuses us with motivation, peace and personal strength, we have burdened ourselves with anxiety, stress and fear.
 
By being intentional about how we use our precious mornings, we can put in place a routine that gives us purpose, creating inner calm and minimize apprehension. It can also boost productivity, energy and enhance your relationships.