38 Ways to Stress Less, Achieve More, and Laugh Your Ass Off Doing It!

This past Tuesday, May 31^st, was my birthday. I meant to post this on Tuesday, but it wasn’t done, and then I took Tuesday off as a day to myself, and Wednesday was chock full o’ other stuff.

So here, a couple days later than I originally intended, is a birthday inspired post.

Since yesterday was memorial Day, I did not put out a Monday motivation article. So here’s a birthday inspired Tuesday Motivation.

(Though it’s my birthday, I am not asking for anything. Instead, I am offering you a gift! I just finished and released a new free E-Book:  Smart Ass Success! 7 Steps to Getting What You Really Want – Even If You Have No Idea What That Is! Click here to read more about it and get your free copy!)

I turned 38 this year, so here are 38 simple but useful lessons I’ve learned over the course of my life:

1. Do something that makes you laugh, every day. Watch comedies, listen to a funny radio show, talk to a friend you like to laugh with, subscribe to my blog (hehehe), etc. Don’t let a day go by without laughing.
2. Live your professional life by following Steve Martin’s advice: “Be so good they can’t ignore you.” No matter how good you are, resolve to get better.
3. “Flow” is a powerfully productive state where you do your best work and do it faster than you would otherwise. Make it a goal to get into Flow as often as possible. Flow is a big topic; to learn more about it, read Step 4 in the free “Smart Ass Success!” e-book Or read “Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience” by  Mihály Csíkszentmihályi.
4. Meet more people, make more friends. No matter what you want to achieve, chances are you are going to need someone else’s help, advice, mentoring, support, or business. The more people you know, the easier everything becomes.
5. If you want to understand a person’s true nature, see how they react when things go wrong. Anyone can do well and be nice and put on a happy face when everything goes right. How do they react when things go wrong? Sure, we all have bad days and bad moments. But if someone always responds to setbacks poorly, that says a lot about their character.
6. Dream big, but not so big that you get overwhelmed or immediately think, “oh, that will never happen.” Your dreams should inspire you and pull you forward, not depress you because you think you’ll never achieve them.
7. Do you wake up in the morning excited (or at least happy) to get out of bed and go to work? The answer doesn’t always have to be “yes,” but if it’s always “no,” then it’s time for a change.
8. Stop resisting your inner voice. If you ever feel the urge to do something but hold back because you think, “I could never do that,” or, “that’s stupid,” or, “what would so-and-so say if they saw me do this?” then you are just restricting yourself. Sure, if you want to do something illegal, immoral, or that could get you in a lot of trouble, the holding back is just fine. Otherwise, try new stuff, play, and be content to be looked at like a weirdo.
9. Let go out of what you can’t control. That means stop obsessing about the past, stop freaking out about the future, and stop worrying about what others might think, do, or say. Yes, you can influence those things, but you can’t control them. So stop stressing and start letting go.
10. Realize that many of your disagreements will come from unstated expectations. Someone violates a “rule” that you have, even though they had no idea that rule existed. Be a little forgiving and open minded when that happens.
11. Read more fiction. It’s awesome. And entertaining. And stimulates the mind in a way that more common forms of entertainment don’t. Reading can feed your soul, generate your creativity, and, on some occasions, inspire you.
12. Read more non-fiction. As Will Smith said, any problem or challenge you are facing, chances are someone before you has faced, overcome, and written about in a book. Learn from that.
13. If you know certain things stress you out, develop stress-coping-strategies to deal with them. This could be meditation, deep breathing, journaling, hitting the heavy bag, working out, etc. Whatever works for you. There’s really no excuse to walk into a stress inducing situation without having a plan for dealing with the stress you know is coming.
14. “Someday,” may never come. If you are holding off on something, saying you’ll do it “someday,” find a way to do it “today,” instead (or schedule a day so it’s a specific date and not just “someday.”).
15. #1 Rule about being productive that you have probably heard before but have yet to apply: The key to getting more done in less time is to identify your most important tasks and focus on those. Stop wasting time and energy on things that don’t matter but clamor for your attention.
16. #2 Rule about being productive that you have probably heard before but have yet to apply: The more unimportant things you say “no,” to, the more time and energy you will have to spend on the important things. Figure out what is actually important, then say “no” to a few of things that aren’t.
17. If you get sucked into reading personal development books (like I did) consider two things:
    1. After the 10^th book or so, ask yourself, “Do I really need another book, or do I just need to start applying what I have already learned?”
    2. Join the library. They have a lot of the books you’re considering buying, and you you’ll save yourself a lot of money in the long run. You can always buy the ones you like and want to re-read at a later date.
18. If you’ve had the same goals for years and haven’t made any progress, throw them away. They weren’t helping you anyway and were only serving to make you feel bad about yourself for not achieving them. You’ll feel much lighter and happier (and, ironically, be more likely to achieve what you originally set out to achieve).
19. On a similar note, if you have been following the same plan to achieve your goal for a long time and have made little progress, change your approach! Working a failing plan harder will do nothing but burn you out faster.
20. The more prepared you are, the easier it is to improvise. Just because you can go with the flow, doesn’t mean you always should.
21. Time off will make you more productive during your time on. This comes in the short term (taking regular breaks), the medium term (having at least one day a week where you do nothing work related) and the long term (taking regular vacations where you are completely unplugged from work). Don’t underestimate the immense power of periodically not working.
22. “This too shall pass.” Remember that today’s tragedy will be the near future’s sad memory and the far future’s comedy. Yes, it sucks when you are going through it, but maintain some perspective and realize that life goes on. Some things are of course deeply serious and take a long time to get over (the death of a loved one, for example) but if you spend more time wallowing about a break up than you actually spent in the relationship, well, then, you  might need a smack in the head.
23. A lot of personal development stuff out there is hogwash. Be wary of taking anyone’s advice (including mine) without thinking it over, researching it (especially if it involves a major life decision) and deciding if it’s right for you.
24. Of the valid, excellent personal development advice that is out there, realize that not all of it will be right for you. Your long term goal is to develop your own system that consistently works great for you. From each speaker, book, coach, program, etc., that you come across, take what works and discard the rest.
25. I read a study that says that the “chemical anger response,” only lasts for 90 seconds. That means that if something happens to piss you off or stress you out and you are still mad about it more than 90 seconds later, then it’s because you are choosing to focus on it and be stressed and mad.
26. Goals are not immortal. Just because you set a goal for yourself three years ago, that doesn’t mean that that goal is still valid. Periodically reflect on what you are pursuing and why. You may be surprised to find out that you don’t really want that goal anymore anyway. If so, let it go…
27. Expect no miracles from any book, speaker, or program. I decided long ago that if I could get just one good idea from any book I read or seminar I attended that I actually implemented, then I got my money’s worth.
28. Understand the difference between leisure time and recharge time. Leisure is when you shut your mind off completely and do nothing. Recharge is where you do something that…well…recharges you. People often use “leisure” as a way of recharging, but it usually never works. Do you feel energized to do more work after watching TV or surfing the internet? Probably not. Make sure you know the difference and have set up a serious of recharge activities for yourself (read more about this here).
29. Go deeper with your study. Don’t just read the books of personal development people you like. Go read the books they reference. Find the studies they mention. Not only will you increase your depth of understanding, but you’ll also find that some of those books don’t quite understand the source material they’re quoting all that well…
30. Decide right now if it’s more important for you to be happy or to be right. Once you let go of the need to always be “right,” you’ll find yourself much happier. You don’t always have to be wrong (and if the other person demands that, then you have other problems), but focus more on being happy and you will be.
31. Find a physical activity you really enjoy doing, that you would do even if it burned zero calories, and staying fit gets a whole lot easier.
32. Not all relationships need to be continued or pursued. Your time is your most precious commodity, so don’t waste it with people who drain you, block you, bring you down, or prevent you from doing and being all you can and want.
33. Define your relationships (personal, business, family, etc) by what works for you, not by what everyone else is doing. There’s no “universal right way,” so don’t get stresses if other people have set up a different relationship dynamic than you. Half of those people are not doing all that well anyway.
34. Need motivation? Reduce the size of the task before you. When you try to tackle too much at once, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. And that’s a big de-motivator.
35. Take time to remind yourself just what exactly you are working so hard for. Don’t be so focused on the task that you forget the big picture. If you can’t some up with the reason why, it may be time to rethink your life.
36. Give first. Help other people get what they want, and they’ll help you back. Even if they don’t, you’ll be setting up a good Karmic energy to have others help you, even if it’s not the person you helped in the first place.
37. Be open to advice from others, but be sure to take it with a grain of salt. When people give you advice they are basing it on their strengths, weaknesses, background etc., and it may not apply to you. Listen to everyone, and then decide for yourself which info is the best for your situation.
38. And the final lesson is simple but powerful, and what I have built my career speaking on: Accept the fact that things won’t always go as planned, and develop the ability to deal with those unexpected events quickly, effectively, and with a sense of humor. Anyone can do well when everything goes right. What separates those who succeed from those who fail is how well they react when things go wrong. Which side do you want to be on?

There you have it – 38 lessons from 38 years! hope you found a nugget or two (or 38) that you can use to make your life easier, less stressful, and more successful than ever!

If you have your own quick pearl of wisdom you’ve learned over the course of your lifetime, please add it to the comments below!

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Be sure to get your free copy of Smart Ass Success! Learn the 7 Steps to Getting What You Really Want – Even If You Have No Idea What That Is! now!

About

By Avish Parashar. As the world's only Motivational Improviser, Avish uses techniques from the world of improv comedy to engage, entertain, and educate audiences on ideas around change, creativity, and motivation. Connect with Avish on Google+

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