Think like a man of action

Simple enough right?

Well the idea is simple, the habit is a little tougher. But if you're willing to say "challenge accepted", you'll find yourself in a whole new world of opportunity, adventure, and action.

30 Day Action Challenge:

From this very moment and through the next 30 days, you are charmed. Charmed with the power of spirit. Find a necklace, a bracelet, a ring, a little charm to keep in your pocket, anything at all to keep with you for the next 30 days to remind yourself of what you are trying to accomplish.

And from now until then, you must simply follow these two rules just once per day:

1. A choice of what to do with your free time must be of something out of your comfort zone

2. Everything that can be done to make yourself feel more relaxed and well rested must be done

It's the work hard play hard lifestyle (or rather: rest hard). Too many people get stuck in the same old routine because they 1. are too afraid to try something new OR 2. don't have the time or energy to try that new thing today.

But as they say, if you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten.

So a few tips to incorporate this habit into your life:

Rule 1:

-Even if you're tired (actually especially if you're tired), always choose the more active choice. Choose the gym over the computer, taking a drive over watching a movie, studying in the library instead of at home, going to pick up a pizza instead of having it delivered. Simply getting out and moving brings you closer to something new and exciting, even with simple steps like this.

-If you really want to spend your time doing a regular activity, simply change the location such as bikeriding a trail instead of working out at the gym. Or change the style such as reading an ancient Greek historical fiction novel instead of your usual magazine.

-Block sites like facebook or youtube that are distracting. Don't even bother just trying to resist the urge to get on them when online, that's just a waste of energy and causes your mind to obsess more. Just block them.

Rule 2:

-Sleep with socks and, if you like, mittens. Keeping your hands and feet warm help you to sleep deeper and are perfect if you know you'll be getting less sleep.

-Keep naps less than an hour or else you'll go into a deep sleep. Although you may not want to wake up, just tell yourself you are just going to get up and walk around the house one time before sitting back down. Most likely that'll be enough to wake you up to where you don't want to go back to sleep.

-Keep your bed area clean, uncluttered, and smelling good. You want your room to feel like a safe haven from the stress of the rest of the world. Mental stress can build up from items scattered all over.

-When you're stressed, you don't exhale as much as you inhale. Focus on keeping your breath even and steady when it goes in and when it is let out.

-It's never bad to set aside time for your guilty pleasures. When stressed, I often take long drives with my favorite CDs, get wrapped up in an adventurous video game (you're never too old for games!), or go out for dessert with my best friends. If I didn't set aside some time for these things, I wouldn't have the energy to deal with anything else.

-Try this whole month NOT to multitask. Multitasking often leads to poor performance and lengthened time on the multiple activities you are doing. Watching TV while doing work that requires focus may make the work seem more enjoyable, but now it's going to take twice as long and you can only pay half attention to the show and half attention to your work, so really, you're only burdening your TV time. Plus, it feels so much better to watch TV when you give yourself permission to focus all of your attention only on the show.

Small Talk

I could list a million tips on how to make light conversation, but memorizing tips isn't actually going to help you unless you practice each one while practicing talking to someone. So here is an exercise that not only gives you plenty of practice to keep small talk going, but also shows real progress in your ability to keep a conversation smooth with no awkward silences.

1. Find an object in your room. The more ordinary the better. (Example: lamp, blanket, chair, fan, etc.)

2. Watch the clock or set a timer for 5 minutes. You now have 5 minutes to ramble on and on about that object from everything to where you got it from, to what it reminds you of, to its color, to what you use it for.

3. That's it! Put a small box on your calender in each of the next 7 days and as you finish the exercise each day, put a checkmark in each box. Keep practicing for the next 30 days if you want to show even more progress.

Example: "That's a balloon. It's green, which used to be my favorite color. It's gotten a bit deflated, my friends and I blew up a bunch of balloons a week ago just for fun, and now the air is running out. I'm surprised it has lasted as long as it did. Balloons can be so fun to pop. But so loud at the same time. And so difficult to tie! Even with small fingers, I still have a hard time tying balloons. You can see the reflection of the lamp in the balloon. Balloons are so fun to play games with. They're like sports in slow motion. Volleyball is so fun to play with a balloon..." Blah blah you get the idea.

While somewhat annoying and not at all how a real conversation should sound, this exercise gives you the skill of keeping even the simplest of a conversation going. If you can talk for 5 minutes about a thumbtack, you can easily talk for 15 about the weather. And don't worry, you won't sound like an irritating record of pointless info, this exercise only implants in you the ability to come up with something to say to avoid awkward silences, being rude, being stereotyped as "shy", etc.

And of course a few tips:

-Try not to begin too many sentences with "I" in practice. People like to talk about themselves, but few like to listen to an endless monologue about someone else.

-Keep the rambling about your object lighthearted. No one likes to leave a conversation feeling upset. Don't complain about your object or talk about it's downside. Talk about it's good qualities and why you like it.

-Speak slowly and clearly in practice. If you mix your words up a lot, this exercise will help that if you talk a little bit slower until you get the hang of coming up with conversation topics in a split second.