5 Crucial Questions That Can Change Your Life

Ever feel like you're stuck in a mud hole on the Road
to Happiness? Ask yourself these crucial questions
and see where you can shore up your spinning tires.

1. Time: How do you spend your time? Is it wasted
time, or refreshing time? Does it take your toward
your goals, or away from them? Are you consciously
spending time, or just letting it happen? It's an age-
old proverb, but every single person get the same
number of hours each day, week, month, year. Write
down how you currently spend your days, your week.
Include sleep time, grooming time, wasted time,
relaxing time, work time, etc. Be as specific as you
can. You'll quickly see if you're spending your time
where you WANT to spend it or not.

2. Environment: What is no longer working for you
in your space, your immediate environment? Are
there broken appliances or outdated equipment? Are
there unfinished projects that were important at one
time, but no longer intrigue you? When you look
around, does your environment make you feel good?
Make you smile? Research shows that your
environment has a big impact on the way you feel.
Color and lighting can improve your mood.
Changing the direction your desk faces can give you a
different perspective. You don't have to spend a
fortune to make some small yet dramatic changes.
Add color to your walls with some paintings. A fresh
coat of paint can give you a fresh beginning. Add
humor by using things that make you smile. Throw
out clutter and focus on finding organizing solutions.

3. Relationships: Do the people in your life support
you and your goals? Are you proud to introduce them
to others? Do you learn from them? "Nothing worth
doing is worth doing alone" is a quote from Thomas
Leonard in his book "The Portable Coach". As
you've probably noticed, you don't live in a vacuum
- whatever you do affects other people, and what they
do affects you. While you CANNOT change other
people, you can set up your life so that the people
closest to you provide support and encouragement.
Create reciprocal, healthy relationships, such as
working with other people who want the same
changes that you do, or who you can support in their
own activities.

4. Thoughts/Self-Talk: Do you talk to yourself like
your best friend, acknowledging the wrongs, but
supporting change? Or do you talk to yourself like
the neighbor you despise? Do your thoughts inspire
and motivate you, or hold you back from your best
self? As scary as this thought (pardon the pun) may
be, you are living right now what you think.
Everything begins with your thoughts. "Be careful of
your thoughts, for your thoughts become your words.
Be careful of your words, for your words become
your actions. Be careful of your actions, for your
actions become your habits. Be careful of your habits,
for your habits become your character. Be careful of
your character, for your character becomes your
destiny." -- Author Unknown

5. Work: Do you feel fulfilled and happy about your
work, whether that's a domestic engineer or a CEO?
Or do you dread doing the work, and just count the
minutes until time off? We've all been overly
influenced by shoulds, oughtas and have-to's. So
much so that what you want truly want in life, what
would truly make you happy, may be suppressed
WAY down deep. Remember things that you enjoyed
as a child or young adult, and ask yourself why you
don't do them anymore. Ask yourself if you had 1
minute with all the world's attention, what message
would like to give them. These clues help you know
what your purpose is in life, and what would make
you feel most proud, happy, and fulfilled.