My Quick Tips for Life

Pull your shoulders back and walk tall.

Make your bed each morning.

Be nice, especially to weaker or more vulnerable people.

But don't let people take advantage of your niceness.

Be sceptical whenever there is a group being turned into the enemy or the idiots.

Value friends and family.

Avoid disgrace by always acting with grace towards others.

Don't be afraid to question things, or go against the crowd.

If you have reason to be angry. Accept that. Then let it go. Don’t hold onto anger and resentment.

Lower your expectations, of life, of everyone around you, and of you.

But still strive to be, in some small way, better than the person you were when you woke up.

Don't be concerned with what other people do or have. Focus on yourself not others.

Don’t allow the bad behaviour of others to affect you as a person.

Only you can judge you.

Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today.

Try and identify the smallest thing about yourself each day that would make you and your day better. Then do that. Do it every day. Small improvements count.

Start with 10 seconds of change if necessary and build a habit from that. Good habits don’t start with complete mastery, they start with baby steps.

Devote one minute every day to breathing deeply and focusing on your breath.

Send positive thoughts to those you love, those you don’t, and those you don’t know.

Repeating something you enjoy is better than doing something exceptionally, but only occasionally.

Aim low and be patient.

Be aware of your surroundings and people around you.

Look after your possessions to minimise your consumption and consumerism. Value them as they accompany your journey.

Avoid or minimise as much as possible addictive pastimes including, alcohol, tobacco, drugs, debt, gambling, sugar and attention merchants (social media and gadgets).

Sometimes a set back actually creates an opportunity for change. You can't join the dots when they're happening.

Don’t be afraid of change. Embrace it. Change is good.

But don’t always write off the old and the past. Sometimes there’s a good reason why things have always been done in a certain way.

Don't dismiss people due to them being older than you. You are destined to be old one day.

Keep an open mind.

Listen to even the most offensive and stupid views even if it’s just to try and understand why someone would hold them.

Remember that everything you do and every relationship you have, whether it’s work, family or personal, is guaranteed to end. Value it on that basis, and don’t mourn its passing too much when it’s gone as you always knew that would be the case.

Nihilism and cynicism are great tools for humour. Make sure they stay as superficial tools for laughter and don’t let them infiltrate the fabric of your personality and make you depressed or cynical. Invest time, thought and money into your diet and what you consume. Travel is nice, but sometimes the downside is that you’re always there and you can never get a break from you.

And sometimes the journey needs to be into yourself rather than another country.

Journey happily, that is better than arriving successfully.

Stay hydrated.

Get 8 hours of sleep and wake up at the same time each morning.

Value yourself.

Smile.