1 - Take Control of your life<br />
Many people feel stuck in a rut or routine where they assume that nothing can change.<br />
Accepting responsibility for how one spends and prioritizes time is the first step to enjoying your life more. Understanding that each of us chooses what we do (e.g., work, education, relationships, etc.) can be very empowering and lead one to ponder whether to<br />
continue engaging in certain activities or not.<br />
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2 - Set Boundaries <br />
People that seem to maximize their potential for enjoyment have learned to set boundaries in certain areas of their life. In other words, taking on too much<br />
wears a person out and leads to burnout. In addition, they tend to take on projects that they really don't like or really need. Learning to take on projects that you enjoy, are good at, or fall in line with your priorities helps you put more energy into areas of life that will improve quality rather than take away.<br />
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3 - Diversify <br />
Many people tend to do the same thing over and over again with fear of exploring, learning, or experiencing something new. Those that enjoy life tend to pull from many areas of society, cultures, and peoples which add stimulation to life by learning more about one's self and the world around them.<br />
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4 - Find your motivation <br />
Those that engage in activities in which they are motivated by more long-term principles<br />
tend to do those activities better and enjoy them more. Examples of long-term principles are related to sincere, internal motivations relating to personal improvement or helping others.<br />
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5 - Maximize your strengths <br />
Each person is unique with specific strengths. Understanding one's strengths and engaging in activities (e.g., work, education, hobbies, groups) that maximize one's strengths helps one shine quickly and truly inspire those around you. Don't hide your light - let it shine.<br />
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6 - Find meaningful challenges <br />
Enjoyment is often measured by movement towards a meaningful goal. Healthy challenges motivated by a need to improve one's self in a meaningful way adds a measure of enjoyment that helps one find purpose.<br />
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7 - Understand your role <br />
It may sound cliche', but understanding your role in your family, workplace, society, etc. helps you understand your identity. This identity can further a sense of purpose that leads one to feel driven to meaningful goals and/or harmony with one's surroundings.<br />
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8 - Be grateful <br />
Gratitude is related to a sense of seeing what is good in the world. Optimism and humility lead one to feel grateful for the many beauties of others, circumstances, and nature. Living life through grateful eyes helps one appreciate opportunities and the stage upon which they play.<br />
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9 - Seek out meaningful feedback<br />
We all need support and understanding especially from people we trust. Feedback lets us know how others are viewing our journey. Many times, feedback from those we trust can open our eyes to new possibilities and perspectives we have not imagined.<br />
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10 - Reach towards flow <br />
Flow is defined as optimal experience in which one is so heavily engaged in an enjoyable activity that they lose a sense of time as they excel quickly and progress exponentially. It appears that flow requires the above mentioned traits including feedback, perspective, challenge, diversity, motivation, boundaries, and autonomy. May we all find flow in what we do!<br />
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Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service<br />
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Debbie Wilburn is County Agent/Family and Consumer Science Agent with Hall County Cooperative Extension (770)535-8290.
