You recognize that you’re wanting to change up some day to day routines to provide yourself a more uplifting morning, and evening. Sure, quick easy tips to do this aren’t going to have foundational change in your mindset. BUT, it will provide some positive things that can impact those around you (also impacting yourself) in a healthy way. That’s what the book, ‘Your Fully Charged Life‘, by Meaghan B. Murphy provides in my opinion.

Here is what I appreciate about Meaghan. She gives you who she is. It may not be for everyone, but she doesn’t apologize for it. She’s vulnerable, and shared some tough experiences that she went through in her life as a child. She made a choice. She made a choice to have a more positive outlook every day, and she made a choice about how she would live through her daily affirmations. That takes discipline. I will tell you from personal experience, it’s not easy. I have some weeks I kill it, and some weeks where I take a few steps back. However, Meaghan recognizes that as a human element (set backs)- so should you.

Think about it. We are so incredibly tough on ourselves for so many different reasons. Why can’t we just give ourselves a break? Can we be kinder to the person we are? We aren’t perfect. We do things and think things daily that we might want to take back. That’s fine. Move forward, and just be better when you can.

My favorite part of the book that I do practice religiously, is creating relationships with those that aren’t close to us. From the book, it talks through how that could actually provide us much more positive energy than you think. So, what do I mean by having relationships with those that aren’t close to us. Well, when you’re on your AirPods walking a few blocks to grab your coffee, checking your instagram feed, how many people did you pass? How many of those people do you pass a few times a week? What about the barista that makes your coffee every morning? What about the downtown ambassador that is walking the streets to guide tourists every morning? What about the landscaper that is watering, and trimming the bushes along the sidewalk every morning?

How many times have you said ‘Hello’ to them, or asked them how their day was going? Hopefully that’s a gut check for you. I will tell you that as I’m getting older, this is something I’m pushing myself to do more of. Building these relationships and familiarity with essential strangers has genuinely improved my day on so many occasions. It also causes a ripple of positivity for others to match. Additionally, those individuals will always remember you since it’s so rare today to show a sense of kindness.

In this day and age, negative thoughts can consume us. At times it can be debilitating. Please know that everyone goes through some form of this. Nobody is exempt. I never truly realized until this past year how my thoughts are like a runaway train. From morning, to night it felt as if I was thinking about the future, the past which presented anxiety, depression- but I rarely was in the now. Meaghan talks through slamming the breaks on your runaway brain. Why dwell on something. It’s counter productive. Push yourself to fix the root cause of the issue, and move forward. This might require some major self-reflection. Why do you think I’ve built meditation into my daily routine?

Even though there is a lot of great insight to this book, the last one that I’ll mention that stuck out to me was eliminating toxic people and friends out of your life. This one for me touched the dating world. If you have a friend, or past dating partner that lingers that provides nothing of substance, value, or empowerment- what’s the reason for keeping them involved in your life? This takes energy. God bless you if you have the energy to keep those folks around, but I frankly would rather be sipping a cappuccino alone while getting some nice color at a pool.