We all have the capability of finding and living a lovely life.  So what are the ingredients that are necessary?  Well, I’ve included my list for my life’s recipe below.  Have a look.

I’d love to hear which ones you have successfully incorporated into your day to day routine and which ones still tend to be a bit of a struggle for you.  And, as always, I’m curious to know what you would add.  I look forward to hearing from you!  Have a lovely Wednesday.

Be Yourself

We are fortunate that we live during a time where the possibilities seem to be endless. Keeping this in mind, each of us has a life we feel most comfortable living.  While one person may have dreamed of having children and a family, someone else may have imagined a dream life of pursuing a fulfilling career and traveling around the world. Either of these choices are something to honor, but only if it on our own volition that we pursue it.

Be Healthy

After finally getting a chance to sit down and watch Betty White on Saturday Night Live, I found myself being inspired by her pep and zeal (and also couldn’t stop myself from keeling over in fits of laughter at times).  The many doors we leave open by simply taking care of our health as we go about our lives is, in a way, free insurance.  For goodness sakes, look at the revival of Betty’s career?  While it was her wit and charm that were the catalysts, the ability to take advantage of this opportunity had to be there, and it clearly was.  Lovely job Rose Nyland!

Enjoy Your Career

Waking up each morning to a career that allows our talents to shine is a surefire way to bring more satisfaction into our lives.

Have a Few Pals

Having friends in our lives that we can trust, can let our hair down around and know love us even when we’re our annoying selves at times, is a bit of a cushion we all need.  The other part of this equation, the glue that makes our friendships stick however, is to be a good friend in return.

Take Calculated Risks

By taking on challenges in our lives we give ourselves opportunity to grow, to expand into the person we are capable of becoming.  The definition of calculated differs with each of us, but the question to ask ourselves is, “If this fails, if this doesn’t pan out, can I handle the consequences?” If the answer is an honest yes, jump.

Respect Money

As many times as we all hear, money can’t make us happy, we all know that we need a certain amount of it to survive. In order to live a life with less stress, we must live within our means, we must save, and in order to achieve these goals, we must be willing to work hard. The effort is most certainly worth the peace of mind we will receive when we go to bed at night and instead of stressing about our outstanding credit card debt, we’re stressing about what recipe would go over the best at tomorrow’s dinner party with a few of our closest friends.

Let Go of the Past

Holding on to past hurts is never healthy for our emotional well-being.  Learning to forgive and let go allows our hearts to be in the present and allows our minds the ability to focus more fully how to achieve our goals.  Who we were isn’t who we are if we make a conscious choice to learn from our past and allow ourselves to walk forward instead of remaining stagnant.

Be Appreciative

Why not enjoy what is going well in your life now? Like many of us, we all have goals and dreams that we are trying to achieve, but in order to be able to live a good life, we need to appreciate what is working for us, even if the only thing we can think of is that we have warm water to take a shower in each morning.  Look for the goodness and say thank you!

Indulge Yourself Occasionally

As the creator of The Simply Luxurious Life, I couldn’t leave off this tip.  Even while we’re being financially conscious and getting our daily exercise in, we must allow ourselves a reward, a treat if you will.  Indulging ourselves can come in so many different ways, but refuse to feel guilty about including indulgences every now and then.

Limit Stress

Learning to say the word “No” every once in awhile helps us to limit the stress we bring into our lives.  As much as we want to do everything and help everyone, we must look out for own own well being (see Be Healthy above).  Finding the strength to utter this two letter word is for so many very difficult, but if we are to be responsible for creating a good life for ourselves, we must first stand up for ourselves.

Believe in Yourself

It was by no accident that I saved this tip until the end.  Without our belief that we deserve to live a lovely life that we will enjoy, savor and will be thankful to be living, we must truly believe we deserve it.  Each of the above tips cannot materialize without this last one.