Everyday Life Uncluttered: Bring Out the Best in Yourself

,I want you to go on a bird walk with me. 

By that, I mean eventually everything will make sense. At least I hope it will. Keep your fingers crossed. I know mine are.

A couple of months ago I read the book, Die Empty by Todd Henry. At its core, the book is about emptying yourself daily. My big takeaway is that at the end of each day, I don't want to have any regrets, and that's the essence of the book in my opinion. 

Henry, and several other authors, also suggest writing your manifesto. According to the website Daring to Live Fully, a personal manifesto is "a declaration of your core values and beliefs, what you stand for, and how you intend to live your life."

It's how you want to show up daily.

I started brainstorming by writing a list of words: authentic, positive, true, healthy. I paused with the intention of writing more, and then I looked at the words again, but this time I rearranged them: Positive, Authentic, True, Healthy - PATH. 

And I stopped writing immediately. Those four words form the direction for my day, my PATH. Although, I haven't gone any further with writing an actual manifesto, those four words frame my day from the beginning. In my five minute journal, each day I write as my mantra, "I am on my path - positive, authentic, true, healthy."

At the end of the day, I try to reflect on those four words to see how well I did. Did I live the words that I said would be the evidence that I showed up and died empty at the end of the day?

Some days I'm better at reflecting than on others, but it's worth noting on the days that I do die empty, I've brought my best self into that day. I die empty on those days, because I've lived exactly as I said I would. Yes, there are twists and turns along the way, because life is not linear.

Jerry McLaughlin, CEO of Branders.com said (in Henry's book), "Know yourself first, then act on what you see."

When we know ourselves, bring our best selves forward, and die empty at the end of the day, we have lived out our manifesto.

But guess what? 

Tomorrow is a new day, and a new opportunity to do it all over again.  

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