lifestyle

7 Things That Make Life So Good Right Now – With Linnea Locsin

/ alexkingman / Leave a comment
IMG_2323.JPG

Linnea with her dog Moomoo! 

This is a guest post by Linnea Locsin from her blog over at http://www.linnealocsin.com. Linnea is an amazing singer and marketer, and she owns Singer Savvy, an online community for singers to learn about singing, improve their own voice, and mingle with the community. She helps you find your voice and become an amazing singer through fun, relaxed, and extremely effective singing lessons (I would know – I took them!). Linnea is a good friend of mine so when she wrote this post on her blog, I loved it and I knew that I had to ask her if she would let me post it here on my blog too! And she said yes! So without further ado, here is Linnea! 🙂

7 Things That Make Life So Good Right Now

1. Vitamin D

aka…. vitamin sunshine!! This is a given.  The sun makes everyone happy! As we near summer, I’ve been making time for more lunches outside. And after a long stretch of work i’ll take a book out, sit in the sun and all sudden I feel calm again.

Oh man — this alone is making every day a little sweeter.  I feel happier and notice the difference in the overall quality of my day.

All you need is 10 minutes! Take a break! Go find the sun. Vitamin D is good for your immune system, your nervous system, your brain, your lungs…! You need it! And coming out of winter, we are all probably a little deficient in vitamin d.

2. Cooking Dinner Daily

(I live in the bay area… I live a fast-paced lifestyle…)  I recently believed that cooking was not a good use of my time. I couldn’t justify being in the kitchen over working, studying, or creating something.  While I do enjoy cooking, I thought of it as a weekend thing.  Doesn’t it take forever to cook a meal? Not really…. actually…

What I’ve been doing lately: I buy 6 different cuts of protein: chicken breasts, ground beef, tilapia, salmon, a cut of beef, and the 6th is whatever else I’m feeling that week (shrimp, bacon, more chicken..).  Then I buy 6-7 different veggies: green beans, asparagus, zucchini, mushrooms, brussel sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower….

Then I pair a protein with a veggie — I’m not picky about it either — and boom! There it is.  It’s pretty simple – sometimes, I’ll add rice, potato or salad to a plate.

To my surprise, cooking a simple meal every day has NOT overwhelmed me or stolen my time.  I actually feel like I have a better grasp on life now that I’ve incorporated cooking a meal. lol. Takes 20 minutes + 2 pans + olive oil + my flavor creativity (garlic, onions, seasonings…) It has also forced me and my husband to sit and eat a fresh meal together – There is something special about that.

What about meal prep? Yes! we are major fans of meal prepping! That’s what we were doing before. While it’s great for fitness goals, I was using meal prepping as a way out of cooking daily.

Perks of cooking dinner daily: 

  • A fresh meal
  • Eat together
  • Turns my day into night – I’m an entrepreneur and many days I work till late hours in the night with no pause.
  • Leftovers turn into tomorrow’s lunch meal prep.
  • I feel like I’m winning at life and being a wife (except jimmy likes to take over in the kitchen – He loves to cook – I don’t mind that at all)

3. Sticky Notes

2018 might have been one of the weirdest starts to a year. Sometimes it would seem like I couldn’t get my head on straight… and I’m pretty sharp… my head’s always on straight.  But THIS YEAR, I experienced my first anxiety attack. I was having trouble handling external pressures and I could not figure out how to organize my brain.

I tried all sorts of planners, journals, online todo lists… Nothing was really working or making me feel grounded.

THAT’S when I thought to simplify.  STICKY NOTES!!!

Every idea, to-do, campaign, strategy, goal, affirmation, —- I wrote on a sticky note and stuck it on my wall. 

It was so gratifying to see everything that goes through my mind on my wall.

Here’s are some of the things I put on my wall.

  • Things to remember for taking care of my home
  • Health goals and strategy
  • Singing lesson plans
  • People to get back to
  • Finances to manage
  • Morning routine habits
  • Night routine habits
  • Business blogs to read
  • Courses to finish
  • All the parts to building funnels
  • All the parts of a marketing campaign
  • All the parts to integrating marketing platforms
  • Headline, Copy, Sales ideas
  • Videos to record and edit
  • Pictures to take and edit
  • Affirmations

Somehow, this gave me so much peace. To top it off, when I would complete a task, I’d remove that sticky note —- Not gonna lie, I think that feels even better than checking off a to do list.

And you know what else, seeing everything that I do made me proud of myself. It allowed me to validate my own feelings and overwhelm. I do a lot. I wear many hats. I love what I do. But girl…. better restrategize.

I’ve been doing the most self reflection I ever have in my entire life. I’ve analyzed every hour of my day, every emotion that comes with it, ever role I have, and job I have to do.

 

4.  A Blanket on the floor

This new habit happened at random. I couldn’t find my yoga mat so I grabbed a soft blanket instead.

A couple things happened:  1) Yoga, of course 2) Diaphragmatic breathing 3) Foam rolling 4) Mediation 5) Read more books 6) Napped with my dog

This blanket on the floor made room for things that helped me be more mindful and thoughtful of my body and breath.  I found that everything I did on this blanket made me grateful. Yoga centered me. Diaphragmatic breathing and foam rolling made me aware of my good health. Meditation took my mind to a place that made me ask questions like “how can serve more?” “What’s my purpose?”, “How can I love more?”. Books = knowledge…and who doesn’t get grateful for knowledge? And then there’s my dog, Moomoo… He made a dog lover out of me and I am so grateful for his love every day.

This blanket has become a special place for me.

5. Burning Candles

Why did I not do this more before?  I have been burning candles the whole month of April.  Day and night.  It just makes me feel good. I like to see it, smell it.

The main thing:  Having a candle lit seems to help remove any anxious feelings that I may have.

6. No Phones At Night

My husband Jimmy and I decided to take on the habit of not being on our phones an hour before bed. We do slip every here and there… however, the intention to remove our phones from the last hour of our evening together has been so rewarding. Doing this made room for great conversation but most of all …laughs!  Jimmy wakes up super early for work, so by 7-8pm he’s pretty delirious. This makes for some of the strangest times I’ve ever experienced. So many nights in this past month have ended with us laughing our faces off!

It’s easy to just spend the last part of your day scrolling… but I wonder what would happen if we ditched the scroll?  Would you read a delicious book, write a poem, play your guitar, draw, journal, have juicy conversation…  Try it. See what happens. Then tellllllmeeeeeee.

7. Affirmations

This goes back to the sticky notes and getting my brain together.  I have affirmation sticky notes all over the place now.

I’m all about the power of words, your voice, your mindset and the message you tell yourself.

The world is pretty loud and in your face – and most of the time the messages we hear are not so good. If you aren’t interrupting it with something you know is good, what do you think you are going to be focussing on?

Affirmations I’ve been telling myself:

I’m full of new ideas

I can solve any problem

I am here to serve

My body is strong and good to me

I will find the good in every moment

I am surrounded by good people

*I’m not making weak promises here – I’m feeding my mind good fuel. I am helping shift my worldview. 

Here’s the opposite of all my affirmations (Which phrase do you tell yourself more?…subconsciously)

I’m full of new ideas  –  I don’t know what to do. 

I can solve any problem – I can’t figure this out

I am here to serve – I’m here to make something of myself

My body is strong and good to me – I’m so tired, my body isn’t being kind to me

I will find the good in every moment  – I wonder what sh*! will happen next? 

I am surrounded by good people – Good people are hard to find these days. 

The best thing about this post is that everything on this list is very simple. Anyone can do these things to improve the quality of their lives quickly and easily without much extra effort. They could be enjoying life that much more by just making a few changes and making good habits (see my post on how to kill bad habits). I especially love her affirmations and I totally use some of them now too! 🙂 I challenge you to choose at least one of the actions above and incorporate it into your own life so that you can get more enjoyment out of life as well! 🙂

 

To living your best life,

Alex 🙂

My Goal This Year: Become The Happiest I’ve Ever Been In My Life (And How You Can Too!)

/ alexkingman / 1 Comment

20708311_1868796333136080_6551524377439011672_n

Become my happiest self – happier than I have ever been in my life. That’s the goal I set for myself on January 1st this year. Now, I am not huge on New Year resolutions because usually I make a laundry list of goals that I would like to get done, and then I don’t get them done because it is too much and we forget and etc. So this year I decided to just focus on the ONE thing that I believe will improve everything else in my life as well by doing it: my happiness. I’d rather do ONE amazing thing than 1,000 mediocre things.

My goal for my happiness journey this year is not quite as simple as it seems. It precedes some bigger and deeper questions. How do you become your happiest? What is happiness and what brings more of it into your life?

I am taking a multiple pronged approach to optimal happiness. There are a few major categories that are scientifically backed in research to bring about happiness which I focus on improving:

The first one is doing what I love every day. Life is not about doing what is easiest and just lounging around all day. It’s not about playing it safe and taking the “normal” route. It is about pushing yourself to do something meaningful and worth doing in your life. It is about trying new things, meeting new people, helping others, and committing yourself to something that is bigger than yourself. For me right now, that is this blog and Life Tools. For those of you who don’t know, Life Tools is an online company and community I started to help each other naturally become happier and healthier for a higher quality of life. I love this mission and this is what I want to do with my time, energy, and passion. This is what I am here for and I know that I can help many, many people become happier and healthier, and live better lives. So, I do this every day. A lot. My passion comes from my WHY! So first step for you: find something that is bigger than yourself, be it a mission, a passion, or anything else that can help yourself and others, and make the world a better place. Make sure you love it and DO IT! Go all in! This will fill your life up with so much meaning and energy. You will have a huge reason to get up in the morning and your life will feel on track. You will know it is right because things will flow. From meaning, you find a deeper happiness and satisfaction in yourself and life.

Second area of my life that I’m improving is my health. Yep! Happiness and health are so interrelated that I’d actually venture to say they are the same thing. When you have a stomach ache or the flu or pain, do you feel happy? Exactly. It is much harder. I don’t think that you can have one without the other – at least not optimally. So this year I am focusing on becoming my healthiest to ultimately become my happiest. This means eating well, fixing nutritional deficiencies (through diet and supplementation), taking care of my body by stretching and staying active (such as riding my bike instead of driving a car), finding any hidden food allergies, having a calming morning routine, stopping and relaxing when I feel stressed, etc. There will be plenty of future articles on all of this! 🙂 Your brain and your body are one, and it is time we started taking care of it! So the first step for you in this area is to focus on eating a healthy diet with plenty of REAL food, and moving your body every day. You can do other things, but the simpler you keep it, the more likely you will stick to it. Once you’ve got this down, you can add more like looking for hidden inflammation and food allergies, balancing your hormones, supplementation, meditation, etc. I believe that a healthy diet and an active lifestyle is the 80/20 of health (what is the 80/20 principle?).

The next area of life that I’m improving is my social life. An active social life is SO important for optimal happiness, and it is something that I was definitely been lacking in for a few years. Just keeping yourself from being isolated and alone all the time is important and has been proven to dramatically reduce stress and anxiety levels. I most definitely learned that the hard way. But you don’t have to! For my social life, I have joined a few local groups where I am able to meet new people and make friends. I also plan on doing some volunteering at places I find interesting and enjoyable, or that I feel passion to help with. My business, Life Tools, has also been great for my social life since I am part of a few different associations and groups that meet up at various times throughout the month. I also started my own Life Tools Community group which I believe will become very successful and fun, since it is focused on helping each other become happier and healthier. There is no end to what you can do to bring more people and social events into your life. I am probably going to join and start a few more groups, and do a few more things as I continue to gain momentum, which I will write more about soon! So the first step for you in this area is to get social by joining a group, team, club, event, or getting a job that is social, etc. (NOT a cult though!). Just get yourself out there and get the ball rolling. The more you do it, the more people you will meet and the more events you will go to and get invited to, and the more people you will meet and become friends with, and on and on. Just start. This one is a compounding effect. 🙂

The fourth area of life I am focusing on is putting extra time, effort, and attention into those important people in my life. Looking back on my life, I want to remember the times when I did crazy, fun, amazing things with the people I love the most. I am still improving in this area of course, but what I have learned so far is that if you have a good, caring, and loving relationship with your spouse, kids, family, etc., your whole life feels so much happier and brighter. If you are happy within your romantic relationship, you feel much happier in your life as well. If you are in harmonious relationships with your kids and extended family, your own happiness levels are going to be harmonious too. By kicking out toxic, stressful people and only focusing on those amazing and wonderful people in your life, your quality of living will skyrocket! You will feel a weight lifted from your shoulders and you will feel much happier overall. Maybe because of less stress and more fun with each other. So the first step for you is to identify all of the amazing people in your life who you truly love and appreciate, and make sure they know you love them! Put extra time, attention, and effort into these relationships, and enjoy life with them. Even if they are far away, call them! Take a road trip to go see them. Whatever, but don’t let these important relationships fade. No excuses. Also, make a list of anyone who is toxic and stop having relationships with them as soon as possible. These people drain you of your energy, health, and happiness and you don’t need them in your life (unless you enjoy negativity, stress, and rapid aging).

The next area of my life that I am improving is focusing and simplifying my life and myself. I put these two together because I think that you can’t really have one without the other. How do you simplify your life without focusing on what you want and need? How to you focus on something without simplifying the process and simplifying your life around your focus? I have been pretty good so far this year about focusing and simplifying things – not necessarily on purpose, but I think a lot of my focusing and simplifying actually came from the changes above I am making in my life and in myself. Life is much more peaceful now, and I know what I need to do, and I know what I want. I don’t own much, but I’m getting rid of most of what I own because I don’t need it – and somewhat by accident I recently found out that I actually don’t even notice when most of my belongings are gone or inaccessible. It made no difference in the quality of my life whatsoever. Once you know these things, life becomes much more interesting and enjoyable. So the first step for you is to make a list of what (and who) is truly important to you in your life. Focus your time, energy, and attention into those things and people. Reduce your time, attention, and energy on pretty much all other things. It really is this simple. However, it does not mean that actually doing this is easy. Execution is the hardest part because it is much easier said than done. But it is something that anyone can achieve if they want a happier life, and to become happier within themselves.

The last area of my life that I’m improving is spending time relaxing and rejuvenating. You can’t work every second of every day. That’s why we need sleep – so that our bodies and minds can rest. So I am focusing on getting enough sleep, doing things that I enjoy that also help me relax (such as hiking or songwriting), and stopping whatever I am doing and taking a break when I feel stressed out or anxious. No one can do their best or most efficient work when they are in this state of mind. It is also really bad for you – kind of like drinking a soda or something. If you feel anxious and stressed out, you must learn to control this. It may sound hard to do, but if you can get good at just pausing and stepping back for a breather, this will become simple. For example, when I am working on my business and I start feeling uptight and anxious, I stop and do something relaxing until I feel better. Usually, I only need about 10 minutes to feel better again. It doesn’t really matter what I do in that ten minutes as long as it is enjoyable and relaxing – sometimes I take a walk outside, other times I do some gardening, sometimes I take a warm shower, other times I call someone I love and just talk, and sometimes I just read a book. The important part is just taking this time to relax and come down from this state of high stress and anxiety. The problem is that most people don’t take that ten minutes, and carry that anxiety around with them for the rest of the day, and they bring it home with them to the people they love. This is not the kind of pattern you want going on in your life (especially since you want to focus extra love, time, and attention on your loved ones, not extra stress, fights, and anxiety). So the first step for you is to monitor your feelings and notice when you are feeling stressed and uptight. Once you are able to identify this, you can practice taking breaks to relax and get yourself back into a better mindset. I know that this can be hard for many people, especially at work and places that don’t approve of you taking “unnecessary” time away from your work. Luckily, there are ways around this and if you just bring a little creativity to the table you will still be able to do it. I’m not saying be lazy at your job and try to do nothing; I’m saying when you are anxious and stressed out, take the time you need to reset or else your whole day will go down the anxiety toilet! If you need a break you need a break.

So, this is what I have been doing so far! If you plan on implementing these things above, don’t try to do this all at once – just do it as it comes. I am not trying to accomplish major, specific, set goals towards any of these areas above. My goal instead is to just improve my happiness and health every day. I spend time learning about happiness from experience and other sources, and any time I see an opportunity in line with my happiness journey, I jump on it. I say no to everything else. I can tell you that lately I have been feeling happier than I have felt in a long time, so what I am doing is definitely working! I’ll keep you updated on my happiest-happiness journey as the year continues, and hopefully you can learn from it as well!

Stillness

/ alexkingman / Leave a comment

There is a stillness within each of us.

It is especially noticeable when we wake up in the morning and when we are about to go to bed.

If we could capture this stillness and extend it throughout our day, how would it change our lives?

There may be more peace and serenity. Or more love for, and enjoyment of, every moment. Or maybe just less going on.

This stillness is a peaceful place and if we can cultivate it to grow throughout our lives, then we can always come back to our stillness, our essence, at any time. All we have to do is simply move into this state of mind whenever we feel it is desired or necessary. The more we can learn to extend this stillness throughout our day, the easier it is to utilize at any time wanted or needed.

Stillness is contaigous. It starts with just one of us, and then it multiplies exponentially as we impact those around us. What would our world look like if we all were able to utilize our calm stillness throughout our day and naturally spread this to others.

Would we have less fighting and troubles? Or less greed and selfishness? Or more friendship, community, and openess to change?

It starts with one.

We can all live more peacefully and intentionally, starting with slowing down and embracing the calm stillness we feel at the beginning and end of our day.

To living your happiest & most peaceful life,

-Alex 🙂

Why I Haven’t Worn A Single Drop Of Makeup In Months (The 30 Day Challenge)

/ alexkingman / Leave a comment

This post is oriented more toward women, but if you men would like to understand women better, then keep reading!

Our society loves makeup. Guys and girls alike. There is a huge and disproportionate emphasis on looks versus real beauty. Looks are only a part of that true beauty. Yet, it is a social norm for women to slather on a bunch of face paint to look a certain way, usually to try to look and feel more attractive. Men seem to like makeup on women too, mainly because it is what our culture tells us is true beauty.

This all became very real to me one day when one of my best friends confided in me, saying,” I’m terrified of not wearing makeup.” It surprised me so much because I had always thought that she looked great with or without makeup. In fact, I couldn’t really tell the difference between when she did and when she didn’t wear it, and she always looked beautiful in my opinion.

After being so surprised by this statement, I realized that she definitely was not the only one to feel this way. It is a huge pressure in our society. So many women wear makeup simply because they feel like they are ugly and unattractive without it, and they are terrified to take off the mask. I was surprised to find that I even used to feel like that too sometimes.

After this encounter, I decided that I would not become dependent on makeup to feel attractive like so many women unknowingly do. True beauty is not going to show through makeup anyways. True beauty comes from a woman who is confident enough within herself to have no need for makeup.

I don’t have a problem with makeup itself, and I have nothing against it. I think that it is great! Many women wear makeup because they simply love putting it on, and love feeling the anticipation while getting ready for a fun day, night out, etc. But when it becomes a crutch that you must use to feel attractive, and something you can’t leave the house without, it becomes a problem. Many women hide behind their makeup and don’t feel pretty enough to go without it. But the truth is that the more you feel like you need to put on makeup to feel attractive, the more you are subconsciously telling yourself that you are not pretty enough without it.

I’m not saying to never wear makeup again; I just want you to be aware of what your relationship is with makeup. Is it one that causes you stress? Do you feel like you have to wear it? Do you feel ugly without it? Why? Do you feel like you have to wear it to look attractive to men?

You don’t have to wear makeup. If a man doesn’t think you are pretty without makeup, then he is not the man for you. A good man will love you for who you are and how you look with or without makeup. He will love you for you- for your raw self. He will love all of you just how you are.

You should too.

 

The Challenge:

I challenge you to one month of no makeup! That’s right!

If you are terrified of taking off your makeup and going completely naked faced into the world, then you are one who needs to do it the most.

Along the way if you are having trouble, experiencing some great insights, etc., leave a comment to help other readers who decide to embark on their own 30-day no makeup challenge! Tell me how it went, what you learned, what was the most difficult for you, and any other advice you might have for others. Let’s support each other!

If you feel like a month is impossible for you, cut it in half and do a 15-day no makeup challenge. Once you have done that, you will be ready for the month-long challenge.

In the beginning, you will likely notice feeling very anxious, scared, and you will encounter a lot of doubt and negative self talk saying that you look ugly. But I want you to push through those negative comments and feelings, and tell yourself that you are beautiful just the way you are. And if people don’t like you without makeup then they aren’t the people you want to have in your life anyways.

Once you get past the insecurity phase, you will start to feel much better about yourself and your natural self image. You will realize how truly beautiful you are, and how great you look in your natural skin and your naked face. By the end of a month you won’t even realize that you aren’t wearing makeup. You won’t even notice that you have gone so long without it, and you won’t even think about it when getting ready. In fact, since completing my initial 30-day makeup fast, I have had a few two or three month periods where I have gone without it and didn’t even notice! I do wear makeup for fun on occasion, but it is such a freeing feeling to know that I don’t have to use it to feel beautiful.

Again, I’m not telling you to go throw out all of your makeup and never use it again. Makeup itself is not bad. It is just a thing, a product. It is your relationship with the makeup that is good or bad. You don’t have to be a slave to it. You should be able to be happy with how you look – with or without makeup. I suggest that any time in life you start feeling anxious and insecure about your looks, go on a makeup fast for a week or a month, or however long you need to regain your love for your true, natural looks.

To live your best life, you must be confident within yourself. You have to stop following the majority of people and start doing what makes you happy. You must do things for you, and not out of fear that you won’t be the same as the other people around you. It is more worrisome to be just like everyone else than to be the one who is different. Be yourself, love yourself, and follow your own path to your best life and best self.

 

To your natural beauty,

-Alex

ps- here is a link to a video of Alicia Keyes talking about why she wasn’t wearing makeup. She’s cool so I thought I would add it in here.  https://youtu.be/GmbFPPiK6D8

Get Happy With …Stretching!

/ alexkingman / Leave a comment

stretching-498256_960_720.jpg

Welcome to another edition of the “Get Happy” series!

Just as a reminder, the point of the articles in this series is to try different ideas and methods to bring you to a higher baseline happiness level. These “baseline happiness boosters” have cumulative effects, meaning that if done only once, you probably won’t get much benefit out of it. What we really want is the lasting effect of doing it so often that it is engrained into your brain, and it is part of who you are. If you do it on a regular basis to the point where you do it without even thinking, then you will see a huge overall positive surge of benefits!

In this post, we are talking about Stretching! 🙂

Did you know that when your muscles are stretched or exercised they send signals to the brain which help keep your body and mind from degenerating (damage and aging in the body)? That’s right! Even just 15 minutes of stretching every day will allow you to enjoy the benefits of a healthier mind and body as you continue to grow older.

Aside from just the long-term effects, the act of stretching literally loosens your muscles by creating a mild stress response in the body. When you do this, you are bringing oxygen into the muscles which in turn puts you into a better mood due to the increased oxygen and blood flow in your body. You feel better physically and mentally. While you are loosening and relaxing all of your muscles, you are literally eradicating your stress. All day long you have little things that cause you to feel slightly pressured, annoyed, stressed, anxious, etc. The amount and intensity of these emotions you feel vary from day to day, but we all feel them. When you are stressed, your body responds to how you feel by tensing up and tightening its muscles. By stretching, you are reversing this stress process and renewing your body for a more relaxed state of being. When done daily, stretching can really help eliminate stress while increasing your mood and health. It’s completely a win-win!

If you want to take stretching to the next level, you can also activate your spiritual and emotional side of stretching. To do this all you need to do is turn on some relaxing music and take some deep breaths while doing different stretching exercises. You will be surprised how great it feels, and how different it is from stretching without it. And by the way when I say relaxing music, I mean that it has no words. It is just calming music. You are trying to breathe and relax. If you don’t know what kind of music to listen to, then you can always put on some meditation music from YouTube. Just type in music for meditation, or for studying, or relaxing, etc. Usually hours of nice, soothing music shows up. You can also do Yoga. This has long been known for its mind body spirit connection. If you don’t want to sign up for a class, Yoga with Adrian is a YouTube channel and you can learn Yoga from your home if you have never done it before.

Most people say that your muscles and bones and everything else just gets weaker as you age, but research hasn’t actually proven that to be completely true. Yes, as you age, you do begin to degenerate from damage in the body and brain (that’s what aging is, damage. There are no aging genes). But that doesn’t explain how 80-year-old men are able to become just as fit and muscular as people in their 20’s. There have been a few studies based solely on these facts, asking how this is possible for some people at 80 while others are struggling mentally and physically at 50.

The secret has to do with physiology, or how people move their bodies on a daily basis. The reason most people’s muscles begin degenerating in their 40’s is not necessarily because they are aging. If that was the case then everyone at 40 would have this problem, and we all know that not everyone does. So what is it? The answer lies within the most basic concept. Move your body every day. Most people in their 40’s and up have set their habits and sit at a job all day to come home and sit around some more. Where’s the exercise?! Nowhere to be seen.

The people who have the least amount of problems with their bodies and minds as they grow older are usually the people who live more active lifestyles. It doesn’t matter whether that is walking, running, lifting weights, stretching, yoga, biking, whatever. As long as you are moving your body daily for at least 15 minutes, you are setting your present moment and your future up for lasting success, happiness, and health.

SO, by stretching for just 15 minutes every day your body, mind, and spirit will all be much happier and healthier. Try it out yourself! Just remember to not over-stretch. If it starts to actually hurt, then you have overstretched. That is an injury. Don’t stretch more than your body is comfortable with. Flexibility comes with time and consistency.

Here are some other benefits I noticed from daily stretching (which I have done for about 3 months now):

  • Greatly reduces the risk of injuries as long as you go at your own pace when you stretch to avoid over-stretching.
  • For women around their menstrual cycle, no back pain anymore and reduced cramps by 80% with the remaining cramps at only 60% of the usual intensity.
  • Puts you into peak state. In other words, it relaxes you and puts you into a centered state of being.
  • Increases flexibility a lot
  • Puts you in tune with your body, so that when you stretch every day you notice every little difference in your muscles or whatever else each day.

If you want to create a better life for yourself, start with your physiology. In other words, start with moving your body every day. I recommend starting with stretching because it is one of the easiest ways to move your body (compared to other exercise). Many health problems are created by people to themselves because they don’t take care of their own selves. One particular area where people are pretty bad at taking care of themselves is exercise. But it is one of the most important. Moving your body and eating Happy Food is key to an extraordinary life and a higher baseline happiness level.

 

To your utmost happiness and health,

-Alex 🙂

ps: One of my favorite ways to stretch is to use the Yokebar. I can usually get a deeper stretch and feel better in 15 minutes using the Yokebar than if I did 30 minutes of floor stretching. The Yokebar is used and known best for its intense workouts and exercises you can do to train like a pro, in fact it is even in olympic and military gyms. But honestly, I have used it for more than three years to work out and I still like it best for stretching.

 

Get Happy With…Happy Food!

/ alexkingman / 1 Comment

power-1348503_960_720.jpg

Welcome to the first edition of the new “Get Happy With…” series!

In these articles, we’ll analyze a bunch of ideas, both new and old, to see what kind of positive impact they can have on your life. Each of these happiness ideas and methods have cumulative effects, meaning that if done only once, you probably won’t get much benefit out of it. BUT if you do it on a regular basis and get into the habit of doing it, then you will see a huge overall positive surge of benefits! By putting these articles into action, you will see a large cumulative increase in your baseline happiness level (explained below). In this post, we are talking about Happy Food! Enjoy 🙂

What is this ‘Happy Food’ I keep mentioning?

Happy food is food that you can eat to help you have a higher baseline happiness level every day. Your baseline happiness level is determined by your typical daily mood. Answer this:

How happy do you usually feel from day to day on a scale of 1-10 (ten being the highest mood)?

Whatever number you chose, that is your baseline happiness level – the mood that you operate in most of the time. Now, it may not be where you want it to be and I’m sure that everybody would like it to be higher :). But how? This is where Happy Food comes in! When you eat Happy Food, each ingredient works hard to promote physical and mental health in your body, which in turn boosts your mood. When this type of food is eaten on a daily basis, your mood is also boosted daily, raising your baseline happiness level to new heights!

Here’s an excerpt from my upcoming book, The Truth About High School, about Happy Food:

 You’ve heard the saying, “You are what you eat.” According to Deadly Vibe (issue 205), “Every day an average adult loses – wait for it – 300 billion cells and the body has to replace them from the nutrients we receive. So, yes, in a sense, we are quite literally what we eat”. By eating better, you can live better.

It turns out that the food you put into your body directly affects your mood. This is big. It is such a simple fact that everyone seems to overlook because of all the hype with diets. What people should really be doing is eating for happiness and overall health. The next time you are trying to decide what to eat, rather than ask yourself, “What do I feel like eating?”, instead ask, “how do I want to feel after this meal?”.  This is a much better and easier way to go about eating food that is good for you and that you will also enjoy. Life is too short to be on awful diets and to eat awful-tasting ‘health’ foods… but it is also too short to always be eating junk food too. Eating junk food is exactly that: putting junk into your body. If you put junk into your body, do you think that you are going to feel great after eating it? Probably not. Why? Because you can’t get quality out of something that is junk. Eating tons of junk food all the time will literally shorten your life and you will very likely become sick in your (somewhat) old age because your body needs real, quality, and healthy food to function at its best. If the body can’t be at its best, then you can’t either and as a result, you will have more health and happiness problems. So eat happy food and ask yourself the right question before eating: “How do I want to feel after this meal?”. Of course, the food you eat isn’t the only thing that affects your mood, but it is a big one and it is constantly overlooked.

So all of this lofty non-actionable stuff I’ve written so far is nice, but I’m sure you’re wondering what the actual food behind this ‘Happy Food’ phenomenon is. Well, you have come to the right place! While I am not going to go into detail YET about why these foods are considered ‘happy food’ (these explanations will come in future posts), I will name some. Ok here it goes: Meat and fish, vegetables and legumes, and fruits and nuts/seeds. BUT The meat must be quality, organic, grass-fed, and local (I’ll explain why in another post soon but this is really important!). The vegetables, nuts, and fruit must be organic as well or from your own garden. The fish is best if it was wild, or caught by you. Why do I say all this? Am I some kind of health freak?

Nope!

But I have done my research. I could care less about organic except that in general, in non-organic meat and other produce, there are a lot of bad things done to the food to make it grow faster, bigger, and cheaper (understandably for higher profit margins). In organic produce, they do this as well, but they do it more naturally and they use healthier products to achieve these results. It is pretty obvious that pesticides, antibiotics, and growth hormones are not good for you to consume on a regular basis like this, even though many people do. Even though we eat small amounts of them, eating these damaging things does add up and it ultimately has a negative cumulative effect on the body and mind.

But just because a lot of people do it doesn’t mean that it is right, healthy, or the best for you personally. Do you remember being a kid trying to use the ‘but everyone else is doing/did it’ and your parents responding to you with, “Well, if everyone else jumped off a bridge would you do it too?”. Same thing here. Of course the correct response is, “Well how high is the bridge?” :). And that is something you have to ask yourself here as well. How high are the stakes I’m up against? How much risk is involved if I continue to do what everyone else is doing? What evidence do I have to change my ways and is the alternative worth it to me?

These answers only come with careful consideration and research. Your own research. It all really just comes down to your own values. Just because something is right for someone else doesn’t mean it is right for you. Happy Food is right for me and so I like to promote it because I think that it can help others as well… especially because many people don’t really know what is going on behind the scenes in much of the food industry, or they intentionally ignore it because they would just rather not know and continue eating the same things. The problem is that there are bad consequences for people who aren’t careful, such as inflammation in the body, health problems later on in life, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, etc. Many health problems are linked directly to diet – so the type of food and the quality of the food you are consuming is of utmost importance. Your first wealth is health.

I’ll be posting more detailed articles in the future about specific foods and why they are considered ‘Happy Food’, along with information about the food industry that they don’t want us to know. It is time to get healthy! It is time to face what we all have been ignoring to some degree as a society… real, quality, healthy, food. By eating Happy Food, we can not only ignite our passion for optimal lifestyle health, but we will also find ourselves at a higher baseline happiness level as well. It really is a win-win! Stay tuned for future info…

🙂

To living your healthiest life,

-Alex

ps: If you liked this post, share it with someone who would find value in it! Let’s help each other become our happiest, healthiest, and wealthiest. 🙂

pps: If you want to learn more about real, healthy, and quality food, then here are some options:

  • Read Real Food by Nina Planck – She talks all about the benefits of real food and the dangers of industrial foods, all of which she backs by valid scientific research, history, and and experience.
  • Watch Food Inc. – This is a great documentary about the food industry and a little peak into what is really going on behind the grocery shelves.
  • Research on Google Scholar – Google Scholar is a place to find scientific studies and research done for any topic. Just type “google scholar” into Google and then search for what you want. BUT A WARNING: Be careful to check who sponsors each study. Many large organizations, such as big companies, the government, political parties, etc. sponsor studies and make sure that the studies get specific results in their favor. Yep, that’s a thing.
  • Follow @lifetools_official on Instagram – I post a lot of information about healthy food on there and it is another resource that I know you will find value in.

What is happiness? Are You Happy?

/ alexkingman / 1 Comment
440.jpg

Here is a picture of me looking happy. Truth is that when this photo was taken, I had been fighting depression for about 7 months. I was feeling particularly down that day because I felt like I was making little progress toward defeating depression. It took me a while, but I did end up getting out of depression for good (and 100% naturally) by mid 2013. I can confidently say that I will never fall back into depression again. 🙂

This is an excerpt from my upcoming book, The Truth About High School. Although I wrote this book for people in high school, there is a lot of valuable information in the book for anyone of any age. So without further ado, let’s get into it! 🙂

…What is happiness and are you happy?

Happiness is an “inside job” many people say. Which is true, of course. You don’t find lasting happiness in objects, places, or tons of friends. It all must start with you. Happiness is the end result of having positive emotions like inner peace, love, compassion, joy, etc. You come to these emotions by doing what fulfills you, what excites you, and what you are passionate about. You also can get these emotions from spending time with the people who are closest to you and who you really care about. These are the ones who will always be there for you no matter what. Who are these people in your life?

If you are unhappy or constantly negative it is time to reconnect with your happy and positive side. The happy life is one where positive emotions dominate. So by simply enhancing positive emotions, or experiencing them more frequently, you can become a happier person. BUT you need to get these frequent positive emotions through the things and people that fulfill you, or your happiness will be short lived and inauthentic.

Even life circumstances only contribute about 10% to your life’s happiness. This includes getting what you want in life, such as becoming a billionaire or getting married. So if getting what you want doesn’t give you that much lasting happiness, then what does? The answer: appreciating what you really have and being happy within yourself. If you want to be truly happy, a major part of happiness is gratitude and positivity. The happiest people:

  • feel and express gratitude even during tough times in life
  • stay in the moment as much as possible
  • enjoy the simple pleasures of life
  • don’t let unavoidable ups and downs disturb their inner peace

How happy are you? Stop right now and seriously ask yourself this question. If you aren’t sure how happy you are, don’t worry. Happiness is pretty tough to measure. It may help to rate your happiness level on a scale of 1 to 10. Try out this set of questions that can also help you determine how happy you are.

1. In general, I am:

Not happy 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Very Happy

2. Compared to others, I am:

Less happy 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 More Happy

3. Some people are generally happy regardless of what’s happening in life. To what extent does this describe you?   

Not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Totally

4. Some people are generally not very happy. Although they aren’t depressed, they never seem to be as happy as they could be. To what extent does this describe you?

Not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Totally

5. I smile:

Hardly ever 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Very often

If you look at the numbers you circled, it will give you a very broad understanding of your happiness level. You could always average these numbers too if you want another way to look at it.

If you got a low score on these questions, then you may be depressed. Take this quiz to find out. This quiz was created by Carol Landau, who has a Ph.D. in Depression. I don’t know if I would have ever realized that I was depressed or gotten out of depression if I hadn’t stumbled upon this quiz during my sophomore year of high school. I wanted to include it in this book because I hope that it helps you like it helped me. Even if it only helps one person, I’ll be happy. So let’s take the quiz!

To be diagnosed with depression, you have to feel extremely sad or have lost interest in life, and you must experience 4 out of the 7 following symptoms every day and for at least two consecutive weeks:

– Increase or decrease in weight or appetite without conscious dieting

– Insomnia or excessive sleepiness

– Agitation or lethargy and difficulty getting out of bed

– Loss of energy and fatigue nearly every day

– Feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt

– Difficulties concentrating, thinking or making decisions

– Recurrent thoughts of suicide.

Scientifically, if your mood is constant and lasts more than two weeks, that’s a sign that you might be slipping into depression.

According to Lifescript, which operates the leading website for healthy living, more warning signs for depression include:

  • Loss of interest in things you once enjoyed
  • Sleep problems
  • Appetite changes
  • Lack of energy
  • Feelings of worthlessness or self blame
  • Trouble concentrating or making decisions
  • Thoughts of suicide

Now, there is a difference between grief and depression. Mourning the death of someone close to you is an exception to the two-week rule. For the first month or two, it is typical to have symptoms similar to depression, such as unrelenting sadness, frequent crying, trouble sleeping, poor appetite, and weight loss. But if it continues for longer than this, with no signs of improvement, then the grieving may have turned into depression.

If you are depressed, or if you would like to know more about depression, don’t wait to get help. Your condition will only get worse. But be careful when getting help. It always amazes me how many people think they know what depression is, and that they can solve it for others when they haven’t even been through it themselves! If they haven’t gone through it personally, then they don’t understand. I promise you this. I learned this the hard way when I was getting out of depression myself. If you think you are depressed, even if you aren’t completely sure, please please please do not wait. It is important to take action and start getting out of depression as soon as possible. The sooner you realize it, the sooner you can get out of it!

Trust me, I have been there. It is a dark place, and it is very difficult to see the light. But when you get a glimpse of light, hold onto it and don’t let it go. Build on it until there is no more darkness. You can do it! If I can do it, then you can too. I believe in you. I know that you have what it takes to be happy again and to get out of depression for good. And, strangely enough, once you have completely overcome the challenge of depression for good, never to fall back into it again… your past depression becomes a gift. How? That is a discussion for another book which I am currently writing, so stay tuned. 🙂

If you would like to be happier, you must take time to consistently develop your inner qualities. Every minute you have a choice of where you focus your attention. The more you relax, try your best, and allow life to unfold, the more you will get out of life and the happier you will be. When your mind starts spiraling into negativity, stop yourself. The more you do this, the easier it will be and the more control you will have over your own thoughts. Eventually, you will be able to decide what you want to think about and what thoughts you want to let pass through your mind. Notice the good things in life. Pay attention to the positive things and be an optimist. Understand what makes you happy, and appreciate yourself. Choose to be happy!

“As long as there is a lack of the inner discipline that brings calmness of mind, external facilities or conditions will never give you the feeling of joy and happiness that you are seeking. On the other hand, if you possess this inner quality, a calmness of mind, a degree of stability within, then even if you lack various external facilities that you would normally consider necessary for happiness, it is still possible to live a happy and joyful life. Achieving a genuine sense of happiness may require bringing about a transformation in your outlook, your way of thinking, and this is not a simple matter. In taking care of your physical body, you need a variety of vitamins and nutrients, not just one or two. In the same way, in order to achieve happiness, you need a variety of approaches and methods to deal with and overcome the varied and complex negative mental states… It is not possible to accomplish that simply by adopting a particular thought or practicing a technique once or twice. Change takes time.”

–Dalai Lama

So, what about you…

How happy are you?

Did you just find out that you are depressed?

Do you have a success story?

Feel free to share in the comments. We are a community here and we support each other. 🙂

To your greatest happiness,

-Alex 🙂

Odds & Ends:

  • There is now an Instagram page for this blog’s lifestyle! If you would like to  surround yourself with happy, healthy, and wealthy aspects of your dream life then don’t hesitate to follow @lifetools_official  I promise it will be worth it! 🙂
  • If any of you would like to contact me directly there are two ways:
    • One: Leave a comment on this blog. I will see it 🙂
    • Two: Contact me via Instagram: @lifetools_official . 

I Did.

/ alexkingman / Leave a comment

Think about it.

In the moment of your death, your life will flash before your eyes. Looking back through your life, will you say, “I wish I had…” or will you say, “I did!”?

I imagine that you want to be able to look back and feel a sense of wholeness when you reflect. You want to know that you lived your life to the fullest and you did the things you wanted to do in life, and you impacted the world and others in a positive way.

Working backward from your last day on Earth is a great way to realize what is important to you in life, and what you should focus your time and energy on. Your life is whatever you want it to be. It is an interesting story. When it starts to feel boring and dull, it means that you are not living your dreams. You are living according to someone else, not yourself. When life gets complicated, it is simply because you haven’t taken enough time to thoroughly look at your life, your current situation, your past habits and beliefs, and your inner self. When you live according to anyone but yourself, be it society’s whims, another person, and institute, etc. you are not living your true life of passion.

So how do you get back to living your dream life? How do you stop living a boring, monotonous life? How do you free yourself from the habits of the past and begin on your path toward personal freedom? It’s quite simple, actually. You just have to put your dreams first. Don’t let your other obligations get in the way all the time. Put aside some time every day to work on your dreams, and guard this time relentlessly. This is your time to get you where you want to be in life, whether that is spending more time each day with your kids, becoming financially free, going on a vacation to Thailand each year, having a better sex life and relationship with your spouse, meditating for 20 minutes each day, etc. Don’t let yourself become distracted with other things during this amount of time that you set aside for dreams. Take this time to grow and work on creating your dream life until it is a reality.

Living how you are ‘supposed to’ according to everyone else is not necessarily the way that you want to live. We are individuals. We are not ‘one size fits all’. We are unique and what is right for one person is not right for another. This is why your dreams have to come first. If you don’t make them top priority, then society and others will continue to dictate how you live your life. If you let anyone else other than your inner self rule your life, then you will most likely never do the things you have always wanted to. You will never get to feel that major sense of inner peace and freedom you have when living your best life. You are the only one who can make your dream life come true. You must take your dreams by the hand and make sure that you are truly giving all you can to make them a reality.

You will reach all you want if you can just simply put your dreams first, be patient as you work on them, and know that they will all come to you just the way they are supposed to. You may not end up exactly where you imagined you would be, and you will take some interesting turns and detours to get there, but you will eventually reach your best life. It will be your amazing life; no one else’s. Simply your life, your freedom, your lifestyle, and your true happiness.

Instead of always wishing to do something, cut out the excuses – make it happen and be able to say, “I did!”

To living your best life,

-Alex

Three Little Questions

/ alexkingman / Leave a comment

dalai-lama-1207695_960_720.jpg

Today is a short post. It is just a simple exercise created by the Dalai Lama that can be done in less than five minutes, but the results are big. The beauty is in the simplicity of this exercise. Try it out for yourself 🙂 :

Dalai Lama’s simple exercise for happiness:

Answer for yourself these three questions:

  • Are you having a good day?
  •  Why?
  • Tomorrow, would you rather have a good day or a bad day?

That’s all!

The simplicity of this exercise is deceiving. It is so simple that most people will not even try it, and they will miss the benefits of the results. The most powerful part of this exercise is asking the question, ‘why?’. By asking yourself why you are having a good or bad day, you can objectively look at what you are doing to bring yourself happiness and peace, or unhappiness and stress. This exercise can be used as a guide to help you determine what you need for a happy, healthy, and wealthy life. It will help you understand what you need in your life, and also show you where your life is out of balance.

Living your dreams really can be as simple as asking the right questions, and then following through with your answers through your actions. If you would like to stop living a mediocre life, then this is another step toward a better tomorrow, or even a better rest of the day.

Imagine if you did this exercise once per week and wrote down your answers each time. You would learn so much about yourself and what happiness is to you. After a year, you would have 52 answers about why you were happy or unhappy on one particular day each week for the entire year! That’s some good data on yourself that could be used to find patterns and bad habits causing unhappiness. At the same time, you will be able to see patterns and habits that bring more personal happiness into your life.

So what about the answers you came up with today? What are they telling you about your current lifestyle? Habits? Yourself? Based on your answers from the exercise, what can you change, add, or subtract to bring more happiness into your life?

 

To living your best life and being your best self,

-Alex 🙂

Completely Change Your Life With 4 Books

/ alexkingman / 3 Comments

Screen Shot 2017-03-01 at 6.51.21 AM.jpeg

Reading these four books and implementing each into your life will completely change your life, your future, and even your values. It did for me and I hope it will for you too. These books will help guide you on your journey to become your best self and live your best life. But! They can’t change your life for you. Notice that I didn’t title this post “4 books that will change your life”. Why? Because you are the only one who can change your own life! A book can show you a new perspective, and spark new thoughts and ideas within you, but you are the ultimate decision maker and you run the show. A book doesn’t change your life. You change your life.

Here is the short version:

If you are struggling Financially, then I suggest reading Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. If you are going through a difficult time in your personal life, then read The Way of the Wizard by Deepak Chopra. If you want a top quality life and to achieve your dreams (no matter what they are), read The Four Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss. If you want to be physically healthier, more energetic, mentally sharp, and have  dramatically fewer health problems as you age, read Real Food by Nina Planck. If you want to be happy, healthy, and wealthy in all aspects of your life, read all four of these books and you will be well on your way!

Here is the long version: Completely Change Your Life With 4 Books: 🙂 

Raising Your Child’s Financial IQ by Robert Kiyosaki

Robert’s book Rich Dad Poor Dad would have also changed my life had I read it before this one. I actually picked this book up during spring break back in 8th grade. Reading this little book completely changed my entire perspective and direction of life in a matter of three days. All of Robert Kiyosaki’s books are awesome and I have read nearly all of them. I suggest you do the same. The life changing lessons I learned from his book:

  • I realized that I don’t have to live the traditional story. There are thousands and thousands of different options. I didn’t have to go to school and get really good grades so that I can get into a good college and get a degree so that I can get a good, secure, high-paying job, and work really really hard and save a lot so that I can retire at 65 or maybe even a few years early.  That’s what everyone else seems to do, so what makes them different? Nothing! There are much, much faster, easier, and in my opinion, better ways to make money than a 9-5 for the rest of your years.
  • I realized that I didn’t even want to go the traditional route. I had never really given it much thought, but I didn’t want to work at a job for  pretty much the rest of my waking life. I wanted to be an entrepreneur. I wanted more out of my life.
  • Question the “truth”. Question what society says is right. Question the things that you think you have to do, Question what society says is the only real truth; the only way. Often, society’s “right” and “wrong” are driven by ulterior motives. The only truth is the truth you decide for yourself.

The Four Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss

Another life-changer in matter of just a few weeks! Wealth is only partly about money. It is actually more about lifestyle. Tim Ferriss shows you how to live the lifestyle of a multi-millionaire without being a multi-millionaire, or even without having any money at all. It is not only possible, it is ridiculous that more people don’t live this way! This is by far my favorite book and I have read it at least 5 times. I learn new things with every new read and I have used tons of information within the book to implement changes into my own life.

The Way of the Wizard by Deepak Chopra

Spiritual development! This book helped me stay strong during a difficult period in my life, and it will help you develop yourself spiritually. But not religiously- there is a difference. Great book! It will get you to really think about yourself and your connection with your inner self. This book will help you change a lot of inner beliefs you have within you that aren’t serving you.

Real Food: What to Eat and Why by Nina Planck

You truly are what you eat! This book changed the way I eat, think about, and buy food. It helped me make better eating decisions to take care of my body. Her book alone literally helped me become a better and healthier eater. If you are trying to eat healthier, then this is your book! Also, on the same note, watch the documentary called Food Inc. It will probably change your life or disturb you so much that you won’t want to acknowledge the truth that goes on behind the scenes in the food industry of mass production. But that doesn’t mean it’s not there!

Bonus Books: 

Here are some books I recommend that have changed some aspect of my life in one way or another:

  • Any book by Deepak Chopra, Tim Ferriss, or Robert Kiyosaki.
  • The Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker
  • Who Moved My Cheese? by Spenser Johnson
  • The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey
  • How to be Rich by J. Paul Getty
  • The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan
  • Follow Your Passion, Find Your Power by Bob Doyle
  • Shel Silverstein poems. They are children’s poems, but similar to Dr. Seuss, there are deeper underlying messages to realize.
  • The Truth About High School by yours truly 🙂 I had to sneak one of my own books in here because it just finished going through the editing process, and will be out soon! I am excited since through this book I will be able to help teens go through a really difficult period of life. The book will get them to really think about their lives, and change their lives for the better!

What about You?

What book(s) have you read that changed your life?

To living your best life and becoming your best self,

-Alex 🙂