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12 Simple Practices For Life

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12 Simple Practices For Life

Uploaded by

Novera
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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12 Simple Practices for Life

Remember: You reap what you sow.

It’s a simple matter of cause and effect. Put in discipline, diligence, and effort, expect success and happiness. Put in
empty pleasures, complacency, and procrastination, expect failure.

Good habits are the best way to cultivate a good life guided by the virtues of courage, temperance, justice, and
wisdom. Practice your values well in small ways, and their effects will compound to improve your life in big ways.

Below is a list of habits, routines, and exercises to build your discipline, wisdom, and motivation. Every moment,
you can choose to procrastinate important work, settle for mindless entertainment, avoid hard conversations and
opportunities to grow, or you can choose to become a better student, friend, citizen, and person. The choice is
yours.

Use your personal time to build your character and resolve.

Practice #1: Morning Exercise

Exercise is simple: do something that makes your heart pound, your mind focus, and your body move. A short run
in the morning will suffice. So does a bike ride, a fast walk, a quick round of shooting hoops. However, keep this
brief. Do not overexert yourself, as to lose vital energy. And try to finish before 8:00 a.m. – by then, you need to
start your day. The best morning exercise is simple, short, and early.

Practice #2: Daily Meditation

When you feel overwhelmed by stress and fall into procrastination, take a few minutes to meditate. Refocus on
what is important, why the task before you must be done, how you might take the first step. Even if you are not
feeling stressed, always meditate at least once a day. (However, keep it brief, and don’t fall into daydreaming
when work needs to be done.) Topics to meditate on include control, obstacles, perspective, mortality, failure,
fate, and gratitude.

Practice #3: Reading

Seneca said, “Reading nourishes the mind and refreshes it.” It broadens your perspective on life and allows you to
learn from the lives of others. Your best times for reading are at the end of the day, once your creativity and
energy have been exhausted. However, be wary of reading deep into the night – this will make the next day
harder. After dinner is the best time to open a book (instead of watching a movie). Buy books instead of getting
them from the library and annotate them when possible. Never passively consume the text.

Practice #4: Evening Journaling

As Seneca says, take a few minutes to “balance the books of life” at the end of every day. Do not use flowery
language or hyperbolize the day’s events. Use bullet points. Keep it simple. Note what went well, what could be
improved and how. Jot down important people, events, experiences, and learning moments. The journal is your
second brain, silent companion, and trainer. Be honest. Be kind.

Practice #5: Sleep

Dr. Randy Pausch recognizes that without sleep, “everything falls apart.” Rest is the foundation of motivation and
discipline. There is no shame in rest. (Still, avoid oversleeping, as that loses valuable time with little benefit.)
Remember: you have only one body and one mind to last a lifetime. Taking care of it should supersede everything.
12 Simple Practices for Life

Do your duty with efficiency and excellence.

Practice #6: Planning

“Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.” Do your due diligence. Seek advice and experience from others. Never
commit to something without mapping it out first. Of all the practices, planning requires the most effort and focus,
so you should reserve your most optimal times for this activity. And as always, keep it simple. Deliverables and due
dates are all you need. And always plan to finish early.

Practice #7: Creation

There are three types of work: creation, perfection, and performance. Creation includes writing, synthesizing, and
compiling evidence. This high-energy activity is best done in a state of flow. Use music to help set the environment
for this level of focus.

Practice #8: Perfection

Perfection is not an end state; it is a process. Practicing, editing, revising, and taking feedback all fall under this
practice. However, do not fall into the trap of expecting perfection initially and know when something is good
enough. Define your idea of success before perfecting the product.

Practice #9: Performance

Every work is meant to be shared. When you execute, present, or speak, you are practicing performance. The key
to performing optimally is preparing adequately. The earlier you prepare, the better. Performance also thrives
under routines and regimes. Just like athletes practice a pregame ritual, you can use mediation, warmups, and
other exercises to clear your mind. Find peace, and you will perform best.

Respect and care for others in your community.

Practice #10: Conversation

Conversations are the most basic form of human interaction. Nevertheless, Cal Newport warns that, even with
modern social media, “connection is not conversation.” Always opt for a phone call over an endless chain of texts.
The length of a conversation is not proportional to its value. Social value comes from the words we exchange.
Before entering into a conversation, ask yourself why you are having this conversation. Keep the purpose in mind,
and it will drive your exchange in a more meaningful direction. Whenever possible, seek first to understand, then
to be understood, and keep it short and sweet.

Practice #11: Gratitude

Always say thank you. Period. Whenever someone else gives up time in their life for you, that is worthy of the
highest thanks. After meetings, calls, visits, get-togethers, and every other social interaction, say thank you. And
please, avoid flowery language. Remember that the note is to express gratitude, not your writing ability. Short,
simple statements of gratitude will suffice.

Practice #12: Service

Service is not a big thing. Pick up trash when you see it. Hold the door. Let someone else pass first. Yield to the
walker. This type of service stems from realizing that you are not extraordinary. You are a human being, like
everyone else. Small acts of kindness and service show that you recognize their humanity and value their
existence. Be helpful. Be kind. Help others as you would like to be helped. Do this, and when you need help, others
will come. It is simple cause and effect.

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