When you hear the word lifestyle, the first thing that comes to most people’s mind is a lavish, luxurious palace, with more financial freedom than ever imagined. While there is nothing inherently wrong with this view or even living that life, the people that are the happiest and healthiest live by a lifestyle that creates the foundation for the enjoyment of whatever physical lifestyle one lives.

A healthy lifestyle has six crucial elements that when fused together, create a foundation where anything built on it will stand.

Those six elements are:

Listen

Learn

Laugh

Let Go

Love

Legacy

Creating a legacy for your life that transcends the self is one of the highest reaches anyone can set their sights on. Legacy is the cumulation of everything we do, everything we are, everything we desire, talk about, dream about, or share.

The best legacies are created while we are yet still living and are talked about for generations after we have passed. Legacy is about living the life you love and loving the life you live.

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” – George Bernard Shaw

Building Without

Before we build with, we need to put ourselves into a place where we are ready to build. This means removing the aspects that tend to hold us down.

We need to live without pretending

Love without depending

Listen without defending

Learn without misunderstanding

Laugh without offending

Let go without forgetting

Creating With

Awareness of the without creates an ability of the with. Fresh awareness is like a freshly cut lawn or a new blossoming flower; the scent invigorates the soul. When our souls are aligned with our mind, our heart has the capacity to create gracefully, thereby increasing our wellbeing. We are each responsible for our own thoughts and actions even though outside forces (people, places, products) may push us towards certain reactions or responses. 

Love without depending allows for each of us to take ownership of ourselves. Love is something that should always be given and never expected. When love is given only when received, it is not real love and as strong of an emotion as love is, depending on it from others results in depression if it doesn’t come. Giving love to others will universally produce love back into your life, which reduces depression.

Listen without defending is so vitally important. The point of listening is to receive information. Most times in conversations we are thinking of a response to what a person says rather than listening entirely before responding. Mastering the art of listening will help you create boundaries as well as help you be tuned in more to whoever you are talking to. Having clarity of thought will reduce your stress and as such increase your health.   

Learn without misunderstanding is to search for clarity. When we receive knowledge, we should also ask questions to ensure there is no misunderstanding the meaning or the message. Understanding leads to wise decisions. The better decisions we make, the better we feel. When we feel good, our body releases hormones and enzymes which increase our happiness levels.

Laugh without offending. Everyone likes to laugh. In fact, the old saying that ‘laughter is the best medicine’ is still relevant today. The more we laugh, the happier we feel. We should laugh every day. We should find something to laugh at, someone to laugh with, and make others laugh too. Humor that doesn’t offend anybody is universally funny. Offensive humor results in nothing more than negative energy.

Let go without forgetting is the essence of forgiveness. Many people believe that forgiving equals forgetting, which it so far from the truth. Forgiving is allowing yourself to let go of the negative emotions and feelings that hold you to a situation, person, or circumstance. Letting go does not remove any consequences of the other person it removes you from the feelings.

“To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funny bone.” – Reba McEntire

Take Charge And Live Free

Now is your time. Creating a lifestyle around these six elements will increase your health and wellbeing quicker and will sustain you longer than almost anything else. Your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing are all interconnected. When one is out of alignment it will not be long until the others will begin to weaken. It’s time for a check-up. This check-up will cost you nothing more than time

Spend time with yourself. Take a few hours to a few days to allow yourself to walk through these six components. Evaluate where you are, what is working, what needs to change, make a list, and then go do. Your health depends upon it.