Do you ever find yourself consumed with looking ahead, that you forget to focus on being present and showing up in the now? It can be incredibly easy to get lost in the hustle and crazy of the everyday. However, it can also be easy to slow things down and work towards making little choices each and every day in order to live our best life. Listen in on episode 77 of the Best Day Podcast to hear encouragement on how to make the most out of living this month. Sharing a very special April intentional to-do list with the seven secrets needed on how to live your best life. 

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How to Live Your Best Life This Month – Your April Intentional To-Do List 

I don’t know about you, but for me, April can be a month were my sight is set way ahead in the future. The month of April feels more like a month of preparation for the crazy of the May. As a teacher, May means the wrap up of another semester and school year with a whole lot of additional tasks that need to be done. Additionally, add in all the celebration that the month of May brings. For so long, I have lived the month of April with my eyes focused solely on what lies ahead. It’s as if I didn’t treat April as its own month. It was, the gateway to the month of May where everything exciting happens.

For so long my April mindset focused on not living in the moment. Instead, focusing ahead to the future, powered by excitement and countdowns to all the fun events. Instead of actually living and be purposeful and present in each. Maybe you can relate to that. Maybe you too are caught living life so focused on what’s happening a week from now, a month from now.

Or, maybe this season of life is hard and heavy and you truly don’t know what the next season is going to bring or even look like. Yet, you find yourself with your gaze ahead, holding on to some hope that things will get better. Hope is necessary, looking to the future is inspiring, however, I don’t want to lose sight of the now.

 

 

Encouragement to Make the Most of This Month 

That is my encouragement here. To inspire you to make the most out of how you live this month. That no matter how you are feeling, no matter what is going on, that I can share with you some secrets to living as your best self this month. Now complete and total disclaimer. This message comes from a place of a very hard season with feelings that are very deep. Furthermore, coming off of a week, that has been probably been one of the most challenging weeks that I have experienced in the last couple of years.

Which is why this is all so fitting. The focus on fixing your gaze, not on weeks from now, but in the current moment. For my family right now, this current moment is very difficult and very hard. Therefore, it is a very interesting perspective and a big part of my heart right now. To really share and cultivate a message of living your intentional life this month of April, but also keeping that in mind with what’s going on.

 

How to Live a More Intentional Life This Month 

Therefore, in today’s April intentional to-do list the focus is on how to slow life down and live in the little moments of life. To focus on the in between’s and find a peace, a purpose and a presence through the rest of April. In order to truly prepare our hearts and our minds for the excitement of the season ahead. It is through doing this we are able to live our best life.

Personally, my focus in particular, is that no matter how hard or heavy, no matter how trying and difficult things are right now in this moment, I am going to do my best to be in the present and to live in the now. No matter how difficult that is. 

 

Seven Secrets to Living Your Best Life

The good news is we all feel that way at some point in our life. We all feel pushed and stretched and challenged, and we all feel unsure and incapable of. We question well where to go next or how do I move on from here? Which is exactly why I have seven secrets to share with you. Seven secrets to help you live your best life this month. To allow you to live from a good place this month. From a place where you can be proud of the person you are and the choices you’re making by practicing and prioritizing the things that truly matter. Sharing your April intentional to-do list – seven secrets to give you that inspiration and encouragement.

 

Secret #1 – Hit the reset button

The very first secret in order to live your best life this month is to find your personal reset button and hit it. In order to live the life that you desire to live, whatever that desire looks like, hit the reset button. This is your permission right now to click reset. Find your personal reset button, wherever it is, and hit it. Whatever that looks like for you. Is that soaking in a cold bath, or a cold shower. And why you are there remind yourself I am here and it’s okay.

Maybe your personal reset is going for a drive and listening to music. That’s my go-to thing. If I am ever in a very fragile place where there’s a lot of big feelings that I’m not sure what to do with, I notoriously will get in the car and just drive. Usually without directions. Now I say that because I find it fun to find my way back home. And I always tell somebody that is what I am doing with the location of my phone on. But for me, that’s my own version of therapy for when I am feeling the things. 

 

Do Something This Month To Give Yourself A Reset 

Therefore, this month do something to provide a reset. Go for a run or a walk or just do something this month, that can actually be a reset for your body and your mind and your spirit. Think of how we as humans can click reset on a phone or any other sort of electronic device. What happens when you actually press that reset button and hold the power button down long enough for everything to shut off. You let the device be shut off and still. Then, you turn it back on and it comes back to life. Find what you need to do for yourself to take time, to slow things down, to turn things off, and then to come back fully alive.

 

 

Get out of the mundane and the routines that are weighing you down and hit the reset to feel more alive and fully charged, ready to go. Whether this is through meditations or affirmations or prayer, start your day off with a new morning routine. Find a new way to move through your intentional choices you make in the mornings, in the evenings.

Work In The Quiet Moments Of Your Day 

Work in your little quiet pockets of the day to give yourself the reset that you really are in need of. Think, what is something that I can do? What’s something that I can do that can just speak life over the parts of my body and the parts of my spirit and my soul that feel like they need the hug and encouragement?

Therefore, in order to live your best life this month, do something to give yourself the reset that you are in need. Now, speaking of affirmations, I actually have a really great resource that you would love if affirmations are your kind of thing. If you like speaking, encouragement and motivation over yourself, over your family, I have Daily Affirmation Cards to help you cultivate the mindset to live the life you really want to live. Download them, save them. You can screenshot them, you can print them out, whatever you like to do, whatever your thing is. These daily affirmation cards are something that you can recite or state and put this into practice to really live from more of an optimal place of living. 

 

Secret #2 to Live Your Best Life – Simplify 

The second secret to living your best life this month is to simplify. This is so necessary to live from a place of commitment to a lifestyle that you can truly be proud of. Simplify your space, your time and your thoughts. Take a moment to work through the mess in your life and truly simplify. This is one thing that I’ve done within the past week that has helped me significantly. While off for spring break, I took a lot of time to simplify. 

To go through spaces that were cluttered and to rework the space to be more clear and more organized in order to allow my physical self to be in an environment that I know can respond to. This was something that I just knew I needed. There was a lot of other things I couldn’t control, but the one thing I could control was the physical environment that I’m living in. Therefore, I made a point to simplify the space.

 

Live Your Best Life & Simplify Your Time 

Additionally, simplify your time. Do this with your own schedule and what it is that you do within each day. Organize your day in a way to really give yourself more breathing room and not feeling like you have to jam pack everything in one moment. Instead, give yourself the actual space to breathe and do the same with your thoughts. Organize and reduce the clutter of your thoughts.

There is so much we carry with us every single day. We think all these things. We have all this unload of emotions, just waiting to just be sorted through that we want to avoid doing because it involves actual work. Emotional work. Instead, find ways to organize and reduce the clutter of your thoughts. If that is jotting things down by keeping a journal on your nightstand and being able to just jot down your stress or worry. Whatever it is that you’re carrying that you don’t need to carry. Just be intentional with simplifying, taking the time to simplify your space and your time within your day and your thoughts. This can really do a powerful number in how you live your best life this month.

 

Secret #3 – Surround yourself with life, love & laughter

The third was to live your best life this month is to surround yourself with life and love and laughter. Surround yourself with the things that remind you of the good and remind you of the joy. Spend time outside, soak up the sunshine, eat fresh fruits and vegetables. Enjoy company with beautiful fresh flowers. Allow yourself to be around excitement and situations that exude life. Being around excitement and energy can really allow you to grab a hold of and borrow that joy from other situations to take a hold of yourself.

Create a surrounding that will invigorate you and empower all parts of you to truly come to life. So take a look at your surroundings and your environment and figure out a way to find more joy in it. Think, what is an environment that I can either spend some time with or go to and feel inspired by. In order to feel that empowerment and to really get yourself in gear and to set up the direction in which you are looking to go. 

 

 

Secret #4 – Make time to do something you truly love to do

The fourth secret to living your best life this month, is to make time to truly do something you love to do. Actually take the time to do something you love doing, yet don’t do very often. It’s so easy to say, do something that makes you happy. Or encourage others to take action on the things that bring you joy, but the thing never gets done. Therefore, this month, actually do the thing. Be very intentional with this and schedule it within your daily planner.

It is so fun to dream of the things we want to do and envision a version of ourselves that is happier and full of more joy. That is great and all, but even better when we can actually do it. So – stop waiting and just do the thing. Whatever it is that you love and that excites you – do it! 

Make It A Priority To Do The Things That Bring You Joy 

Whether it is curling up and reading a book, or setting your phone down and fully connecting with your people. Whatever it is that brings you joy. Maybe it’s playing a board game, or doing a puzzle. Or going for a walk outside. Maybe it is just sitting outside looking at the stars finding that quiet moment of the day. Find the moments that truly fill you with the most joy and actually do them.

Schedule it within your daily planner. Take a note. At this point, this moment, this is what I’m doing. It’s super fun to dream of the things that we wanna do, and envision a version of ourselves that is happier and full of more joy. That’s so great. It really is. But it’s even better when we can actually do it. So stop waiting and just do the thing. Whatever it is that you love and that excites. Just do it. Make a point, write it in your schedule, your planner, your calendar, whatever it is that you use, make it an appointment with yourself and do it. This will ensure you live your best life this month. 

 

Secret #5 to Live Your Best Life – Eliminate the “do it later” thought – and do it now!

 

The fifth secret to living your best life this month is to eliminate the “do it later” thought and actually do the thing now! This is in regards to all the moments in life where we think of something that needs to get done. Whether it’s super small, like picking something up and moving it to the correct location, checking off that random to-do off of our mile, long to-do list. Or maybe it’s a random thought of wanting to reach out to somebody and sending a text to a friend, letting you know that you’re thinking of them.

Whenever you find yourself thinking, oh, well I can just do that later. Stop and do that thing right now. What a transformation we can live through if we work on practicing taking those moments and time where we want to do something later, and actually get it done in the now. What freedom and satisfaction we will feel. Less stress and more confidence by taking the time when we have the thought and say, you know what? I’m actually gonna get this done right now, and then I will have accomplished something that’s going to bring me more peace and more clarity and really be in a place where I wanna.

 

Secret #6 – Walk away & breathe 

The sixth secret to living as your best self this month is to walk away and breathe in the hard moments. In the uncertain moments, the stressful moments, the exhausting moments, and in the moments where you are overstimulated and overwhelmed and you just don’t know what to do. Don’t be afraid to walk away from a situation or a mood and just simply breathe.

It is absolutely okay to take a personal time out to recenter and to refocus yourself.  Truly, to take a step out and be able to look at the situation from a different lens. Or from a different perspective, a different point of view, all to come back feeling more refreshed, more alive, more clear, more confident, more present, and more full. Therefore, in order to live your best life this month, take time to walk away and breathe in the situations where is is necessary. 

 

Secret #7 to Live Your Best Life – Live in courage & boldness

The seventh secret to live life as your best self is to live with a courage and a boldness to stand up for what your heart needs. Do what you need to do this month to be the version of you that you are proud and happy of. Seriously, do what you need to do so you can thrive. Focus in this month on being present in the moments and being fully aware of all the things that you are thinking and feeling, and actually address them.

If you have a hard thought, figure out where that hard thought is coming from and what you can do with it.  Believe that this month has exactly what you need to unlock the next version of you that you are looking to meet. The very you that is more confident, and full of more joy. The you that is more secure in who you are despite everything else.

 

Advocate For Yourself & Your Heart 

So live with a courage and a boldness this month. Advocate for yourself. Don’t wait for the next opportunity. Make that opportunity today and speak up from a place of value and worth. Speak from a place where you recognize your needs and know their importance and their worth. Therefore, speak with a courage and a boldness to stand up for what your heart needs and for what your heart knows is right.

 

 

Live Your Best Life this Month 

Friend, make this month, a month that you can be proud of no matter what is going on, no matter what is hard, no matter what is difficult. And again, I’m sharing all of this from a place of hard and difficult. To wrap up, the seven secrets to living your best life this month:

1. Hit the reset button, give yourself the reset that you need
2. Simplify. Simplify your space, your time, and your thoughts.
3. Surround yourself with life and love and laughter.
4. Make time to truly do something you love to do and actually do it.
5. Eliminate the do it later thought, and instead do it now.
6. Walk away and breathe
7. Live with a courage and a boldness this month to stand up for what your heart needs.

Allow This Month to Be Your Month 

This month can be your month. Focus on living in the moment. Live in the right here and the right now. Focus your sight set completely on what is in front of you. Nothing else. If that’s a joyful moment or a hard moment, or if that is a stressful or exhausting moment. Focus your sight on where you are and breathe fully in those moments.

Finally, do the thing that your heart absolutely needs for you to do to live the best life you can as the best version of you. Cheering you on every single step of the way and believing big things for you.