Ninja Professional 1100 Watt 3 Speed Blender (BL660) Review.

The Ninja BL660 was the second blender I have bought myself.   Before I owned the Ninja, I used to have a Baby Bullet blender.  The Bullet was good for convenience as it had small cups for blending with.  The reason I ended up purchasing the Ninja was because the Bullet had lost most of its power and took forever to blend a smoothie, and after that it wouldn't even be blended to perfection.

Investing in a good blender was a must for me.  I looked into a couple other blenders of higher price points such as a Vitamix and Blendtec.  I wanted to buy a high quality blender that would last me years.  However I didn't want to spend nearly $500 on a blender. You may be in the same boat yourself.

Today I want to share with you why I ended up going with the 1100 Watt Ninja BL660 and couldn't be happier with the blender that I chose!

Inside the box.

Although I don't have the box anymore, the blender came with the blender base (which controls all the speed settings, a 72 oz. pitcher, two 16 oz. blender cups (with lids), the blade attachment for the pitcher, as well as a blade for the 16 oz. cups, and the manual.

Personally I find that the 16 oz. cups are the most useful as I am rarely making a smoothie for multiple people at a time.   The 16 oz. cups are convenient (I never have to dirty any other dishes, and the blending process is quick and easy.

Everyday use / reliability.

I use the blender nearly every single day. Having owned it for about 3 years now, I can confidently say that the Ninja has never failed me when making a smoothie or protein shake.  However, as I am writing this blog, the only problem I have noticed is that it seems that it may have lost some power over the years.  That being said, it might take only 3 more seconds to blend a smoothie than it used to when I first purchased the blender.

The Ninja is caplable of chopping up frozen fruit into a perfect thick smoothie in a matter of just a few seconds.  This is a huge reason I still love the blender to this day, and believe it is an amazing value for the money.

The blender is also super easy to use.  If you are using the 16 oz. cups you only have to press one button for blending.  If you are using the 72 oz. pitcher, there are 3 speeds to choose from as well as a pulse button.  As I stated before, the blender can create the perfect smoothie within just a few seconds.

Pros & cons.

Pros:

- Easy to set up
- Easy to use
- Blends fast
- Convenient
- Reliable

Cons:

- The pitcher blade must be washed with care
- Although it still blends up a smoothie quick, it does take a couple seconds longer than it did when it was brand new.

The importance of a good blender.

I am a huge believer in investing money into a good blender.  This is because when I lost most of my fat, I was making smoothies every morning before school.  I was able to make a quick healthy breakfast smoothie within just a few second with the Ninja.

Most of us also want to save time.  The problem with a blender with only a pitcher, or that blends slow (or both) is that they can take a long time to clean or take a long time to blend your smoothie into a smooth consistency.

With the Ninja you have the convenience of choosing between a 72 oz. pitcher and a 16 oz. cup, as well as blending the perfect smoothie in seconds!

Overall.

I have blended everything from a simple protein shake (milk and protein powder) to nuts (nut butter) in the Ninja and have never been let down.

Owning the Ninja for about 3 years, I can confidently say that this blender has paid for itself and will continue to again and again.  It doesn't take up much space and is used nearly every single day.  It is versatile as it can be used for individual use or for multiple people (with the 72 oz. pitcher), and will blend anything (within reason).

The blender has served me well for about 3 years and will continue to.  I know it will for you as well.  This blender is a no brainer and an investment into your very own health!

Make the best of today,

Brian

Why You Should Meditate Daily.

Over the past month or so I have been meditating nearly every single day.  I have also practiced meditation over the past couple of year on and off.  Whenever I do meditate there are certain beenfits that I notice during my day to day life.  Today we are going to discuss why you should be meditating daily and how meditation can benefit you!


You will notice more peace of mind.

I realized this after meditating every weekday and then not taking the time to meditate on the weekend last week.  Although I meditated nearly every single day over the past month,  I noticed that I actually was more in my head over the weekend when I didn't meditate, as well as feeling like I could get stressed easier than usual.

I am not claiming that meditation is going to solve all your problems and eliminate stress from your life all together.  I still experience stress, but from what I have noticed, I don't stress over little things as much as I used to in the past.

You may have a similar experience when you begin to mediate on a daily basis.  If you take a day off you really start to notice how much it affects your peace of mind.  Rather if you meditate everyday you will notice that you have a more calm, present mindset for the rest of the day.

You will be more centered & present in the moment.

By far one of the biggest benefits I have received from meditation is the ability to be present more in my day to day life.  This is something most of us struggle with today.  It is nearly impossible to be present when we are distracted by phone notifications, TV, etc.  Although I wouldn't consider myself even close to 100% present in the moment I have noticed that meditation has helped me be about 20% more present than I used to be in the past (as well as being aware of when I am not present).

This especially helps everything from when you are talking to people, to when you are stretching / doing yoga.


You will notice your breathe throughout the day.

This may not seem like a big deal to you, but how often do you notice how you are breathing?  How do you think your breathe affects your life as a whole?

By being mindful of your breathe throughout the day, you actually start to develop a gratitude for each and every breathe.  Being mindful of your breathe throughout the day can actually help you be more calm and present as well.

You will be more inclined to spend time in nature or outside.

By far this has to be the point that is the most enjoyable in my life.  Getting out in nature is so important to our health, and meditation actually has inspired me to get into nature more often.  This section here is just my opinion and personal preference, but I know that many of you will feel the same when you start to meditate daily.

If you are someone who enjoys the outdoors meditation can act as a massive influence in your life to get outside and in nature even more.  As a bonus you will be able to enjoy nature even more as well as notice a calming sensation when in nature!

Meditation will help you build healthy habits.

Maybe right now you want to implement healthier foods into your diet, but you are having trouble.  I have noticed that by meditating, it seems as if the more I do it, the more I eat healthier foods.  I especially find it useful if you want to implement greens into your diet.

Eating greens alone can be a meditation.  Just by being present with all the flavors you are tasting, and feeling the life that the greens are giving you can help you to be extremely present in the moment.  And it can almost seem like the more you meditate, the more you will be drawn to these healthy foods that you want to start eating.

I know this point may be a little out there, but I am a huge believer in the philosophy that if you feed your mind good stuff, you will be more likely to feed your body good stuff as well (or vice versa).

You will notice how outside influences impact your life (such as tv, and the food that you eat)

Most of the influences that we have been brought up around can have a massive negative impact on our lives.  Whether it be from TV shows that are likely to keep us in a negative state, or the junk food that is considered normal today.

Just by taking 10-20 minutes daily to mediate you will be more conscious of the entertainment/media and food that you consume on a daily basis.  The good thing about this is that you will become aware of your lifestyle, and it will help you grow in the areas you need to grow in!

Closing thoughts.

These have been the benefits that I have noticed in my life that I hope you will notice in your life as well.  Meditation is very beneficial, and I really wanted to share this message with you to hopefully be a positive influence in your life and help you to start your very own meditation journey!

If you already meditate which benefits do you notice in your own life?

Make the best of today,

Brian

Why I Started Implementing Stretching Into My Daily Routine & Why You Should Do The Same.

Ever since I can remember I haven't had that much flexibility.  This is something that I have ignored for most of my life, but as I get older I am starting to realize that if I continue to not take care of my body's flexibility that I will end up not being able to get around when I get old.

Maybe you clicked on this because you are in the same boat, or maybe you want to learn more about why you should start stretching.

Today we are going to discuss why I started stretching and why it is important for you to start stretching as well!

My story.

I have always noticed tension and tightness in my hamstrings for pretty much my entire life.  This has been one of the biggest motivators for me along my journey, and I know down the road, tight hamstrings can lead to back problems.  It also causes discomfort in regular day to day life.  Although it isn't painful all the time, it can still be annoying, and affects my mobility in the gym during exercises such as squats.

I created this blog as a way to live your healthiest and best life.  I don't care how much muscle you or I grow, if we aren't flexible and can't use that muscle what's the point of having it?

Over the last month I have been consistent pretty much every single day with my stretching routine, (I think I only skipped three days or something).  From what I heard, it takes the average person about six months to start to notice more flexibility in their body.

This seems like a long time to me, but I know it'll be worth it.

I've actually started to look forward to stretching most days and now I actually find it fun.

What is my current routine?

I personally like to follow along with a couple of videos on YouTube.  Click here to watch my favorite one!

However, some days I just like to set a timer for 10 minutes and do my own routine of whatever muscles I notice need to be stretched on that day.

To start out I highly recommend following along with a YouTube video as it will help you to have motivation and give you someone to follow along with that knows what they are talking about.

Why is stretching important to your life?

Most of us don't ever think of stretching or flexibility.  But what happens if you don't stretch your entire life?  You end up hunched over, using a cane, or "best case" in pain all the time.  I would say the biggest benefit of stretching is keeping mobility for your whole life (or most of it).

Also if you are working out, stretching is even more important to your body.  To preform essential exercises such as squats with good form, stretching is a must!  It will also help prevent injury during your workouts as well.

I have also noticed improved posture in my own life.  Posture is something that is huge today, where everyone is looking down at their phones (I'm guilty of it as well).  Most of us all end up getting a sore neck from time to time, and overtime this could actually lead to bad posture in our neck.  Even when we sit down we tend to slouch, causing our spine to curve.

By doing basic stretches on a consistent basis you will notice pain go away, as long as posture get better slowly.

Closing thoughts.

Remember: The results wont happen right away, as most people take about six months to notice more flexibility and less pain etc.  But it will be worth it,  even after about a month I have noticed better posture and less pain in my own body, I still have a long way to go but I am making progress in my own life.  You can do the same.  Lets do this, and continue to grow together!

Make the best of today,

Brian

Three Ways to Get Out of a State of Negativity.

Yesterday for whatever reason I was just feeling really pissed off and every thing was aggravating me.  Literally stuff that usually wouldn't even bother me put me in a rage.  For whatever reason I noticed how I was acting but for some reason I just couldn't stop being in that mood.  This lasted for a few hours.

Honestly I have no clue what triggered this feeling of rage inside me.  It felt like there was a fire burning inside my body that I couldn't put out.

You probably clicked on this blog because you are in a similar situation.

Today I am going to share with you a few ways that will help you get into a higher vibration or more positive vibration state when you start to feel this way.

This isn't some blog about avoiding a negative state, instead we are going to discuss real tips and solutions that you can implement the moment you are done reading this blog!

1. Watch something funny or listen to uplifting music on Youtube to make yourself laugh or be in a more positive mood.

The second I start feeling crabby or pissed off I know that I need to either breathe and relax or laugh my ass off.  Not laughing at other people or degrading people because that will only make me be moe pissed off and bring out more negativity into the world.  Instead I could watch stand up comedy or just something funny on Youtube.

If I want to watch or listen to something uplifting on youtube I like to listen to either some calming music, beach sounds, a good audiobook, or some trance to pump me up.  The reason being, is that it puts me in a positive state and takes my mind off of most of the negativity.

2. Take some time to yourself.

As an introvert I can get pretty pissed off if I never have alone time.  This doesn't mean I hate being around people, in fact I love it (as long as I am not feeling as if I need to recharge).  The only problem is, sometimes if I spend over 6-8 hours around people I can feel the need to be alone, and if I am not alone I can literally out of nowhere become pissed off.

So if you ever need to be alone don't be afraid of it.  Embrace it and accept it.  Everyone needs alone time and if you are an introvert you will come back feeling even more recharged and ready to go.  You will even want to be around people.

I wouldn't recommend saying to yourself "I'm and introvert so I can just stay inside all day and never be around people".  This is just a plain crazy way to act.  And it is very easy to do if you start to build a habit of isolation.  So take healthy time to yourself during the day if you need it to recharge.

Time to reflect on your life can also be beneficial.  You are probably in this negative state for a reason.  We don't want to cover up why we feel this way all the time.  Although the first point of this blog can be helpful to lift you up, after a while we will need to get to the bottom of why we are feeling this way.  Taking time to yourself and reflecting will help you to get out of a state of negativity.

3. Eat high vibration foods.

Think of how you feel when you eat some over processed junk that takes from your body more than it gives.  It may feel good in the moment but right after you usually end up feeling like shit.

Eating high vibration foods really brings you into the now.  If you eat brussell sprouts you will notice they taste very bland (to people who aren't used to eating them) (this is why most people despise them).  But the second you put one in your mouth you just feel positive and present energy, and you realize you are eating a piece of real food that is fueling you.

Myself the best food combo to really relax me fast is kombucha and 95% dark chocolate.  For whatever reason it really helps me become present.  Dark chocolate has been proven to relax you, but with kombucha I feel 10 times more relaxed compared to when I just have the dark chocolate alone.  (I prefer GTS Multi Green Kombucha and Taza's 95% Wicked Dark Chocolate.)  




I also find that a Tuna salad made with mixed greens, cucumber, olive oil, ACV  (apple cider vinegar), and crushed nuts, and whatever other veggies I have in the fridge that I can throw in the salad can help me to get extremely present in the moment.  You can notice the same form of presence just from eating some greens such as spinach and focussing on the texture and flavor of the spinach. 
I just find that a salad is more of a "flavor bomb" and I prefer to get some healthy protein and fats with my greens.

Bonus:  Take a nap

Some days a nap can actually be one of the most beneficial ways to get into a positive state.  I wanted to add this in here because this is something that I have noticed in my own life to work really well.

I have also found that if I meditate right before my nap that it helps me to feel even better when I wake up afterwards.

I added this as a bonus because I know we can't always take naps every single day, but if you have the time and your day isn't going well, or you are in a negative mood then give this a try!  Sometimes we just need to sleep on whatever is on our minds!

Closing thoughts.

I hope this quick guide helped you if you are feeling angry or pissed off or even depressed right now. I really only could share my best tips along my journey so far with dealing with feelings of being pissed off for no reason.  And remember to take a deep breathe and try these out for yourself!  Also let me know if these helped you in any way, or if you have other ways that I didn't mention here that could help others!

Make the best of today,
Brian

Bodybuilding Physique Update 3.

Setting my 3-5 year goal.

Since my previous physique update I have set out a goal of weighing 165 pounds lean within the next 3-5 years (2022-2024). To achieve this goal, I also decided that I was going to learn from others more than trying to create a program for myself at the moment. This led me to the idea of starting the Greek God Program by Kinobody once again. This is a program that I started a couple years ago, made some strength gain on, and then ended up switching up after a few months since I wasn't seeing the muscle growth that I wanted at the time. I wanted to try out the program again to see how it would work for me at this point in my life, hoping to see better results in terms of muscle growth. So far I can say that I am noticing a bigger back, shoulders and arms, however I have only been on the program again for about a month, and due to visiting Miami and driving back to Michigan I didn't work out for a week and a half or so besides some occasional pushups. My exact goal came about from listening to Think & Grow Rich. Throughout the book Napoleon Hill talks about the importance of setting an exact goal for yourself. Although I wanted to set an exact goal for a while now, I have been procrastinating setting this goal for the first month and a half of 2019. So creating this goal for myself is a huge motivator, as it helps me envision myself lean at 165 pounds, but even more importantly, I know that once I achieve this goal that I will be able to help you achieve your fitness goals better.
As I write this I have noticed a little more fat gain than I would like, so I am also starting to track my calories daily again until I get my body fat down to a level I would like or maintain the body fat I currently have while gaining muscle.  The reason being is that I don't want to achieve my goal of 165 and then have to drop a bunch of fat, and put the muscle that I lost from cutting back on after.

I am hoping that this will make the process a little bit easier for me down the road.  Obviously I will still have to eat some extra calories to put on muscle, so I probably won't lose a whole bunch of fat, but at the same time, I don't have a whole bunch of fat to lose at this moment (I just have a few more pounds of fat than I would like to have).

Closing thoughts.

Setting a specific goal for yourself and your body can be a massive benefit.  Personally when I think of being 165 pounds of lean muscle, it helps me be in the mindset of "what would I do to get to this goal" more often.

So write down a definite goal for yourself.  Maybe it's a 3 month goal or a 10 year goal for your body.  Whatever it is for you, by having this goal in mind you will be inspired to achieve it so much so that your entire mindset will change for the better.

Live your life to the fullest,

Brian

5 Ways Daily Gratitude Can Improve Your Life.

Today we are going to discuss 5 ways daily gratitude has positively impacted my life, and how it can change your life for the better.  I am also sharing with you how not practicing gratitude on a daily basis will lead to you in turn living a life of misery.

I didn't want to write some "feel good" gratitude blog, but instead, I wrote something that will actually lead you to take action on starting daily gratitude and living your best life.

I do share the benefits of gratitude and how it will make you feel better day to day.  But I also had to touch on some points of how it will cause pain in your life.  I did this because most people like to read blogs that make them feel good (I love it to), but those blogs never get me to make a positive change in my life because they don't touch on the pain of not taking action, which is what really gets people to change their lives.

So please read over this and take action today.  My daily gratitude takes about 1 minute per night before bed.  This is one of the easier habits to start, but just because its easy doesn't mean it isn't important.  This one habit has been what has caused me to see more good in my life and the world.  So lets jump right into how gratitude will make your life better!

Over the past 6 months I have been consistently practicing daily gratitude every single night before bed, with the exception of some days here and there where I forgot to log my gratitude for the day, or didn't have a sheet of paper to write down 3 things I was grateful during that day.

Although I have practiced this in the past, I found myself not staying consistent until the past 6 months or so.  But after staying consistent for the past 6 months, I wanted to share 5 benefits that I have noticed in my own life by practicing daily gratitude.

I hope that these 5 benefits will be an influence to you to start a daily gratitude journal of your own!

1. It becomes easier to focus on the good throughout your day.

In today's world it is easy for us to constantly focus on the negative.  We are constantly fed fear mongering news which gets us focused on the negative in the world all the time.  Maybe you are also surrounded by people that constantly complain about how much their life "sucks".

When you start to practice daily gratitude, you will noticed that you don't resonate with their negativity anymore, or if you do, you'll put dramatically less focus on the negative.  In fact instead of noticing all the "bad" that the news shoves down your throat, you will notice that the world is actually mostly filled with good.

2. You go to sleep in a positive state of mind.

How many nights have you ended up going to sleep pissed of or dragged down from the day you had?  Don't worry it happens to everyone, we all have bad days.  But we don't need to always go to bed feeling this way after having a bad day.

By writing out 3 things you are grateful for about your day right before you go to bed, you will be switching your minds focus to the good things that happened throughout your day.  This has probably been the biggest benefit that I have noticed from practicing gratitude before bed on a daily basis.

Before I started doing this I would notice that I would go to sleep holding on to all the negative thoughts that I had throughout the day.  My focus was in the wrong place.  I also have noticed that by focusing on the good before bed, that you will wake up the next morning in a better mood (most of the time) than you are used to waking up in (this is just my personal experience, it may be different for you).

3. You are able to enjoy the moment more often.

Daily gratitude has also helped me realize that every moment we have is precious.  The problem is that when we don't practice gratitude we never really get to enjoy the moments of our lives as much as we could if we were to practice gratitude.

Gratitude helps you to focus on smaller moments you might not otherwise think of.  Think of right now if you were sitting at a table in a 5 start restaurant eating a perfectly prepared steak dinner.  You would probably eat the dinner slowly and savor each and every bite of the steak.  But how often do you do this when you are eating some cheap food or fast food?  My guess is that you never savor each and every bite.

And I'm not saying that when you practice gratitude on a daily basis that every meal will feel like eating a steak at a 5 start restaurant.  But you will be able to enjoy what you are doing in the moment more often than you would before.

4. You take less for granted.

We have so much going for us in our lives, but most of us don't even take the time to realize this.  We usually feel a lack in our lives.  Whether that is you don't have the best car, food, house or whatever it may be.  Now don't get me wrong I am striving for a better life and I love luxuries such as a nice car, house or some good food.  Go for the things that you want in life, there is nothing wrong with that!

The problem comes when we aren't grateful for what we currently have.  We start to think that what we have isn't enough.  We are so focused on complaining about the things we have right now, but how often do you think to yourself "you know what I am grateful for the car/house/phone/shoes that I have".

Imagine how much better you would feel if you were grateful for the things you have in life right now.

Practicing daily gratitude has helped me to focus on how much I actually already have more often.

5. You will notice most of what you used to focus on was useless.

I actually really noticed myself complaining a couple of weeks ago.  I was leaving Florida and driving back up to Michigan.  If you know me you know that I despise cold and cloudy days, and I was starting to feel triggered.  In fact this feeling lasted for a couple of days after I arrived back home.  I noticed myself complaining all day about being back in Michigan.  Although half of my complaints were me just joking, the other half were real complaints, I spent so much time thinking about how "bad" it is to be back in Michigan.

After a couple of days I snapped out of it.  Part of it was my dad telling me to look at a few reasons to be happy to be back in Michigan, the other part was that I realized that if I wasn't grateful throughout my day (or at least at night) that this cycle would continue and soon be out of control.

One small thing that I remember being grateful for was that the Whole Foods close to where I live in Michigan sells the best açaí bowls that I have ever had in my life.  None of the Whole Foods in Florida sell them, so you bet I was happy to get back to this Whole Foods for my açaí bowl!

If you are reading this it is probably easy to realize how ridiculous my complaining was being back in Michigan.  Maybe you are in the same boat but you don't even realize it (it is always easy to notice other peoples faults but never our own).  From my experience above I can say that after being grateful to be back in Michigan my day to day mood has gotten better since those first couple of days.

If you are in a similar phase, practicing daily gratitude before bed is the easiest way to break the habit.

And soon after you will wonder why you spent so much time focusing on BS.

Closing thoughts.

I hope that reading the benefits of gratitude has influenced you to start keeping a daily gratitude journal of your own.  I personally like to use the same page in my notebook that I write out the plan for my day on, but you may prefer to keep a separate journal just for your daily gratitude.

Let me know, how has keeping a gratitude journal impacted your life, what benefits have you noticed?

Live your life to the fullest,

Brian

The Happiness Hypothesis By Jonathan Haidt Top 10 Lessons (Part 2).

If you haven't read part 1 of the top 10 lessons from The Happiness Hypothesis, click here to read it before reading lessons 6-10 down below.




6. Practice being social.

The first point of part two of this blog on The Happiness Hypothesis is to start to work on building closer relationships with the people in your life.  In the book Haidt says that "having strong social relationships strengthens the immune system, extends life (more than does quitting smoking), speeds recovery from surgery, and reduces depression and anxiety disorders."  (Having strong relationships link to your happiness has also been confirmed by Durkheim's diagnosis).

The reason this point stood out to me was because it was a huge eye opener for me.

Although I see myself as being extremely close with my immediate family and a couple of friends, I often times have trouble growing as close as I would like with many of the people that I meet and talk to on a regular basis.

This even affects how social I am with some of my more, distant family.  Maybe you can relate?

This point from the book is massive and I think the reason that this section stopped me in my tracks as I was reading was because I realized that this is something that I need to work on big time if I want to live my happiest and most fulfilled life.

If you are in the same boat, how are some ways you can continue to nurture the close relationships you have?  Maybe you have old friends you haven't spoke to in years, or would like to make new friends.

7. Acceptance & Action.

"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference."

Throughout our lifetime, many of us fixate on all of the "bad" things we cannot change about ourselves or our situation.  The classic saying above, is something that we can all use to our benefit.  First we must acknowledge that we are fixating on our "problems", in order to accept them.

As a reader of this blog, you may be all focussed on changing the things that you can change in your life.  But if you don't first accept the things about your life that you cannot change, then even when you change everything you can, you will still feel this state of unhappiness.

I realize that this may be challenging to do, in fact this is something I am currently working on in my own life.  However from my experience, the more I am able to accept what I cannot control, I am able to move faster towards my goals.

As I am writing this blog I realized that over the past few days that I was not accepting my situation I am currently in.  I just got back to Michigan from a nearly 3 month trip to Florida.  Being someone who loves to spend time outside in the warm, sunny weather, I noticed myself getting "triggered" being back in Michigan, and to be honest the first couple days back here I was feeling extremely down about it.

Today I just started to accept my situation a little more and I notice myself feeling better already.  Sure I do still wish I was in Florida, but there are many things in Michigan that I enjoy as well, and I know, deep down that feeling sad about not being in Florida isn't going to change my situation or help me to achieve my goals.

What is something in your life that you need to accept?  Learn to take a step back and look at what is currently a challenge in your life.  Doing this alone will help you learn to accept your situation and move forward from it.

8. Develop your strengths.

Become what it is in your nature to become, realize your potential, and develop your strengths to have the good life.

I believe that we are all born with a certain gift of our own.  We were given this gift to serve the universe as a whole in some way.  Your gift may not be something you are passionate about per se.

A classic example of this is part of Michael Jordan's story.  In short, Michael loved baseball, but his body wasn't built well for being very good as baseball, instead he would have more strength playing basketball (a sport he wasn't as passionate about, but had a better chance of being good at).  By Michael nurturing his strengths, we know him today as one of the greatest basketball players of all time!

By developing your strengths it will be easier to live not only a happy life but a fulfilled one as well.

9. You need love, work, and a higher purpose.

By getting the right relationships, work, and something larger than yourself, a sense of meaning and purpose will emerge.

To feel fulfilled in life, we must have meaningful relationships, as well as work, and be moving towards something bigger than ourselves.  If you are lacking in love, work, or a higher purpose it will be a challenge to move towards where you would like to be in life.

Love is what brings us together, and this goes back to lessons number 6 - being more social.  We must have more close connections with those we care about in our lives to live our happiest life.

Work can either be a huge destroyer of your happiness, or something that amplifies happiness.  If your wake up excited to do your work it is a good sign you are on the right path.  On the flipside, if you wake up every weekday hating your work and wanting to stay in bed rather than go to work, then you will always be unhappy as long as you continue to do that work.

From what I have noticed is that most successful people tie together their work with their higher purpose.

10. We need an Eastern & Western approach to life.

In different times we will benefit more from Eastern or more from Western philosophies.  At one point in life, you may need to sit back and reflect on everything in your life that matters to you.  Other times, you may need to hustle and actively move towards your goals.

Both philosophies are important, and if you neglect either one, your life is sure to be sub-par.

For example, in my own life, I have lately been feeling like I am hitting a wall at certain times, because I am super focused on growing, that I never take the time to work on my spiritual side as much.  Although I have been implementing 20 minutes of meditation per day, I still feel like I need to connect with myself more a couple days per week.  I feel as if I need this time for myself to make what I share 10 times better than it currently is.

Maybe you are in the same boat?  Or maybe you are on the other side, where you need or want to start taking a Western approach?

From what I have noticed so far in my own life, is that whenever I combine these philosophies, I am able to carry out my gift in the best way possible, and make things lighter and easier on myself.

Give it a try yourself, if you are only working, take some time to at least meditate each day.  If you are only meditating or reading but taking no action, start to take a more Western or hustle approach to your day.

Closing thoughts.

I hope that these 10 lessons from The Happiness Hypothesis will be beneficial to you in your very own life.  Comment below which lesson you are going to implement immediately and why you are going to implement that lesson into your life!

Live your life to the fullest,

Brian