Identifying these will change your life

I've had a great day so far...

• I woke up and played with my kids.

• I did some work.

• I went to the gym.

• I enjoyed lunch with my family.

And, I'm writing this now as my kids are napping.

How can I not be in a good mood?

**

You know what I've realized, though?

We owe it to the people in our life to be in a good mood. It's actually selfish to be in a bad mood.

The key is figuring out what makes you feel your best. What makes you the best version of yourself. What puts you in a good mood?

It certainly doesn't happen by accident.

When my intentions and actions aren't in alignment, unhappiness ensues. When they are in alignment, happiness ensues.

When we consistently act against our intentions it wears on us. There's a toxicity that's left behind. We become sort of poisonous, and it brings down our mood (and everyone around us).

I believe we all have 3-5 critical balls that we juggle.

If we drop one or more of those balls, we wind up dropping the countless other balls we're juggling. Everything else winds up suffering.

My critical balls are quality family time.

If I do those five things, I'm better at every thing else I do.

I'm a better father, husband, Body Tutor, etc.

If I don't, I'm grumpy and I'm not as good at everything I do.

So, I make sure I take care of those things. They're my anchor.

Does it mean those things are always easy? Of course not!

It doesn't mean I'm always in the mood either.

Sometimes what makes us feel our best doesn't feel the best in the moment.

Doing what's easiest in the moment (skipping exercise, eating the indulgent food that isn't memorable, not reporting, recoiling and hiding instead of asking for help) feels good in the short run but eats at us over time.

Getting the best of ourselves isn't always easy but it's so worth it. It starts with identifying our critical balls and doubling down on them.