The Adventurer's Guide to Living a Happy Life: 63 Simple Tips to Add Happiness to Your Life Each and Every Day
88
The Adventurer's Guide to Living a Happy Life: 63 Simple Tips to Add Happiness to Your Life Each and Every Day
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Overview
Distilled from his own vast knowledge and experience, from heart-pounding adventures to walking in his local park to preparing and training for one of the world’s toughest adventure races, or his harrowing, life-changing experience of surviving a grizzly attack, he boils down what has worked for him into this easy-to-read guide consisting of sixty-three simple tips to add happiness to your life each and every day.
This book will help you to:
- Stick to adding happiness to your life each and every day
- Take stock daily and become aware of your actions
- Focus on positive action that creates a ripple effect
- Stay motivated, focused, and refreshed
- Celebrate the small successes daily
- Believe that you will feel happier every day!
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781480439740 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Open Road Media |
| Publication date: | 07/01/2014 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 88 |
| Sales rank: | 51,495 |
| File size: | 2 MB |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
The Adventurer's Guide to Living a Happy Life
By Matt Mosteller
OPEN ROAD INTEGRATED MEDIA
Copyright © 2012 Matt MostellerAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4804-3974-0
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
There's no handbook for how to live our lives and not everyone has the opportunity to have an inspirational mentor who can provide us with honest and direct feedback that will move us in the right direction in life. When I was younger, I certainly felt like I was sailing without a rudder as my peers headed off to university, and I held onto my outdoor life of adventure. Many thought I was being foolish, that I wasn't following the right path to garner all the material trappings of life and the "traditional" view of what success was all about.
But something inside me, driving me like a cowboy herds stray cows, continued to push me further outside of the traditional path of life, further away from where my university buddies were going.
Over the course of twenty grueling years of adventures, I have more stories than I can count. From surviving a Grizzly attack, to climbing lonely summits, and skiing down uncharted steep and icy chutes, where one misstep meant certain death. In my youth I spent countless lonely nights sleeping in my car (in fact 63 nights one ski season, hence why there are 63 tips in this book!), running perilous rivers where others had perished and undertaking long journeys by foot through some of the most remote and rugged regions of North America.
More recently, I embarked on a multi-sport nightmare of an adventure across the Arctic Circle to some of the most northerly permanent settled villages. I spent days in the bone-chilling cold and shivering through nights in snow caves and tents where the only sounds you heard were tent poles snapping from the brutal cold, the clattering of your teeth like boxcars down a track and the wolves howling in anticipation of their next meal. I hoped it wasn't me.
My adventures have spanned land, water and over mountaintops. There was a time when my highly educated peers were convinced that my life compass was broken. I can see how they had their doubts—for a time I lived out of my car or couch surfed with friends and proudly claimed dirt floor digs of an early 1900s log cabin. I didn't have what many would consider the great comforts in life, but I gained a bank full of intuition, wisdom and experience in the process.
Since then, I've carved a career for myself in business that continues to combine my many passions. I do live a comfortable life now, but I still love to take on epic adventures which continue to define me today.
Through the pain of my many adventures, two beacons of hope have carried me forward—one is the complete and all-consuming power of a positive attitude, and the second is the amazing spirit you can gain from adding adventure to your life.
I found that adding adventure to my life could give me those "goose bump" moments that every human soul looks to find; the real zest of life that splits you from the mundane and that broadens your horizons as you make your way to new frontiers. With adventure we experience risks, hardships, incredible eye-opening wonders and experiences that can positively influence our lives. Adventure hones your basic instincts, enhances your senses, drives you to explore, gather food, walk the land and work with your clan to survive. It drives you to treat and interact with others with the utmost respect.
But no matter what you encounter in your daily life, you can't excel unless you have a positive attitude. Period. In the history of exploration and adventure, there is no example of long-term survival of an individual or team during times of incredible struggle or hardship that did not possess the basic skill of having immense amounts of optimism and positive energy.
Your attitude and approach to life truly can move mountains, get you jobs, inspire friendships and pick you up during your darkest moments. It's the key to having a wonderful life.
So how did I survive that Grizzly bear encounter? Below I have included daily tips that show how adventure can be an agent of positive change that will allow you to gain more "goose bump" moments in life and achieve things that up until now you have only dreamed about. Carpe diem!
CHAPTER 2Fresh Beginnings
1. Start Your Day Smart
Choose your view and your attitude from the start of the day. Undoubtedly you have encountered a person at work who just looks like a troll—grim and grumpy from the start of the day onward. Make it your intention to start each day with a fresh outlook. Don't carry a burden over from a bad meeting or a mistake that was made. Learn from it and move on.
As we walk down our daily paths, we are constantly bombarded by negative thoughts—from ourselves and others. These thoughts impede our ability to truly get the most out of life. We all have speed bumps—whether it's getting frustrated, waiting on the phone for technical support to issues related to marriage, family and work. It is how we face these challenges that make a difference.
You have two choices—let it bog you down or move wisely to find a solution. When a negative thought enters your mind, replace it with a positive one and focus on creating a solution to the problem at hand. It's the old adage that the "glass is half full" —those with an optimistic, positive attitude tend to go further in life.
2. Start Your Day Early
Start your day early if you want to be productive in life, even if you need a crutch like strong French roast coffee. I start my day at 4:30 a.m.—it's not something that everyone can do. Do what you can and make the time your own. The key is to make time to find energy for your day. An early morning start can help you get engaged and productive on projects which will make a difference in the outcome and productivity of your entire day.
3. Get Engaged
You can either be in the bleachers as a spectator of life or you can be on the field. This is a life choice that you have to make over and over again in life, and many people struggle with these decisions. It is much easier to sit in the bleachers, and it takes work, risk and an element of discomfort to be in the game.
4. Get in the Game Everyday
Staying on task and on track is never easy. Doing this day in and day out is downright difficult. Whether it's your passion, your job or your work, commitment is challenging. It doesn't matter if you sell cars, produce works of art or trade stocks; it is easy to give yourself an excuse. There's always that little voice in your head that says, "Don't make that difficult call", or "Don't go on that run today". Don't give in. Make a schedule and stick with it. Ultimately procrastination is more challenging than just getting the task done.
I'm from the Land of Hockey, where we say, "You can't score if you're not in the game". Get in the game. Don't accept no for an answer or let criticism get in your way. I have a confession to make—it has taken me at least 10 years to write this short book. Only until I made myself work on it every day was I able to complete it. Writing for me is hard and every project has its setbacks. You have to know you are not alone and you're not the first person to have hardship working on a passion, project, art or dream. Stick to your schedule, work on it each day and don't let anyone kick you out of the game.
CHAPTER 3Physical Joy
5. Create Your Adventure Activity
One of the best ways to create more positivity in your life is to set an adventure goal that you can focus on and that will provide you with a daily challenge. For me, preparing for the Yukon Challenge provided a daily "Positive Explosion", as it gave me a major challenge to prepare for each day.
Your own adventure can be simple or challenging. It can be for a day, week, month or a year. I recommend starting off with setting up some Weekly Adventures. It could be a walk in a local park, a canoe in a nearby lake, a snowshoe across the field, downhill skiing or snowboarding in your local area or trying cross-country skiing. Depending on where you live, many of these sports have local shops or clubs that can provide resources for getting started.
6. Heart Pump for Brain Power
There is more to exercise than sweating and looking at yourself in the mirror at a health club ... it makes you smarter. Many studies show students who exercise regularly and who are physically fit get better grades in school. In fact, the students who were in the best shape also had the best average scores overall. Make exercise a part of your day and get on a plan. There are many easy plans on the market now that complement technology that you likely already have at home. For example, you can set up a running application on your iPod or similar device and build a program to suit your needs and help you to achieve your goals. With so many programs available, excuses such as "I can't afford a trainer" or "I don't know where to start" can't be accepted anymore. I used one of the applications to set up a simple sixty-five day training program to prepare for the Yukon Challenge Half Marathon.
'Active Living Research, Physical Activity and Academic performance', Stewart G. Trost, PHD. Fall 2007
'California Journal of Health Promotion' an evaluation of the relationship between Academic Performance and Physical Fitness measures in California Schools, Sangeeta Singh, June 2006
7. Smile Ultimately
I firmly believe that it is our responsibility in life to make someone's day, each and every day. A simple way to do this is to smile—smile often and genuinely. It will not only make you feel good; it will make someone else's day.
8. Expand Yourself—Physically and Mentally
Less than fifty days now until the Yukon Challenge, the world's toughest winter adventure race. We are doing this race with only sixty-five days of training. Why? It's the question I get all the time. But I am convinced that you need to push yourself out of your comfort zone, do different things and do things you have never done before to grow. Expand yourself both physically and mentally. Reach out beyond your normal routine. In order to grow and develop your skills and mind, you need to push into new territory. This event is a real push for me. I'm not the guy you see out in the neighbourhood running in spandex or biking every day.
I have lead an active outdoor life. I love the outdoors and spending time in nature. But I'm certainly not your typical cardio athlete.
I know from past experience that every time you do an extraordinary adventure, you grow. It doesn't have to be the world's toughest winter adventure race or even a forty mile hike in a day, but do something that pushes your limits in your world. For example, you may have always wanted to go on a sailing adventure. What does that adventure entail? You will need to take sailing classes, navigation classes and get some experience on a sailing boat. Before you know it, you can be the captain of your own sailboat and enjoy an amazing adventure. This is just one example of many you could dream up. It could be a Kenya safari, or a backpacking trip in your local wilderness. There are endless examples of what you can do in your own backyard or around the world that can help push your limits and expand your horizons.
How do you benefit from the adventure? There are the steps that you take as you prepare yourself and plan your challenge and the accompanying milestones that you focus on along the way. Once the actual task is at hand, there's a charge of anticipation and energy and your increasing confidence when you realize you will achieve your goal after much preparation and discipline.
Your real growth happens when you take the time to reflect on your accomplishment and learn from it. Reflection provides inner strength when you recognize that you have proven to yourself that you are able to do something that you didn't think you could do. This is very powerful for your inner self-esteem and is a powerful charge of confidence.
You've benefitted in so many ways—you've expanded your skill sets and your mental power. Now you have this inner strength to reflect on it and to draw from it in other facets of your life in the future. For example, you may find yourself in a challenging work situation and you can draw from "If I can withstand being in bitter cold temperatures and frozen to the core, then I can accomplish what's in front of me now".
Adventure allows you to learn about yourself in situations that are not normal. Your adventure provides you with physical growth; perhaps you will have challenged yourself with some situations that require athletic skills: building balance, cardio and agility. Then there's the mental side—you will have exercised your ability to slay negative thoughts and doubts that try to cripple your ability to accomplish your goal. On the mental side you will have taken huge steps forward in terms of how you approach life and its accompanying challenges.
9. Push Your Comfort Zone and Find Your Passion
Expose yourself to a wide variety of activities, interests and projects to find your true passions. Don't fret about this. Drive yourself to try a number of different things. Do something that scares you or makes you feel anxious. Put yourself in different shoes to find your true passions.
Never limit yourself and find ways to deal with the things that make you scared. I have had bouts where I have been terrified of flying. When the cabin door closes, I get a wave of apprehension that I am trapped or that I'm not in control. I immediately engage in deep breathing and sometimes I even pinch my ear. The breathing helps to relax me and pinching the ear? It may seem strange, but the sharp pain makes me snap out of my negative thought pattern and replace it with more positive thoughts.
Whether it's sport, travel, education or setting your own personal challenge, do what scares you and find your passion.
10. Stimulate Your Mind Through Sport
Take time each day to do a run, walk, hike, workout, yoga, or whatever it is you love that gets you moving for at least 30 minutes each day. In addition to the well documented health benefits, this will also give you a daily hit of exercise-induced endorphins. Endorphins are a great miracle cure in your life. We have the power to heal ourselves in so many ways simply by getting daily exercise. Endorphins can help provide us clarity to make better decisions and provide peace to our system and help make your body stronger by giving your immune system a boost.
'Scientists Hint at Why Laughter Feels So Good' James Gorman, New York Times Sept 13th 2011
11. Make a Commitment to Your Higher Purpose
Have a concrete purpose. This will help you to navigate through tough times. We all face challenges regularly but maintaining a positive attitude and a higher purpose will provide the internal strength to make it through any challenge presented.
Your higher purpose can take a variety of forms. It could be your commitment to care and provide for your family, to assisting a friend with cancer or achieving a goal in a sport or activity that you have set for yourself.
When I set the goal that I was going to enter the world's toughest winter adventure race, I had no idea how tough the training would be, how bad the local weather conditions for training would be and how tough it is to make time to train when you have a full-time job and a busy family life.
But my wife and I dug in and found ways to stay committed to our goal. We changed our morning routine, allowing me time to work, write and then get in a workout all before the kids got out of bed. So, I started my day between 4:30 a.m. and 5 a.m. This certainly did have an impact on my bedtime. I am now, as the kids say, "a party pooper". But I feel that I have much more energy, vitality and am more engaged due to achieving a more restful sleep thanks to maintaining a very healthy diet and getting in my daily workouts. But it's so easy to get knocked off the tracks. Given that I have a very busy hosting and social schedule with my work, it can be tougher some weeks than others to keep up with my routine. But like anyone human I try my best. If I miss a day, then I try to make it a "Rest Day" in the training cycle and pick up on the next day of my regular routine.
Don't stress yourself out about missing days here and there. The key is to try and be consistent over time and to stick to a regular program the best that you can. Sleep, diet and exercise are all key to help keep you on track.
12. Too Tired to Triumph
Now for the opposite of that last tip and it's an important one. Sometimes you feel tired and it can be hard to get engaged. Take a few steps back. Take a nap. If you can't take a nap, recharge, then step back and reflect on what you are doing. Take a few deep belly breaths and stir your mind on what matters and what's challenging you. Maintain your focus on your goal.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from The Adventurer's Guide to Living a Happy Life by Matt Mosteller. Copyright © 2012 Matt Mosteller. Excerpted by permission of OPEN ROAD INTEGRATED MEDIA.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Contents
1. Introduction,2. Fresh Beginnings,
3. Physical Joy,
4. Mental Prosperity,
5. Emotional Purpose,
6. Professional Development,
7. Dream Attainment,
8. Self Transformation,
Acknowledgments & Gratitude,
About the Author,