10 Easy Things You Can Do to Improve Your Life by Next Week

Create Daily Pauses for Appreciation

If most of your inner dialogue seems to be taken up by to-do lists and worry, you'd benefit from finding a way to spend more time thinking about the things that bring you joy. To do this, says Linda Lantieri, director of The Inner Resilience Program, an organization focused on building emotional strength in school teachers, create rituals around things you do every day. Choose a few things you do regularly, like turning on your computer or brushing your teeth, and attach meaning to them, using that time to conjure up a thought or feeling you want more of in your life. For example, says Lantieri, each time you put the key in your front door, take a moment to be grateful that you have a place of respite to go each night. When the phone rings, take the opportunity to stop, take a deep breath, and thank your body for your health. Or, each time you pour a cup of coffee, think about someone in need. By making space for these moments, your mind shifts from its usual state of overstimulation into one that's calm and hopeful. Best of all, these mini-meditations won't take up any extra time since the prompts they're attached to—opening the door, pouring coffee—are already a part of your day.