Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 266 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

7 Activities to Integrate Into Your Life

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 266 of our trek, and yesterday we discovered the 7 insights to develop your personal philosophy of life. Today we will explore 7 activities which we should all incorporate into our lives. If you miss any of our Wisdom-Trek episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. The trip north on Friday evening was uneventful, and we enjoyed the additional conversations with our grandson Kip, who came along with us this time. Saturday was spent cleaning up drywall dust and preparing to refinish the woodwork in the library and parlor. We also invested some additional time making edits to Your Life Plan Blueprint. It was a beautiful sunny day with temperatures around 70°, so we spent some time enjoying the day as Kip ran around and played on the swing set.

It is so good to take these moments to relax and reflect because life for most of us seems to be overly busy to the point where we see diminishing returns with each new activity that we try to cram into our already busy schedules. As we head out on our trail for today, let us ponder the fact that maybe the type of activities that we are involved in are not leading us to fulfill our life purpose. Let us look for the mile markers along our trek that will point out the…

7 Activities to Integrate into Your Life

As you consider the various activities that make up each day, if you are like me, you feel that there is just no way to add anything else to an already overflowing schedule. My question to you is, Are the activities you are involved in for this season of life congruent with your life purpose and objectives? Are these activities moving you closer to or farther away from your destination in life? These are hard choices that you will have to make, and you will need to learn how to say no to the good activities so we can say yes to the best activities.

There are some universal activities or habits though that all of us should integrate into our lives to ensure that we are moving toward a life that is both rich and satisfying.

Consider replacing some of your less productive activities/habits with ones that have better benefits. This will allow you to create and live your legacy each day. Here are the activities/habits that I recommend.

1. Exercise

Working out is good for the body, mind, and soul. According to various studies, people who exercise 30 minutes a day, five times a week, enjoy better overall brain health, including uplifted mood, reduced stress, increased creativity, and clearer thinking. Exercise is one of the best activities you can be involved in to stay alert and alive. For me the best time to exercise is early morning. I set aside about 70 minutes each morning for this activity. I do include listening to devotional materials, podcasts, and audio books into exercising to maximize the use of my time.

2. Hobbies

Have you ever noticed that some of the most productive and successful people also lead rather interesting lifestyles in addition to their careers? That comes largely from the personal pastimes they choose to enjoy. Hobbies are a good outlet for stress and an excellent source of creativity. Although I really do love work, I also enjoy renovating The Big House and taking care of the grounds. These are times of relaxing and thinking for me.

3. Learning

Success in all areas of life means fostering a love of learning. If you want to inspire a love of learning inside yourself, learn something new. With access to virtually unlimited resources through the internet, you are able to learn anything that you choose. Most people learn something that will be useful to them in their careers, but don’t limit yourself, a universe of learning is available at your fingertips. One study shows that a strong atmosphere of learning new things can help increase personal and business productivity by 37 percent. With online tutorials, web-based informational courses, and apps that offer assistance with just a few taps, you don’t have an excuse not to learn something new.

4. Meditation

Even if you do not consider yourself a person of faith, there are many ways to practice meditation. For me, I meditate through prayer and the reading of Scripture, but for you, it may be something else. These practices can be incorporated into yoga, martial arts, and other ways. Meditation can help you relax, improve productivity, facilitate creativity, and maintain your general overall well-being. It could simply mean sitting in stillness for 20 minutes twice a day, or leaning back in your chair, staring up at the ceiling, and forgetting the world for 10 minutes.

5. Service

If you’re losing sight of perspective and what matters to you most, take an opportunity to serve others, especially the less fortunate. Giving back to your community helps you to think about things besides a pursuit of success. This will enable you to evaluate life from a different perspective. It is one of the best ways to put your life into perspective and reduce the stress that comes from constantly focusing on your own problems.  It is even proven to be one of the most effective ways to overcome depression.

6. Reading

This is somewhat tied to point three on learning, but it can also be a way of relaxing and meditating. The best way to stay up to date with activities and information is to read. Whether you’re keeping up on the latest news, studying a business-oriented self-help book, or reading the biography of a successful person you admire, reading can help boost your creativity, improve your thought processes at work or home, and enable you to de-stress after a long day.

7. Family

Take a break every now and then to devote your entire attention to those you love most. For just a few hours a week, stop thinking about the things that happen at work or other activities and enjoy what’s going on at home and with your family. Healthy, happy, and successful people understand that taking a break with their loved ones keeps them sane as they hike up the mountain of life toward their life purposes and objectives. Your family should be the most important aspect of life’s trek because they are the ones that you will ultimately have the most impact on.

Many of us, including myself, don’t take enough time to enjoy what God has so richly blessed us with. I am reminded of this in these verses:

2 Timothy 2:6 – And hardworking farmers should be the first to enjoy the fruit of their labor.

Ecclesiastes 3:13 – And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.

On our trek today, we have located the 7-mile markers or activities that we all should incorporate into our lives. Tomorrow we will hike the trail that will teach us the 9 life lessons we can learn from the mountains. So, encourage your friends and family to join us, and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

That will finish our podcast for today. Just as you enjoy your daily dose of wisdom, please share Wisdom-Trek with your family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, or in person, so they can come along with us each day.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend to others Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!