"Vitality involves intersection with and participation in the world around you. It is not predicated on taking a year off to find yourself. It doesn't require making a drastic change. You don't need to lose yourself in self-reflection. You don't need to overhaul your existence, or reinvent your life, or wait until the chaos [subsides]." —Dr. Samantha Boardman, author of Everyday Vitality What is Vitality? Vitality elevates the quality of each day, and it is something you cultivate with your actions, engagements and approach to living. "Health of spirit" is an oft definition of vitality, a "sense of feeling psychologically and physically up to the task". Most directly, "Vitality—the positive feeling of aliveness and energy that lies at the core of well-being." get the most out of each day created by deliberate actions associated with positive health outcomes such as (1) productivity; (2) better coping skills when stress and challenges arise; (3) greater mental health; (4) ability to manage negative emotions It is important to note what writer and psychologist Andrew Solomon shares. "The opposite of depression is not happiness, but vitality." Picking up Dr. Samantha Boardman's book Everyday Vitality: Turning Stress into Strength initially gave me pause. First of all, based on previous readings and research and my own experience, we shouldn't be managing stress, we should be assessing and eliminating it at the source when and where possible. So it was her subtitle that almost had me backing away from reading the book. However, as soon as I read the introduction it was clear, much of the stress that is in our lives is self-made and thus can be reduced and/or eliminated. Her book is full of specific approaches, backed by research and multiple studies to demonstrate the significant shift and beneficial shift our lives make when we approach our everydays - how we interact, that indeed we do interact with the outside world and how we hold ourselves as we navigate through our days - thoughtfully and intentionally. In other words, actively engaging rather than passively observing. Today I have ten approaches, tips and tools for improving the vitality in your everydays. There are far more than ten to be found in her book, so hopefully today's episode will be a nice taste of what you may want to explore more if you pick up her book. ~Be sure to tune in to the audio version as much more is shared, more examples, more insights than what is listed below. How to Improve Vitality 1.Reduce the 'micro-stressors' "Those who reported a high number of everyday hassles were three times more likely to die than those who reported lower levels." The daily hassles that up until now have been accepted and put up with because they didn't seem too big or not a big deal slowly and steadily reduce the quality of our lives. Pay attention to the mini headaches you allow, and explore how to remove them so you can feel the elevation in your everydays. It is possible, and doing so will make a tremendous difference. Your energy levels increase, your mood brightens, and you engage more fully and exuberantly with others, yourself and the larger world. 2. Look at your daily actions. Do they reflect what matters to you? "Doing something that feels meaningful or that matters to you, and not just thinking about it, is uplifting." A life of vitality requires that we engage, that we be active and thus to not be passive. "Vitality is a reflection of how we actually choose to live." Dr. Boardman gives examples of living passively: "living a life on Autoplay, shrinking from challenges, isolating oneself, dwelling on the past, and burrowing internally". Often due to exhaustion or insecurity, we behave in ways that go against our values. Our fears rise up and determine our choices regarding how we engage with others, especially those we love. From jealousy, to doubt, to assuming the worst, we let our fears create problems that didn't pre