Is the fast pace of daily life draining you of energy and purpose? Take a moment to slow down and incorporate conscious living into your everyday life. Here are five great tips to live more mindfully and allow joy and happiness to fill your life.

Discover What You Want

No matter what situation you’re in, take a minute to ask yourself what you really want. Instead of fulfilling requirements or living based upon obligations, try doing things that truly make you happy. Don’t feel bad for having preferences and opinions. The only people who will judge you for it are naysayers, and you shouldn’t let negative critics silence your own voice. Discovering what you want isn’t a selfish pursuit, as contentment is contagious, giving you the ability to lift up others, as well.

Value and Protect Your Surroundings

Spend some time looking at the world around you. Truly take a moment to evaluate your surroundings. You may not live in a palace or a mansion, but you shouldn’t have much trouble finding some beauty in the greater world around you. Find beauty in the natural world – a bright blue sky, refreshing water or vibrant forests.

Being mindful involves taking concrete steps to protect your surroundings, and this includes protecting the environment. There are any number of ways to make deliberate choices to reduce your environmental impact. You could focus on reducing water waste, take public transportation to reduce carbon emissions or take concrete steps to reduce energy consumption. If you choose to ease your energy consumption, consider switching to solar energy to power your home. By installing an energy-producing solar panel in Chicago, your home will be powered by an excellent source of clean, renewable energy. By reducing your environmental impact, you will become more connected with nature and your surroundings.

Enjoy Silence

How often do you get to stop for a moment and simply enjoy existence? You’re likely bombarded with the influence of the outside world. The outer world is a noisy place, and the loudest voices can sometimes be the most negative. Seek out silence to spend some time gathering your thoughts. Enjoying silence is about developing awareness – awareness of the decisions you make, your desires and your role in the greater world. When you finally achieve this awareness, you’ll think clearly and be capable of positive, intentional actions.

Learn to Forgive

The world can be a cruel place, but it’s crucial to hold onto the belief that humans are generally good in nature. People are not perfect – they make mistakes. It’s important to learn to forgive those mistakes in order to move forward and live a healthy life. Make it a point to practice compassion in your daily life. In addition, you must learn to forgive yourself. Try to move past any perfectionist habits and tendencies and hold yourself to realistic standards. When you are able to have compassion on yourself and love yourself fully, others will notice the positive change.

Watch Your Words

It’s no secret that words have power. When you make the commitment to live a more conscious life, you’ll soon find that your interactions with other people have a great effect on your emotional well-being. Be deliberate, thoughtful and intentional in your responses to others. Choose words that will build others up, instead of tear them down. In times of anger, responses made in the heat of the moment can have lasting consequences. Take a deep breath to respond in a manner that diffuses the situation and improves everyone’s spirit. What you release into the world often has an uncanny habit of coming back to you, so be sure to spread positivity through the words you say.

By choosing to live more consciously, you’ll increase your overall sense of happiness and fulfillment. By following these tips to make more deliberate decisions in your everyday life, you’ll make positive choices based upon your moral values and your truth.