Many timeless hacks are circulating on Pinterest and some others are passing before our eyes daily on Instagram. Some excite us, we save them, and they stay there, buried, forever forgotten, under tons of other saved posts with recipes, neck exercises, and travel ideas.

Recently the New York Times published an article titled “The Greatest Life Hacks in the World (for Now)”. The article is locked, with access only to those who have a code for the paid digital version of the newspaper. I chose not to pay the subscription to get this knowledge, but to retrieve all those tips that have excited me respectively over the last few years and I found stored in my social media accounts.

Keep what you want from them, throw away what you don’t want but take a look, you might identify with something.

1. Always have something good to say about others and don’t dwell on criticism. Talking bad about other people ends up making us feel bad about ourselves. I don’t say so, the surveys say so from time to time.

2. Happiness is a skill, not a circumstance – practice it, don’t expect it.

3. Unfollow any social media account that doesn’t bring you joy or inspiration.

4. Time is a commodity to invest, not spend.

5. Unfollow your ex. Not on social media, in your mind.

6. If you’re unhappy with something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your mindset.

7. Whenever you feel insecure, step outside of yourself and your comfort zone: call a friend to ask how they are doing, make a donation to an organization you care about, or read a book that inspires you. In order not to get stuck in your insecurity, open a window to the outside world.

8. Eat more whole or unprocessed foods such as eggs, fruits and vegetables.

9. Say “thank you for…” instead of “sorry for…”

10. Being with the wrong person is lonelier than being alone.

11. Replace “I’m too busy to…” with “it’s not my priority to…” and then notice how you’ve actually been spending your time up until now.

12. “No” is a complete sentence.

13. Keep a list on your phone of all the things that made you laugh out loud – so you can read it whenever you need to.

14. Remember that your appearance is not an achievement. You are not a pimple, the cellulite on the buttocks or a few extra pounds.

15. Make your bed every morning. Don’t think about it, just do it.

16. When you lack something – whether it’s time, energy, love or money – give more of it. You will realize how much you already have and then more will come to you. I can’t explain it, but it happens.

17. Whatever health goal you have, go for balance, not perfection.

18. Know that what you love in others is what you love in yourself and what you hate in others is what you hate in yourself.

19. When you’re feeling low on energy, take a walk outside in the sun.

20. Think of self-care as a mindset, not a to-do list.

21. When you feel stressed, do this: relax your shoulders, then your jaw, and take a few deep breaths.

22. Set a favorite date as your password so you have to repeat it every time you log in and smile. No, birthdays are very predictable.

23. The secret to being liked: asking questions of others rather than making statements about yourself.

24. It matters how you tell things to yourself. Choose the bright version and see things from that point of view. You will soon discover a new life.

25. Eat the dishonorable ice cream cone. Or the dessert, or the souvlaki. Enjoy every bite of your life and eat with awareness instead of insecurity.

26. Fall asleep thinking about all the things that went right during the day.

27. Get in touch with nature: walk on the beach with bare feet, swim, lay on the grass (it’s called grounding. look it up).

28. Turn off all notifications on your phone. Receiving notifications (from emails, iMessages, calls, DMs, etc.) means you’re constantly in reactive mode. Take back your power by only responding to messages or clicking apps when you want to, not when your phone tells you to.

29. Don’t complain about the amount of food on your plate, think that you managed to be at the table.

30. Learn how to be a good person – a really, really good person. This is the most powerful life hack, but also the most forgotten.

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