7 ways to boost your life when you think you’ve fallen off the road.

1. Embrace predictability (at least to some extent) on a daily basis.

Life tosses us everyday right after we get out of bed. Sometimes, we decide to live the day as if it was our last. But most of the times we fall for the ‘orders ‘and ‘rules’ that life compels us to live by. As a result, no matter how motivated you were at that morning, at the end of the day, a flurry of surprises and suspense dictated your whole day. Yes, Most of us have felt it (And yeah, it sucks!).

At a grass root level, Predictability in life is synonymous with a happy life.

Imagine retiring to bed every night, knowing how exact your tomorrow is going to be. Good or bad, at least by knowing the end result, you are in a better position to deal with those consequences. Bring some order in life by following a prescribed set of activities. They need not be strict or mean. It’s just we need to remind ourselves that we exhibit a certain level of control on our lives before our actions are a resultant of someone else’s whims. It may be taking a break everyday from your busy daily schedule and stopping by for a cup of coffee at your favorite cafe. These simple tasks act as a reset button. It is important that we allot some time now or in the future at a regular basis so that we keep a track of our day. Pondering on the fact “how did my day go so fast?” is the last mystery you don’t want to solve.

2. Reboot your beginning and the end of each day.

Unplug yourself from all electronic devices two hours before and after sleep every day. Crazy right?.. Well if I sound mean, at least stay away from social media space that allow room for interaction. In simple words, stay ‘offline’. Go listen to music or write your next post for your blog but stay away from the world’s clutter for those 4 hours.
Majority of the Smartphone users have the habit of falling asleep with them in their hands. That adds fancy to already existing disorders like insomnia, migraine, depression. Not to forget the ‘suspended’ feeling you get the next day due to lack of sleep.
In the morning, once you wake up from bed, don’t check mail or check the news feed from social platforms. Morning is the best part where you get to be ‘proactive’. You don’t want to wake up and bombard yourself with pings and notifications and play by someone’s rules. Don’t drown yourself early in the morning by bringing in your entire Facebook and Whatsapp friends in your bedroom. Wake up fresh, breathe, go out for a walk, shower, get yourself a meal and plan your day. After that you are ready to rule the world from your Smartphones and computers. All you are supposed to do is to be generous to your own self and allot a couple hours (twice every day) and save yourself from a bunch of multiplying disorders at old age.

3. Frame a morning ritual in order to stay ahead of your day.

Steve jobs, Lady gaga, Tony Robbins, Eminem, Roger Federer and the list goes on. Name any successful person on this planet and they would say that their morning rituals worked out wonders for them. It’s about making the greatest use of your day just when you are fresh. Just like your Smartphone has the maximum RAM when it powers on, so is your mind free and uncluttered when you wake up in the morning from sleep. So mornings call out for the challenging and creative tasks. In order to boost your entire day, it is advisable to follow a sequence of tasks on a regular basis. It can be learning a sentence of a new language you want to master. Or allotting some dedicating minutes to some form of physical activity. Even drinking half litre water in empty stomach could be part of your ritual. For example, I love to gaze sunrise. It feels amazing, when the early morning sun floats on the horizon. Just to catch a glimpse of the pinkish-orange sun, I would wake up every morning at 5, go out for a walk, listen to some inspiring podcasts and climb up the rooftop terrace to relish the sun. The feeling is just too good to be missed. In fact, one of my life goals is to catch a glimpse of sunrise from all major destinations around the world! This gives me a much needed head start and acts as a tonic for the entire day.
Find something that you love to do but can’t allot time during the rest of the day. Mornings offer you ample space and independence to handle pressing issues. It would be bad idea to wake up at 10. Because by the time you plan to figure out how your day is going to be, Lunch would arrive on your table. Know more about morning ritual

4. Learn to respect yourself, promise to excel on your own terms.

Who are you when no one’s watching you?

The way you treat yourself when you are alone is of utmost importance. Most of the times, our actions are reactive. Means that whatever we do is externally motivated by the people and the environment that influence us. It’s like always being at the receiving end of a conversation. You don’t get to construct your thoughts and project your views in form of words. Whatever you reply is just a lame resultant of someone’s questions. Or still the worst-case scenario, you’re like a punching bag. You don’t make any movement until life hits you hard.
It’s critical to see yourself in a second person and talk to yourself and figure out what is that you want. Treat yourself with respect and dignity. Nothing else is more permanent in this world other than your own body and soul. You have to live and deal with yourself till your deathbed. So it’s time to appreciate the fact that your existence is not meant for low-life. You are the only person that truly knows about all of your life’s secrets. And like a wise man who acknowledges and respects his strengths and limitations, take pride in being you. No matter what you do or achieve, you are your greatest masterpiece. 
In my case, I never was able to satisfy myself truly with my work whenever I was alone. I would, by some sort of reflex, open my Whatsapp or YouTube for no reason. I did those because no one was watching me and there was no one to judge me. And in this way I would while away my precious time. And the last thing I would have to face was REGRET. Now, whenever I am given privacy, I take it as a challenge to defy my mental wanderings and build my character. Acting responsibly when no one’s watching me makes me more accountable to myself and proves my worth. When there is no enemy within, the enemy outside can do us no harm. And when you go to sleep that night, it really gives you a great feeling knowing that you took a significant step to revive yourself. The toughest part is to start. Once you tune in, the momentum is on your side. And with that much boost, you can make mountains move.

5. Bring stability to the person who you really are, not the person people make out of you.

Change, good or bad, is inevitable. Being rooted in your instincts, goals and dreams in spite of life slapping you in the face is the greatest mental struggle in this dynamic world. It’s necessary to know on what terms you lead your life. What are the guiding principles and values you followed that life brought you this far? If you don’t have any, it’s time to look within yourself to find because everyone, consciously or subconsciously, have deep-seated principles guiding their lives for what they are today. There is no harm in knowing a little more about you every day. No institution or school or college teaches you to learn about yourself. It’s up to you to question the face that appears when you look at the mirror.
The finest of all men are those who have the ability to remain calm in any situation of happiness, anger, sorrow or regret. In the face of misery or ecstasy, certain qualities of your very individuality are supposed to be constant. Just like a nuclear reactor, you need to have a stable core so that your ideals and motives don’t change. 
Similarly, when you derive happiness from your momentary pleasures and accomplishments, don’t get carried away. You have to remind yourself of what you strive to do and what the big picture is. Remember, there is still a lot to be proved to declare yourself a winner. Cast away other people’s doubts and concern. No one knows better about you than you do.

Life is an equation with a generous mix of variables and constants. What are your constants?

What are your principles and virtues that you believe will guide you no matter how hard you’re hit? Time to seek answers.

6. Endorse what you love and maintain a firm footing in the way you perceive and feel the world.

Always give your voice and intuition priority over others. Build your life in such a way that when people think of you, they are reminded of what you stand for. Your ideas and thoughts should represent you; define you more than your face or looks. And whatever actions you take based on that idea, that’s how the world sees you.
Don’t be afraid to show what you endorse and stand for fear of rejection or mockery from the society. The world has had enough double-gamers and hypocrites scarring the human race. Take pride in the side you choose. People need to look at you like a script in order to approach and network with you. It clearly defines who you are and saves both you and your dear ones from time-killing and confusion. Don’t bend or break to someone else’s pleas or orders. By defining clearly who you are, people find it easy to trust you or be well acquainted with you.

7. Redefine the very concept of learning. Don’t hesitate to break out from your area of concern.

Never stop learning. Especially self-learning.

Conventional learning can make you rich, but only self-learning can earn you a fortune.

Relevant or irrelevant, learn something that you love, apart from your mainstream studies. The learning that you acquired at schools and colleges teach you to earn bread and butter. It’s only what you learn on your own that makes you successful. When you truly have the passion to learn something forgetting about your food and sleep you are chasing greatness. If Warren Buffet and Bill gates stopped learning after college, they would have not been the people they are today. 
Learning what you love in today’s world is no more restricted to the fathoms of uncertainty and pursuing unnecessary endeavours. It’s more about transferability these days. If you are a mechanical engineer in an advertising company, there is a strong chance that you see problems from a different frame. Perspective is everything. Literally most of the major corporations believe that a solution to a complex problem is halfway attained when the problem is looked at a different angle.
 History gives us many classical examples of that. When the first craft was sent in space, no one thought that astronomy and biology would meet. And yet today we have ‘Astrobiologists’ ( oops! Even this Word editor shows an error with that term! Wait a second…that means…ALIENS? …Well let’s not talk about it here… You have the liberty to Google it yourself…). And in the midst of fighter planes and missiles, no one thought that a mathematician would come to the rescue to end the Second World War probably 15 years earlier than expected (Yes, that’s Alan Turing. Portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch in the movie ‘The imitation game’).