Those ones that feel like your whole world makes sense and your heart is full of happiness – the ‘my mouth is smile-shaped and there’s nothing I can do about it’- type moments.

But what if those beautiful moments happened more often? Your life moving forward is like a blank canvas. You get to decide what picture your actions will paint and how much meaning you can distill from each moment.

Use these simple steps to find more meaning in everything you do.  With a few simple shifts, you can have more moments that make your heart light up simply by being you.

1. Identify your goals and values. (Ideally, these two are aligned with one another).

Your values are your driver – they’re the most important motivators you have and they’re a really great gauge for measuring whether or not something is actually worth your precious time. If you’re looking to find more meaning in your life, your values are the ticket.

Brainstorm and list your top 5 values and any current goals you have right now.

2. Next, open up your calendar and notice all your appointments, tasks, social commitments, workouts, and anything else that’s scheduled there.

You’ll be a bit of a detective here- ask yourself for each item: WHY is this on my calendar?

How you spend your time is a great indicator of the beliefs you have about your life- and in order to create or find meaning in your day-to-day, it’s really important to understand WHY the heck you’re doing what you do.

3. Remember the values/goals list from step one? Label each item on your calendar with its corresponding value.

Ideally, in a meaning-filled life, all your tasks, to-do’s, and activities will point back to what’s most important to you. This is the simplest way to align your life with who you really are and what you want! If there’s anything on your calendar that doesn’t align with a value or goal you have, see step 4:

4. Notice which tasks don’t align with your values and goals (no doubt there will be a few!).

It’s totally normal to have some aspects of your life that don’t fully align with who you are – that’s a part of the fun! You get to experiment and decide what works for you and what doesn’t and if you’re like most people, you have some old habits you ‘tried on’ years ago that no longer fit the vision you have for yourself.

The important part is to actually acknowledge when something’s not working for you and promptly eliminate it.

But first, ask yourself these questions: What am I trying to accomplish with this task/commitment/or goal? Is there something else that’s more meaningful/worthy of my time and energy AND aligned with the life I want to live?

The number one, most important step for finding meaning in everything you do is to eliminate everything that doesn’t align with who you are right now and who you are becoming.

Your actions today set up your successes tomorrow and into your future, so step into alignment with what you ACTUALLY want in order to live your very best life. Everything else is fluff- and you don’t need it. Be fierce with your time and energy, only allow for things that support your values and goals, and you’ll be left with ONLY things that are meaningful to you.