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If there’s one thing everyone wants in life, it’s to feel a sense of meaning–to believe what they do matters and makes a difference.

Purpose doesn’t need to be complicated idea you search for all your life. It can be something your nurture and support today by connecting with yourself and the world around you. Here are 10 ideas to do just that:

10 Ways to Make Your Day Meaningful

1. Get curious

As children we’re full of wonder, excited to learn how things work. Tap into that excitement and immerse yourself in something new. Ask your coworker to explain her job. Buy a book about something that interests you, and devote an hour to reading.

2. Find the lesson in a difficult experience

You don’t need to believe everything happens for a reason–you just need to find a way to learn and grow from each experience. How can your recent adversity make you a stronger, better person?

3. Reignite a passion

Sometimes as we get older, we shift our focus from things we love to do to things we need to do. Take a little time to reconnect with something you once loved–dance, ceramics, karate. Actually do what you love today, even if for just a short time.

4. Connect with someone new on a deeper level

Open up your heart, share yourself, and allow them to do the same. You never know when you may begin a relationship that enriches your life.

5. Be authentic

Sometimes we adapt who we are to please different audiences. Nothing leaves you feeling less connected to yourself. Mean what you say and say what you mean today. Who you actually are makes a difference.

6. Focus outward

It’s easy to get wrapped up in yourself, particularly when you’re stressing about finances or personal needs. Shifting your focus to the beauty outside–the changing seasons, new construction in your neighborhood, people who live and work near you–reminds you you’re part of something larger.

7. Support your purpose

Not everyone works a job that aligns with their sense of purpose in life. That doesn’t matter. If you feel you’re biggest goal is to help other people, set aside an hour just for that pursuit. Answer questions on Yahoo! Answers. Ask people on Twitter how you can help them.

8. Ask your loved ones what matters to them

Most people have a sense of what their purpose is in life. Focus on someone else’s meaning for a while, and you may feel even more connected to your own.

9. Take a step to create change

It’s hard to feel passionate and purpose-driven when you feel trapped in a situation you don’t like. You can’t change everything overnight, but you can do one simple thing. Make a call. Request an application. Simply start today.

10. Reflect on where you’ve been and where you’re going

A lot of people let life happen to them. They allow life’s ups and downs to toss them around without making any conscious decision. Reconnect with what you really want, and evaluate whether or not you’re headed there.

Once upon a time I hated the morning. Waking up was a process of hitting the snooze button over and over, only to roll out of bed at the last possible moment. It was then a mad rush to get out the door, and very often I would need to run for the bus (not surprisingly I missed it a few times). Anyhow, I gave my morning a makeover and now it is my favorite part of the day. The following are 10 ways you too can give your mornings a makeover:

1. Wake Earlier

If the morning is always one big rush for you, it makes sense to wake earlier. Personally, I have trained myself to enjoy waking at 5am in the morning. I realize, thought, that this is far too early for many people. Anyone, however, can wake earlier. If you don’t normally enjoy the morning, this one tip may help change that. It is amazing what happens when you don’t have to be in a hurry to get out the door.

2. Don’t Turn the Computer Straight On

If you are anything like me, you will be tempted to turn the computer on first thing when you wake up. Take it from me, though, that is worth delaying this for 10, 30 or (ideally) 60 minutes. Too much time on the computer leaves anyone feeling drained, and in this modern age many of us are likely to spend much of our day in front of a computer.

3. Take a “Holy Hour”

One of my favorite personal growth coaches, Robin Sharma, suggests taking a “Holy Hour” each morning. Basically this is an hour you devote to your own self improvement. For ideas of what to do in this hour, read on….

4. Meditate

Meditation is such a powerful way to strengthen your mind and relax your body. For me, one of its main benefits is to help me focus on the now and stop worrying about the future or past.

5. Read

I love to ease into the day with a good book and a cup of coffee. Avoid the newspaper and instead feed you mind with inspiring stories, interesting ideas, and exciting adventures.

6. Exercise

If you have ever exercised in the morning, you will know how good it makes you feel for the rest of the day. Some ideas include hitting the gym, riding to work, going for a swim, running, yoga or even just having a stretch.

7. Review Your Goals

A great way to start the day is to review, or even better rewrite, your goals. Why? Because if you do this, you will be more aware of them as you go about your day. And with better awareness, you will be empowered to make better choices that help get you closer to achieving these goals.

8. Be Prepared

Personally, the morning is when I feel the freshest and most productive. So I like to spend my time on many of the activities on this list, rather than mundane activities such as ironing my clothes and making my lunch. This means being prepared – I try to iron my clothes for the week on Sunday night and prepare my lunch the night before.

9. Eat a Nutritious Breakfast

Firstly, make sure you actually are eating breakfast. I am amazed when I hear people tell me they don’t eat breakfast. How can they possibly be performing at their peak? Secondly, I’m no nutritional expert, but here are a few of my tips for a healthy breakfast:

• If you eat cereal, make sure it is whole grain with lots of fiber and little to no added sugar
• Try adding some fresh berries, dried fruit, or sliced almonds to your cereal
• If you are sick of cereal, try a breakfast shake (see a long list of shake ideas here).

10. Listen to Motivational Podcasts/ Audiobooks

The morning is the ideal time to listen to motivational podcasts and audiobooks. Personally, I love the feeling in the morning that there is a day of endless possibilities ahead. Also, if you need to travel to work or school, it’s a great way to make the most of the commute.

Humor is the best medicine for any situation. See how humor can work for you in your workplace.

1. Humor is in the eye of the beholder

Set boundaries of what is appropriate and what is not, because what some people find humorous, others will find offensive. Parameters of acceptable behaviors can be in the form of official written policies as well as through verbal communications and role modeling.

2. Keep it clean and kind

Humor should never hurt or embarrass any individual or group of individuals. If people are made to feel self conscious or ashamed, the effects will be costly to productivity, morale and may even extend into the marketplace where a company’s brand and reputation can be irreparably damaged. 

3. Make it fun

Humor at work is part attitude, part action. Use humor as a way to create an inclusive environment. Not only do you want to benefit from humor and the energy it creates, you also want to be able to see the world of humor through the eyes of others as well as your own.

4. Assign employees to be in charge of fun

Humor can be inserted into everyday business activities. One possibility is to assign a different person to bring a funny clip from a paper, magazine or internet page to the weekly staff meeting. Or, you can ask employees to volunteer for a joke-writing contest.

5. Allocate time

Carve out time to schedule events where humor plays a role. This can mean finishing early one day each month, or week to do something that will make people laugh, or at least a chuckle.

6. Make it a priority

When planning or setting objectives, think about the underlying tone and look for the existence of humor. If it’s not there, add it. For example, say the development of a presentation is underway. If upon examination, you realize it’s is too dry, spice it up with a humorous slide or activity.

7. Find what’s funny in everyday life

Spontaneous humor is as important, and possibly even more therapeutic, than formal efforts to incorporate it into people’s lives at work. One of the best ways to start is to find opportunities to laugh at yourself. This does not mean doing so critically or with judgment, but rather in a way that makes you and others smile. 

8. Balance responsibility

Organizations and individuals need to be equally accountable for making right versus wrong choices. Behaviors are shaped and organizational behavior is no exception. Individuals need to know what they will face if they “misbehave” and leadership needs to set an example by behaving how they want and expect others to.

9. Nip it in the bud

Discriminatory jokes should be met with immediate reprimand. If allowed, ill-intended humor and its effects will spread through an organization like cancer and imbue it with a dark cloud. Plus, the last thing any company needs is to be accused of harassment or faced with a costly lawsuit.

10. Measure success

Look for laughs. If people are smiling and laughing, they are enjoying themselves, and you have proof that humor is working for you at your workplace.

Overall, the best approach a company can have is to appreciate what humor can bring to a business and the people in it while at the same time maintaining a healthy respect and sensitivity for its power to hurt or heal. Happy people make a happy workplace and a happy workplace produces positive results.