“It’s never too late to be what you might have been.” – George Eliot
We all have similar responsibilities in life that keep us busy, but that shouldn’t stop us from living the life of our dreams. Sure, at the end of a long day, we rarely want to think about anything other than plopping in our comfy beds and snuggling up with our pets. But we have to keep faith that life can change at any moment. Life really does change in the blink of an eye; we just have to remain open enough to accept good things happening to us.
If you have lost faith in life and feel unmotivated to change, we hope that the following list of things you can do at any time will put a little spark back in your heart.
Here are 15 things it’s never too late to do:
1. Start Over
In life, we must constantly adapt to the changing elements. If not, we get tossed around in the waves instead of swimming with the currents. If you think about it, we start over every single day. Every day that we wake up to, we have the opportunity to start over with a new attitude, a new career, or a whole new life.
Even if you’re 50 years old and want to pursue a college degree, for example, you can do it. You just need the determination and desire to follow through with your dreams. Never convince yourself that you can’t start over, because you can do whatever you want at any point in life.
The only person holding you back, is you.
2. Chase Your Dreams
Similar to the point made above, it’s never too late to follow your heart and fulfill your wildest dreams. Let’s say you want to buy an RV or school bus and travel the country. Whatever makes your heart full, go after it! Don’t worry about what other people think or how impractical your idea might seem. After all, life’s too short to live anything less than your deepest desires.
3. Create Healthy Relationships
An important part of life is developing positive, healthy relationships that inspire you to keep going. Negative people will only bring you down and put you into a low-vibration mode. On the other hand, positive, motivating friendships and relationships will do the opposite.
Healthy relationships keep us stable and provide us with human connections, which can alleviate feelings of depression and loneliness. Choose your circle wisely, because your influences can either lift you up or drag you down.
4. Change Your Ways
No matter what “ways” you want to change, you can become whatever you want at any given moment. In life, we start to box ourselves in to different categories and make ourselves think we can’t become something outside of our self-imposed limitations. Our self-image can become skewed by outside influences as well. All too often, we sell ourselves short.
It’s never too late to become who you have always wanted to be, so don’t let other people or the voices inside your head hold you back from realizing your true potential.
5. Be Positive
Positivity can totally transform your life and change your outlook on the world. Positive thinking can also benefit your mental and physical health; in fact, studies show that positive people have a lower chance of having a heart attack or other negative cardiovascular events. Positivity can also help lower your stress levels, boost your immune system, and allow you to live a better life, in general.
6. Hope
No matter how dim or grim the world looks, it’s never too late to hope for the best. We can sit around all day predicting the worst case scenario, or we can choose to look at the world with a glass half-full attitude. Perhaps one day, the world might become a more peaceful, hospitable place; maybe it isn’t doomed after all. Sure, you might be wrong, but the only way to remain sane in this world is to pray for the best rather than expect the worst.
7. Accept God
Call it God, the Universe, energy … whatever you want to call it. Accepting a higher power in your life can change your whole perspective. Studies show that people who believe in God have a lower risk of committing suicide and engaging in drug and alcohol use. Of course, the decision is totally up to you, but keeping an open mind to spirituality could benefit you in the long run.
8. Make A Difference
Making a difference doesn’t have to mean saving the world from hunger or picking up every piece of plastic on the planet. You can make a difference in one person’s life by sharing a smile or a meal; it only takes one act of kindness to change a life. Maybe think about volunteering at a soup kitchen or an animal shelter if you want to make an impact on your community. Just remember that no act of kindness is too small.
9. Forgive Someone Who Hurt You
Forgiving those who hurt you in the past won’t make the experience go away, but the pain you felt from the situation will start to fade. In life, no one is perfect; people make mistakes, and sometimes they don’t really mean to hurt you – it just happens. However, no matter if a person intentionally hurt you or not, holding on to the pain of that experience will only hinder you from moving on.
Plus, forgiveness has health benefits as well. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, forgiving someone can lower your blood pressure and heart rate, as well as decrease feelings of depression and anger.
10. Learn Something New
As we go through the motions in life, we can become complacent and closed off after a while. However, keeping your mind and heart open will allow for new experiences in your life, which will help take you out of the mundanity and into a place of excitement. As they say, variety is the spice of life, so don’t allow yourself to get stuck in your routine. Go out and take in as much of life as you can while you have the chance!
11. Do What You’ve Always Wanted to Do
Don’t let your dreams die just because you’ve gotten older or you think you don’t have what it takes to accomplish your goals. You don’t want to leave this Earth with regrets, so make sure you check off as much as you can from your bucket list, even if that means accomplishing just a few important goals.
12. Say “I’m Sorry”
It’s just as important to admit when you’re wrong as it is to forgive others who have hurt you. Put your pride aside for a second and say a simple “I’m sorry” to someone who you might’ve hurt or offended. It might not feel good to be vulnerable, but it will clear your conscience and help you sleep better at night. Plus, you don’t want a relationship to suffer just because of one incident.
13. Be Inspired
Do things that touch your soul, because that will help you feel alive and motivated. If you love to paint, make sure you set aside time each day to tap into that creative energy. If you enjoy cooking, try a new restaurant that offers dishes you’d like to cook at some point. It’s never too late to be inspired by something; after all, inspiration is all around us!
14. Start Over Again
Just as we said before, each day offers us a chance at a new beginning. If you started over yesterday and the day didn’t go as planned, simply start over again tomorrow. Every day won’t offer rainbows and butterflies, so you just have to take the lessons as they come and learn from them. Nothing comes easily in life, but the journey will be so worth it when you look back and say “I made it.”
15. Let Your Past Go
The past will continue to haunt you if you hold onto the people and things that have hurt you. In order to move on and enjoy your life, learn from what happened and try not to make the same mistakes again. Instead of ruminating on the past, look forward to all the beautiful things the future might hold for you.
Final thoughts
It’s never too late to start a new chapter in your life and start living more intentionally. If you stay connected to yourself and do what your heart calls for, you will never feel disappointed or lacking in life. Always keep focused on your goals, because having a passion and purpose in life gives us something to wake up for each day.
You can make life whatever you want, so don’t get discouraged if you don’t make it to the mountaintop before your peers. Because you have your own journey, simply go at your own pace and show yourself compassion. You can do it!
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