Are you happy with the direction of your life, or are there things that you want to change? Many people want to make alterations but don’t know where to begin. Ask yourself the following questions, as it may indicate it’s time to change your own life for the better:
- Do you rest well at night?
- Do you feel happy?
- Can you remember the last time you cried?
- Do the feelings of helplessness and hopelessness never cross your mind?
The chances are that you can’t answer all these questions unless you’re a fortunate person. Consequently, life is hard, and positive thinking isn’t the easiest thing to do. Your decisions today will affect your tomorrow, so it’s time to make changes to improve you.
Ten Actions That Can Help to Change Your Own Life
It’s not always easy to make changes, but you can do anything you want. If you’re ready to be a happier, healthier person, here are ten tips to change your life.
1. Change Your Own Life by Altering Your Thinking
You’ve probably heard 1,000 times that anything you do requires a change in mindset. It’s a mind-over-matter issue, and you must start by altering how you think. Are you pessimistic and tend to believe that the glass is always half empty rather than half full? It’s a common problem, and it’s challenging not to be negative when there’s so much negativity around you.
However, make a mental note to counteract every negative thought that enters your mind. For instance, if you start thinking pessimistic thoughts, you should compensate it with something positive.
For example, when the idea races through your mind that your life is a hot mess and you want to throw in the towel, remind yourself that you have a job, a family, and a bed to lay your head in at night.
Taking charge of your mind and what goes into it will dramatically improve your outlook. There’s something to all this positivity people talk about every day.
2. Change Your Inner Circle
You’ve probably heard a parent or grandparent use the adage that you’re known by the company you keep. In fact, the people around you significantly affect your life. Have you ever had a dish of fruit sitting on your table, and one gets a rotten spot in it?
It’s common for fruit to rot and always starts with one piece. You can always tell when one bit is turning because you will see fruit flies and gnats start hovering around. If you leave that tainted fruit in the bowl, it won’t be long until the others begin to get bad spots, too. The bacteria and mold in the fruit infect the others, causing decay.
Now, use this analogy for your life. How many times has a friend’s bad or negative attitude rubbed off on you? Your friends are a significant indicator of who you are as a person, so it might be time to get some new, positive friends.
3. Give Back to the Less Fortunate to Change Your Own Life
It’s easy to be down on yourself when you don’t consider someone worse than you. Have you complained lately that your car wasn’t the best or your clothes weren’t a name brand designer like you want? What about the person who has no car and wears clothes with holes in them?
The things that you feel down about are sometimes the most trivial matters. Try donating some time and energy to help those in need, as it will drastically change your life.
4. Stop Trying To People Please
Human nature is to crave acceptance and want to be loved. While you want people to like you, it becomes a problem when you live your entire life to please others. It’s so freeing to rip off the mask and be honest.
You don’t need to live a façade, as the people who genuinely love and accept you will be there no matter what you do in life. Your life will be much better when you stop living according to the rules that others believe make you a good person.
5. Change Your Own Life by Making Time For Self-Care
You only get one life to live, and it’s up to you to make sure that you take care of yourself. When was the last time you had a break and just did what you wanted? Free time and date night don’t constitute going to the grocery store; you must do that to survive.
You need to make time to do the things you love. Remember that if you want to have the strength and energy to help others, you must first help yourself. People think life changes must be massive, but you can start with something as small as giving yourself an hour to read a book or watch your favorite show daily.
6. Unplug it all
How many hours a day do you spend tied to a cell phone, computer, or other electronic devices? Pew Research Center did a study in 2018 regarding technology and the overbearing position in your life. They found that more than 52 percent of parents complained about their children’s internet usage but also admitted they had a problem.
How can you relax and unwind if your phone constantly ringing and dinging and your inbox is full? How can you ask your children to put down their devices when you’re unwilling to lead by example? Learn to spend time without electronics, and you will see how amazing you feel.
7. Find Your Purpose
Do you live a purpose-driven life, or do you feel like you have no reason to be here on earth? You can guarantee that your purpose is not to work and come home to cook dinner and do laundry. There’s something you were put here to do, and you must find what it is that fulfills you.
Tchiki Davis, Ph.D, wrote an article regarding finding your purpose. She states that often people feel that the world’s problems are much too big, and you’re much too small to handle them. However, there’s a thing you can do to make a difference. Most folks want a meaningful, fulfilling life but don’t know where to begin.
Davis suggests that people find out what drives and energizes them and who or what causes they would like to help. When you find your purpose, you can help improve your life.
8. Spend Time With the People You Love
No one is promised tomorrow, and you can’t go back and fix something once it’s shattered. Many relationships decay because people put jobs, the pursuit of money and happiness, and everything else before their relationship. Make time for the ones you love.
Before passing from this life, no one says they wished they worked more or made more money. Instead, most people say they wish they spent more time with the ones they loved. Change your life and make sure you include the people you love most in these changes, as people are what matter most.
9. Stop Procrastinating to Change Your Own Life
Do you tend to procrastinate? If you have something that you must do, you should do it and get it off your plate. Why put off things till tomorrow when you can accomplish them today? Some people are overwhelmed by the big picture to the point where they do nothing.
You will often see that you procrastinate regarding your larger goals. Get the big things out of the way first, then tackle the smaller, more manageable tasks. Stop being overwhelmed by where you want to be in five years and look at tomorrow when it comes to your goals.
10. Let Go of Your Regrets
When you hold on to things in your past, it will only hold you back. You want to move forward. But how can you grow and change if the past haunts you? Everyone makes mistakes, and there are skeletons in the closet that most folks try to bury.
If you put your focus on what’s behind you, you might miss the most precious things right in front of your eyes. Part of being mindful and living in the moment means that you must pay attention. Your past is not a prison sentence, and you no longer live there.
Final Thoughts on How to Change Your Own Life for the Better
According to the Social Security Administration, the average lifespan of a person is 76 for a male and 80 for a female. If you’ve spent a few decades on this earth, then you know that time flies. You wake up one day in middle age wondering where your teenage years went.
It’s time to be a happier version of yourself, and it’s time that you pay attention to the small things that matter so much. You don’t want to miss something right before you because you’re worried about something that might never happen anyway. So, it’s time to improve your life, and you can start with the simple ten steps listed above.
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