If you want to change your life and you don’t know how, you’ve come to the right place. This list of 15 things to do to change your life will give you exactly what you need to make positive changes in your life and drastically change the quality of your life.
If you’ve been stuck in a rut, or you feel unsupported, or down all the time, it is time to make a change. Life is way too short to be continuing on the same long, dark road just because you’re too scared to come out of it or too comfortable to leave..
Make the most of life and do what you want the way you want.
Take risks, be confident and make leaps to make your life the way you envisioned it to be. Living your best life isn’t a hard thing when you know what to do.
How can you really change your life and be happy?
The first essential step to change your life is to come to a point where you want it enough.
Sounds simple, but it is actually the toughest thing to do.
If you say, ‘I want to start being more organised,’ and continue on with the same sluggish routine, you do not want it enough.
If you say, ‘I want to surround myself with a more supportive group of friends,’ but you completely drop that idea the minute they call you to spend the night out (which turns into every night) and stay asleep for the rest of the day not working on yourself, you do not want it enough.
If you want to change your life in 7 days, 30 days, 3 months or however long, you need to come to a point where you’ve had enough and you know you will actively work to change your life.
I’m not saying, hit rock-bottom and begin. I’m saying, get serious.
Get serious, set yourself goals and actively work on them with discipline.
How long does it take to change your life?
Again, it depends on how bad you want it, and then how much you work on it.
It may take a few weeks for some people and a few years for others, but the key thing is to stay focussed, consistent and to never give up.
What are the 15 steps to change your life?
1. Use time management techniques
Start implementing time management techniques in your life to help you get organised! Try different things out and see what works for you.
If procrastination is one of your bad habits that stops you from getting things done, learn how to limit it.
Here’s some time management/ procrastination-limiting ideas for you to try:
- Time blocking
- Pareto’s principle
- Parkinson’s law
- To-do list/ to-do table
- Put time limits on social media platforms
- Turn off notifications
- Get apps to stop you from using your phone
2. Practice mindfulness to change your life!
Practicing mindfulness is an essential step to change your life.
When people think of changing their lives, they think of productivity and schedules and workout routines. But it is equally important to focus on the simple parts of life.
Regularly set time where you’re not doing anything and are just living in the moment. Its these moments that makes you realise what things are worthwhile and what things give you meaning in life.
Here’s some mindfulness activities:
- Meditation/ yoga
- Take a walk in nature
- Focus on your breathing
- Have breakfast without any screen time
- Read How To Do Home Décor With Plants To Improve Mental Health if you want to know how to create a calming environment at home!
3. Work on your mental health and embrace self-love
Learn to accept every part of yourself, the good and the bad. Build your self-esteem and have respect for yourself. Make your mind a home, not a prison.
Take what you consider the bad aspects of yourself and work on them. Maybe you have confidence issues, maybe you have realised you’re a bit judgemental, maybe you have a really short temper.
Also, learn from past events and let go. Really work on yourself to come to a point where you embrace every part of yourself.
Self-love activities:
- Answer some journal prompts (Try Journal Prompts For Self Love (18-WEEK CHALLENGE!))
- Do some self-care activities
- Work on your confidence levels
4. Work on your physical health
This doesn’t just include having a work out routine and taking care of your body.
It also includes drinking plenty of water, having enough sleep and eating nutrient dense foods.
The older you get, the slower your metabolism gets so it is important to work on your physical health earlier on.
Some ideas:
- Take a cold shower first thing in the morning
- Have a glass of lemon water before you have breakfast
- Walk 10,000 steps a day
- Measure your BMI
5. Let go of other people’s opinions
At the end of the day, people come and go from your life. Nothing is permanent. So why waste precious time worrying over temporary people/ things.
If you are in school reading this, there’s probably a set of ideas that everyone finds cool in school and if someone doesn’t follow it they’re not considered cool.
If you’ve finished school, you might have figured out that these set of ‘cool’ ideas are complete rubbish. They don’t matter anymore, in fact they never did.
The people you considered ‘cool’ are just normal people now, and maybe you’re in an even better position than them now!
If struggling with other people’s opinions is a struggle for you (no matter what age you are), start taking steps to stop thinking like that.
Here’s some ideas on how to begin:
- Start doing things that you like doing, even if it means no one is going with you. Its better to enjoy your time alone than force yourself to do something that you’re not comfortable with.
- In conversations, say your opinions and stick to them
6. Learn how to manage your money
#Adulting
Or more like
#Boring #Killmenow
If managing your money and savings and taxes is something that stresses you out (it’s stressing me out), the best advice I can give to you is to just force yourself to do it.
Its annoying but being in control of your finances will actually change your life by making you more organised and efficient.
Money managing tips:
- Open a savings account
- Invest in something that will help you in the future
7. Find your life purpose
This is really easy to say and hard to do, I know.
Finding your passion/ purpose and having micro passions and macro passions is what makes life exciting.
Fortunately, I’ve written a post on how to find your life purpose and unleash endless amounts of potential. Have a read of it here.
8. Surround yourself with a good support system
Having a strong support system is essential when you’re beginning to change your life. They’re the ones that help you when you’re feeling low, they’re the ones that will push you when you’re going through a rough patch, and they’re the ones that will congratulate you when you have successes.
Changing your life involves doing a lot of independent work but it also greatly helps when you have a team cheering you on as well.
How to find your support system:
- Think about the people you trust, who aren’t judgemental and give you good advice
- Think about the people who make you feel good about yourself, and who you love to spend time with.
9. Open your eyes up to the world
Educate yourself. Read books from around the world. Get involved in charity. Start your own campaign or project. Start watching series less and replace Netflix shows with documentaries or books. Book a holiday.
Don’t live your life not knowing about what’s out there. Engage with new cultures and societies whether it be as simple as watching a documentary or working as a teacher for a fixed term in another country.
If you aren’t in the position to pay for holidays abroad, you can even do trips to different cities in your country and learn about the history there.
Read:
Books To Read In Your 20’s To Be More Aware Of The World
10. Come out of your comfort zone
As well as the point above, you can come out of your comfort zone by doing other things. For example, getting involved in a public speaking competition or having a complete career change.
Constantly challenge yourself and test your limits, you’ll look back and be amazed at what you were capable of but was too scared to try.
11. Set goals
Goal-setting is a fantastic way of actively trying to change your life.
Make sure to set small goals leading to a bigger goal. Telling yourself you’re going to make five new friends in a month when you still find it hard to speak to new people (let alone approaching them) is bound for failure, and worse giving up.
Here’s some tips on goal setting:
- Set a SMART goal
- Give yourself a reward for every achievement
- Learn from your mistakes, re-plan and move on
12. Do some charity work
Helping others is one of the most gratifying feelings in the world.
As part of putting yourself out there and having new experiences, take time to give back to the world.
Here’s some ideas of what to do:
- Set up a monthly donation to your favourite charity
- Sponsor a child in need
- Volunteer in your local community centre
13. Set routines that keep you on track everyday
Setting routines is a great way of keeping on track and staying focussed. Along with your routines, having monthly tasks, week overviews and a daily to-do list are other great ways to remain focussed.
Here’s a list of routines that you can try out:
The Perfect Night Time Routine To Relax & Prepare For The Week
Sunday Routine To Prepare For A Hard Week & Skyrocket Productivity
The Realistic Morning Routine For Maximum Productivity
14. Think of your future self
Taking the necessary steps now to ensure that you have a good life in the future will change your life in a way you may not directly see now.
You may find it annoying that you’re having to put a portion of your earnings into your savings but it will add up and give you a good future in the end!
Time flies fast, and it is important that you think about what lies ahead.
15. Take time out to do self care
… And treat yourself regularly too!
Only you know your exact wants, needs and desires so who better to care for you than yourself?
Having self love and knowing how to take care of yourself is a major step that will help you change your life.
Here’s some self care ideas:
SELF CARE IDEA (Part 1) – Find One That Suits Your Personality Type
SELF CARE IDEA (Part 2) – Find One That Suits Your Personality Type
Creative Hobbies For Adults That Will Take You Back To Your Childhood!
Ideas For Self Care When Driving Alone (Easy & Life Changing!)
If you’re looking to see how to change yourself completely, just stop right there.
You do NOT have to change yourself completely. You have amazing qualities and traits, and you need to champion those while working on the other parts of yourself.
Change the parts of your life that make you sad or frustrated or hopeless. But use your best qualities to push on when it gets hard, and to be proud of yourself when its all done.
Even if it means trying a little at the beginning and stopping when it gets too hard, it’s fine.
Just don’t give up, you owe it to yourself.
Take baby steps until you feel stronger and then watch how you fly.
