9 Ways To Change Your Life
1. Begin waking up on purpose.
Don’t just wake up because you have to go to work or school. Wake up on purpose with a purpose. There are many things to do, small changes to make, that can have a very positive impact on your life in a short time. These things include exercise, journaling, meditation, visualizations, and many other things. A few resources you can check out are Hal Elrod’s Miracle Morning, Admiral William McRaven’s Make Your Bed, or The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. This will probably mean giving up a little sleep so you aren't rushing out the door, but it will yield huge results.
While the importance of working out may be overstated and everyone may know about it some people don't know where to start. If you want to start a habit you need to give yourself a break and start small. The first couple weeks of working out will simply be to start the habit. Either go get a gym membership and walk for 5 or 10 minutes on the treadmill do this every day for month, after that month maybe step it up to 15 or 20 minutes but now you jog for two minutes. If health is a priority then working out will be something you do for the rest of your life. there is no end goal, so you have time. Start slowly and work up to more. Keeping records of your food intake, work outs, and body measurements will help you see that you are making progress.
Find time for friends is becoming increasingly harder. We live in a world where social media, rising house prices, demanding work, and family take up a lot of our time. Spending time with folks other than the people at house or work is a very good thing. Not only does it give you some different perspective but it gives you a sense of community which is something that humans have evolved a need for through all of the generations. Find a group of like minded individuals that you can schedule to meet up with a few times a month and don't flake.
4. Be Grateful and Let People Know About It
Being grateful for the things you have is an obvious choice, however, most of us forget to be grateful. That in and of itself is a reason to be grateful- Being so comfortable that you take things for granted. We are all interconnected. The quote “No man is an island” if you really think about the truth of it you will observe that everything from the clothes you wear, the food you eat, the car you drive, to the residence in which you abide has been grown, made, stitched, built, transported, flown, shipped, etc.. by countless other people. Take time out to thank people or write letter to people who changed your life. Don't worry about a response just do it for yourself.
Not only do I mean for you to find some way to express the creativity hidden inside all of us but use that art to channel the feelings you may not want to admit that you have, creatively. Instead of drawing a burning building with all of your co-workers trapped inside, make a funny comic about the dumb things people say around the water cooler. Instead of flipping off the guy who cut you off design a driverless car. Ya dig? Instead of feeling hopeless because of something the president said write a short story where you describe a character trapped in a world where angels and demons fight for airtime at a radio station. Get creative and get cathartic
6. Don’t Talk About it, Be About It
Smart people don't have to go around telling everyone they are smart. The Alpha Male doesn't need to shove it down everyone’s throat that he is the alpha. People who tell others about things they are going to do or start have a much lower chance of actually doing whatever they said they were going to do. Live your life based around the path less traveled of action not around the beaten trail of tomorrows plans.
7. Unplugg And Take Yourself On A Date
Do something you enjoy once a week or at least twice a month. Even if it is only an hour. Something you can do alone, so you don't have to worry about anyone asserting their ideas or plans, and you can spend some time alone where you don't feel lonely. It is totally ok to be unreachable for a weekend or a day or a few hours. If there are people who rely on knowing where you are or what you are doing let them know you are turning your phone off for a bit. Do something that doesn't require answering to anyone or anything.
8. Find Ways to Get Better At Your Job
Stop worrying about “finding your passion.” This sort of goes along with the gratitude thing. Be grateful for your current job because there are people out there who would love to have it. Unless your job is killing kittens or poisoning the lakes, in which case you should find a new job. The thought that we have one true love or one purpose makes us constantly question if this the person we are supposed to be with or if this is the career we are supposed to have. The grass is green where you water it. Studies show that job fulfillment is based on competency, autonomy, and feeling like you are making a difference.
A lot of us are caught up on past hurts. We get stuck in a place where we no longer associate with people or groups of people. Forgiveness does not mean forgetting the wrong, it also does not mean condoning the action. Forgiveness is actually for yourself. Forgiveness is a process through which you realize that no action can be taken to undo the wrong, you can simply say I forgive you, but what you are really saying is that I am moving on. If you don't forgive people for the wrongs they commit against you purposefully or otherwise, you give them a sort of power over your emotions, and forgiveness means moving on.
