8 Ways You Can Actually Change Your Life For The Better This Year
NEW YEAR, NEW YOU! It's the cliché slogan we see splattered everywhere this time of year, typically as part of a promotional initiative designed to entice us into a gym membership, self-help masterclass, dieting regimen or something else along those lines.
At their core, and justifiably so, these campaigns are of course financially driven, but in most cases, that which they are offering does have the ability to drastically improve our lives. The challenge is that getting to the point where they do, most often requires a lot more than signing up with the best of intentions... as it should.
Real change takes work, and while many of us may consider ourselves hard workers within the hours of 9 to 5, our non-working hours statistically don't tell the same story. Take for example a recent article that revealed that 63% of American gym members do not use their memberships at all, and 82% of them go less than once per week on average.
Let me set the record straight that my intention here is not to endorse or suggest a "hustle" mentality, in fact I actually really value down time both personally taken and collectively spent with those that we love. My hope here is to share 8 simple ways in which we can all change our lives for the better this year with no membership required:
Watch the content of this article as a video or keep reading below!
1. Set Better Boundaries
Whether or not you consider yourself a people-pleaser, we all have at least a person or two that we regularly extend ourselves for despite our best interests. I'm not suggesting that we make ourselves completely unavailable to those around us, but rather that we commit to more concretely saying "no" to that which does not resonate so that we can make more time to say "yes" to that which does.
2. Cut The Comparison
I hate to break it to you, but there will always be someone (if not many someones) that will be better looking, more talented and more well-respected than you are -and I guarantee that if we asked them, they too would feel the same way. While some will credit a level of comparison as a motivating force in their life, there are far more of us who instead use it as fuel to shut down our dreams and/ or justify the perpetual procrastination of our goal pursuit.
3. Make Two Lists & Adjust Accordingly
Step 1 simply involves taking 10-15 minutes to write out everything (and I mean everything) that makes you happy in life. If you enjoy taking your dog for a walk, write it down, if you enjoy playing rugby, write it down, etc. Step 2 requires you to set aside another 10-15 minutes to write out everything that you currently do on a regular weekly basis. The mind-blowing 3rd and final step is to adjust accordingly. Not by immediately ditching everything in list 2 for everything in list 1, but instead by making more time for that which is on list 1 by eliminating some of what unnecessarily exists on list 2 and expanding from there over time.
4. Cut Back On Screen Time
We're all addicted, and if you happen to be one of the rapidly diminishing holdouts (which is unlikely based on you finding and reading this article) then run and never look back! A 2019 look at data drawn from 11,000 users of the RescueTime App revealed that we check our phones on average 58 times per day for an average daily screen time of 3 hours and 15 minutes. On it's own that may not sound terrible, but when you combine it with the time many of us spend staring at other screens for work or entertainment purposes its downright scary. One of the easiest ways to drastically change your life is to consciously cutback on your screen time and challenge yourself to fill that time in other ways that benefit you.
5. Drink More Water
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine determined that the adequate daily fluid intake for males is 3.7 liters for men and 2.7 liters for women. Are you drinking enough? If not, simply making a point of drinking enough water daily could be a massive game changer in improving your quality of life. Don't believe me? Check out these 15 benefits to doing so.
6. Track Your Spending
Regardless of your current financial position, one of the easiest ways to improve your life is to begin keeping track of your spending. While this may sound tedious, it could be as simple as going through your monthly visa or bank statement and grouping where your money was spent. Chances are there is an area or two that are fuelled by seemingly insignificant purchases that collectively are racking up to a sizeable amount on a monthly basis. Becoming aware of this and consciously adjusting in response could just be the ticket to helping you finally save up for that life-changing experience you've been waiting for.
7. Stop Just Reading & Start Doing
The fact that you actively seek out content designed to improve your life is an accomplishment in and of itself, but there is no better time than now to put everything you've read into practice if you actually want change to occur.
8. Stop Fearing Change
Quite possibly the easiest, albeit also the most intangible to actually change your life is to stop fearing change. Remind yourself that everything you now have grown to know and become comfortable with was once outside of your comfort zone, so you're actually quite experienced when it comes to change as a whole despite what your mind may try and trick you to believe.
For more brutally honest personal development content designed for those who actually want to change be sure to subscribe to my YouTube Channel and to follow me on Instagram. And to receive my free eBook on 5 Simple Daily Hacks For A Genuinely Happier Life and to be one of the first to find out about the release of my upcoming book click HERE.
Article featured image by bruce mars from Pexels.
