How to get better in life

How to Improve Your Life Today: 10 Tips

1. Writing your story every day

You’re the owner of your life. How do you want that to look today?

“For life improvement, I suggest considering what you’d like to accomplish today, and the vibe you want to carry,” says John Duffy, PhD, a clinical psychologist and author of the book “The Available Parent: Radical Optimism for Raising Teens and Tweens.”

Like any author, you may have a few story plots to choose from. Duffy suggests you try to identify which is the better story for you and go for it.

“The better story might be getting up earlier rather than sleeping in [or] reaching out to help someone instead of passively ignoring their need,” he adds.

2. Identifying what’s keeping you stuck

How to improve your life may be a matter of identifying those things that get in the way of said improvement. Are there certain events or people in your life that you feel have become roadblocks to your development?

Feeling stuck might look different for everyone. You may feel like it regardless of the circumstances in your life, or you might have specific relationships or tasks that take energy and focus from you.

You might want to start exploring what “feeling stuck” means to you, if anything at all. Maybe you feel empty or lonely, or perhaps you engage in procrastination.

“This approach gets you to be both reflective and active, [which are] two steps necessary for change,” says Deborah Serani, PsyD, a clinical psychologist.

Serani also recommends considering these three steps:

Stop. “Oftentimes it’s a blind spot you can’t see, so taking time to mull things over helps you see more clearly,” says Serani. “Is it a decision you’re afraid to make? Are certain people bringing you down? Are you in a cycle of negative thinking?”
Look around. Serani recommends you consider how this blind spot is touching your life. “Is it only at home? Or just at work [or] school?” she adds.
Listen to yourself. What are your heart and mind telling you about what you need to do? “Learning to reflect on your inner thoughts and feelings will help you trust putting them into action,” says Serani.

Consider exploring these areas of your life:

interpersonal conflict and friction
career goals and job opportunities
emotional regulation and how it impacts your mood
physical health and lifestyle habits that impact it

3. Focusing on right now

Are you overly concerned about past mistakes or what will happen tomorrow? Focusing on self-growth and life improvement may require you to live in the present moment.

According to Alison Thayer, LCPC, a psychotherapist in Chicago, focusing on right now can be challenging, especially in today’s world.

“Today’s technology and expectation to be connected or available to work at all times is one of the most prominent challenges people face when trying to be present in the here and now,” she says.

So, how can you focus more on the present? Consider these:

a mindfulness practice
accepting the things you can’t control
living more intentionally
reaching peace of mind
letting go of unhealthy attachments
forgiving yourself
engaging in grounding exercises

4. Getting better at time management

Among the things you can do to improve your life right now, managing time efficiently may be key.

Time management helps you achieve more, improve focus, stay motivated, and avoid feeling like you’re wasting time.

The feeling itself of being productive may improve your mood and your mental well-being.

You can get better at time management by:

blocking time on your calendar for must-dos and honoring those time blocks
stacking habits or doing a few things at the same time. For example, reviewing your calendar while you get breakfast.
starting with the most challenging tasks early in the morning or when you feel you have the most energy
finding an organizational or tracking system that works for you and gives you a glance of what you’ve accomplished throughout the day
scheduling periodic pauses during the day to reset your mind and body
rewarding yourself when you complete a task

5.

Setting realistic and attainable goals

The best things for self-improvement aren’t necessarily the most complex and difficult to obtain. Often, improving your life is taking care of the details.

“Setting goals is a key step in accomplishments,” says Thayer. “However, […] lofty goals […] may not even be realistic.”

If you’re setting sky-high goals from the start, you may end up feeling like you’re not improving at all.

“Holding ourselves to goals that we cannot reach can damage our self-esteem and inhibit our interest in trying to reach these goals again,” says Thayer. “When setting your mind to reach a goal, ask yourself ‘Is this realistic and can I actually attain this goal?’ If the answer is no, consider breaking the goal down into intermediate steps or modifying it all together.”

6. Challenging negative thoughts

Everyone uses common cognitive distortions to explain everyday situations. These are filters you inadvertently put on your thoughts that may make you see your world more negatively than it actually is. Cognitive distortions are the foundation for negative thinking.

One way of challenging these negative thoughts is to focus on the evidence rather than the thought itself.

For example, if you tend to think that nobody likes you at work, you can stop yourself for a minute and ask yourself, “what evidence do I really have that this is a fact?” Then, try to start gathering information. You might find out that your thought isn’t accurate or that it doesn’t apply to all scenarios.

Often, your mood may be a result of the things you think. If you change the way you think, you may see a change in the way you feel. The more you challenge negative thinking, the more you can improve your life.

Thayer also suggests taking a different and more positive stance whenever you’re saying negative things to yourself.

“When things aren’t going right, ask yourself ‘Could things be worse?’ or ‘Is there anything I can take out of this that can be a benefit to me?'” adds Thayer. “More often than not, there’s a positive aspect to things that happen, even those that feel negative. ”

7. Getting your 8 to 9 hours of sleep

If you’re thinking about how to improve your life right now, sleep hygiene should be top on your list of things to do.

Sleeping well has a direct effect on your mood, ability to think, and your energy levels, which are essential to doing the things you want to do.

“It’s easy to steal time from sleep by staying up ‘just a little longer,’ whether it’s to finish the laundry or a TV show,” says clinical psychologist Ari Tuckman, PsyD. “The problem is that the reward is immediate, which makes it hard to resist. But the price is paid tomorrow.”

Tuckman says that neglecting your sleep time, even if for one night, may hamper your ability to:

solve problems
focus on tasks
gather information to make decisions

It can also make you feel more irritable and short tempered. “This gets even worse when several short nights stack up,” he adds.

Try to establish a bedtime routine so you fall asleep around the same time every night. Try to resist the impulse to scroll social media before bedtime, and instead engage in relaxing activities before bed. After a night of adequate sleep, you may notice an improvement in your mood and thinking process right away.

Practicing relaxation techniques can also help you sleep better and feel mentally alert.

8. Participating in physical activity

Moving your body can improve your life, mentally and physically, in a matter of days.

“Regular exercise is an important part of not just physical health, but also mental health,” explains Tuckman. “It’s also one of the first things to go when we get busy.”

Try to incorporate exercise or moving into your daily routine, so no matter how busy you are, you’ll always find a time and space to do it.

Moving can look like:

dancing around your house
doing some pool laps
going to the gym
using the stairs instead of the elevator
walking around your neighborhood or preferred area
doing yoga
following a YouTube workout video
walking around your office or home for 5 minutes every hour

Try to have at least 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity every day. You may find that you feel more energetic, clear-minded, and optimistic after you exercise.

9. Practicing gratitude

Research shows that practicing gratitude improves the way you feel about your life and your overall life quality.

You can become more grateful every day by:

mentally or physically listing all the things that are positive and healthy in your life
recognizing the skills and qualities you’ve developed in yourself
verbally expressing thanks to important people in your life
ending your day by thinking about the positive things that you experienced today
starting your day by focusing on the opportunities ahead

Practicing mental subtraction can also boost gratitude in your life. This means realizing the impact events and people have on your life by thinking about what life could be right now if you didn’t have them.

10. Setting an intention

One of the best things for self-improvement is to set an intention for your life, your day, your hour, and everything you do.

One way of setting an intention is to practice visualization and see yourself accomplishing those things you want.

“Positive visualization increases the likelihood of success,” says Joyce Marter, LCPC, a licensed counselor in Chicago. “We largely create our own realities through our thoughts and intentions, so clarify them by writing out your goals and objectives.”

Thayer suggests carving out time to set intentions for every day. “Make it a ritual and part of your daily routine, like in the shower, when driving to work, or drinking your morning coffee,” she said.

Sometimes, it’s possible that despite your best intentions and efforts, you still feel you haven’t improved the way you want or need. This is natural and common.

Consider reaching out to a mental health professional to explore possible reasons you feel this way and how to cope. They can help you develop a self-improvement plan that works for your specific needs.

You can improve your life and yourself starting today. Self-improvement may look different for everyone, so the first step might be to figure out what “improvement” means to you. Is it a different job? A new relationship? A sense of satisfaction?

Other things you can do to improve your life right now include sleeping well, practicing gratitude, moving more, and focusing on the evidence rather than what negative thoughts tell you.

10 Ways to Make Your Life Better, Starting Today

Source: Julenochek/Shutterstock

The world is full of opportunities, but sometimes too much thinking can get in the way. Changing your life for the better is about picking a destination and taking one step at a time to get there. If you try to take shortcuts, you may actually end up making your journey longer and more arduous. Getting serious about making improvements is a great start, and taking action is the next important step.

Here, then, are 10 tips to help you start improving your life:

Be grateful for what you have. When you stop to remember what you have instead of worrying about what you may not be getting, it changes your perspective for the better.
Start your day the night before. The most successful people I know end their workday by making a list of what they have to do the following day or two ahead. This allows the subconscious to work on things while you sleep.
Be ready to grow up. Adults have the ability to learn to delay gratification, but we also have a choice as to how to behave when things don’t go our way. If you remember to take the high road, you’ll end up where you want to be.
Drop the attitude. If you think the world owes you a living, you might want to reevaluate your position. It is quite possible that, by feeling entitled, you are pushing away things and people you might like.
Don’t ignore your emotions, but remember that feelings aren’t facts. Emotions need to be honored—they don’t have to be justified—but just because you have a feeling doesn’t mean that you are right.
Watch out for negative thinking. Sometimes we get into negative feedback loops and don’t even know it. If thoughts of being helpless and hopeless continue to enter your mind, you might just need to take a nap or perhaps talk with someone who can help.
Set up and stick to a routine. We are creatures of habit; and good habits, such as getting regular exercise, make us feel better. Maintaining good habits also helps us feel that we have some control over our lives. Just do it.
Drop your resentments. We all have them. Whether they are toward our parents, partners, or peers, resentments take up too much psychic space to allow us to function properly. By choosing to drop them, you will make your life much lighter. But the hardest part is making the decision to let your resentments go.
Know who you really are, and learn to honor yourself. We all fake it from time to time and once in a while, this can be a good thing, but never compromise your personal values and always strive to be your best self.
Enjoy a part of every day. Look for those little bright moments that happen all the time but that we often fail to recognize. Make a point of seeing some good in every day, and you will change your life.

5 ways to change yourself for the better

August 28, 2021 Motivation

You will save a lot of energy, time and money in the future if you start working on yourself now.

1. Leave no loopholes for yourself

Imagine a person who wants to stop eating sweets or drinking alcohol. He promises himself to abstain all day and only in the evening to eat a small piece of dessert or drink a little. As a result, he cannot think of anything else all day long. This makes it a hundred times harder to completely break a bad habit. nine0003

If you really want to change your behavior, give up the idea that you can do something 98%.

Consistency is extremely important, otherwise you will always waste energy on motivating yourself. You will promise yourself to change, but always leave a loophole. You seem to convince yourself in advance that you can't handle it.

But you are stronger than you think. You don't need loopholes, you can do it anyway. Of course, in the process of self-improvement it will be difficult for you, it will seem that you are killing a part of yourself. That's right: you kill the old parts so that the new ones can grow and flourish. nine0003

2. Change one part of life to change all the rest

A person cannot do right in one area of life while he is wrong in others.

Mahatma Gandhi

Positive changes in one area of life, even very small ones, give a powerful impetus. The main thing is to use the received motivation to change other areas of life day by day. For example, ask yourself every day, “Have I improved my physical, emotional, mental, and mental health by at least 1%?” nine0003

The better you get, the more you want to improve further. The more you study, the more you realize that you still have a lot to learn. The realization that today you have become better than you were yesterday is inspiring. Just imagine what you can achieve tomorrow!

Don't worry if you don't know where to start. The main thing is to start with something. Yes, change doesn't happen all at once, but it does start with a single action.

3. Believe that you can achieve anything

You will not achieve more than what you believe you can achieve. So the first step is to change your beliefs. Ask yourself:

Do I have big enough goals? (Do I even have long-term goals?)
What happens if I increase them 10 times?
Do I believe in my success? Or am I just pretending?

Deep down, most people do not believe that their life can be extraordinary. Their ideal future just doesn't seem like a reasonable goal to aim for. But if you want to change your habits and improve, you need to believe that you can become a better person. Try to imagine something bigger and better than what you have now, and strive for it. nine0003

4. Change your environment

If we don't shape and control our environment, it will shape and control us.

Marshall Goldsmith

coach

We tend to think that our desire alone is enough to overcome the habits that have developed over the years. But when the environment stays the same, don't expect your behavior to change significantly.

Of course, changing the environment is not easy. It will even seem to you that some aspects cannot be changed - this is natural. Start with what you can change. For example, do not tolerate mediocrity and those who are willing to put up with it. nine0003

5. Make slightly better decisions every day

The main problem is that we can't wait to see the results. Gradual little progress does not seem like progress to us. Because of this, attempts to change are often frustrated. Seeing no quick results, people give up and fall back into old habits.

But man is incredibly flexible. You can adapt and change almost anything about yourself. The ideal life as you imagine it is possible. To become better and achieve what you want, just make decisions every day better than yesterday. nine0003

6 great ways to create ourselves

Perfection is the only thing in a person that has no limit. How to become better on your own and stop doing nothing? Why do you want to grow, despite the stability? How to start trying, and not just pretending? If an insight has come to you that life is becoming plain or even going downhill, we begin combat readiness. We eliminate the shortcomings today, using simple tips. By starting now, you will at least save precious years, and at the most you will become better! nine0003

1. Live consciously.

How to become better if you do not give an account of thoughts and actions? We are not robots that live on autopilot. This is not possible, because blind adherence to the schedule erases the boundaries of the world. Mindfulness is the ability to understand everything around and give it meaning.

Relationships in the family are not without meaning, traveling to observe the world is also not without meaning. So it is important to reinforce daily affairs with connections with what we are doing it for. There is such a clever expression - causal relationships. This is the law of the Universe, which works between a person and the outside world. nine0003

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2. Appreciate your own and other people's time.

Phone calls are delayed for 40 minutes instead of a short "Hi, how are you, what's new?". Friends are constantly late for any meeting, although they agreed on 17:00. Disrespect for one's own and other people's time lives in many people. Lack of punctuality, brevity in actions create other bad habits. Disrespect for time is a manifestation of lack of concentration, without which you will not go far in life. You can become better if you attach importance to every minute of yours and someone else's. nine0003

3. Don't focus only on yourself.

So that a person does not become disillusioned with the world, it is important to pay attention to those around him. Not everything revolves around the person itself - there are so many things around that need attention. Compassion is a personality strength that many people neglect. Charity and mutual assistance, support reveal the inner potential.

Financial assistance to orphans, planting a tree in the yard or a community work day in the park will not do any harm. It is also important to listen to others. The advice of experienced people can bring undeniable benefits to someone who is just starting development. In the understanding of the surrounding people lies the philosophy of self-consciousness. nine0003

Pass the selfishness test

4. Learn to be flexible in society.

Criticism destroys self-esteem and moral pressure? You can not take everything to heart! It is normal that some do not agree with your opinion, dispute it, moreover, dissuade it. It is important to have your own opinion, which is not amenable to other people's judgments.

Listening to advice is one thing, but being plasticine in the wrong hands is unacceptable. Not everything has to go to the account of the person! People may just like to play with the emotions of others. If you show that it is not interesting, then they will eventually fall behind. nine0003

5. Appreciate yourself.

How to become better when there is no feeling of self-love inside? Rejection of one's life is a very powerful decision, but rejection of oneself is detrimental. When a person has love for his individuality, this feeling is reflected in his environment. After hard work, you can spend time with a light soul in the company. Go to the movies, sing karaoke, take time to the spa - relaxation and encouragement of their efforts give a strong motivation. It is worth saying to yourself: “You are the one who will be able to come to success, and I believe in you. You have strength and you are a great fellow! Such words out loud help to reinforce self-confidence and not give up. nine0003

6. Speaking and doing are inseparable things.

Thoughtlessly saying “And I will have a big house, and I will have public recognition, and I am this and that” is a stupid idea. This is familiar to many, and it is periodically traced in ourselves. Reliability is a trait of a man of his word who does not scatter to the wind. Reliable people are often guided by others and set as an example. It is important to develop the will and character, which will speak of inner strength. It was said that the meeting would take place tomorrow, and then I suddenly felt overwhelmed - it’s worth going and meeting with responsibility face to face. How long have you been talking about losing weight? A great reason to start right now! nine0003

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How to make yourself better?

The desire to grow includes a reset of a mind that has been dormant for a long time. “Life goes on as usual” or “everything is fine with me”, and even more often “slowly” - this is what we hear every day from people around us. You look at such a person and it reflects all the pain, depression that have grown over the years. Of course, every day can't feel like a Disney fairy tale with rainbows and cotton candy—anything can happen. If this always continues, then you need to include the Sherlock Holmes method. Why not become a detective in your own investigation? nine0003

How to become better by the famous detective method? Be attentive to details! By adhering to just two rules, a person can acquire that lacking skill - concentration. So, what is the secret:

You don't need to spread yourself over a lot. It is enough to pay attention to one thing. How do errors occur? If you do things in a hurry, as they say, lax. It is difficult to keep important information in mind if you are in two markets (many will understand).
Emotions are everything! How to become better if nerves constantly rule the parade? Anxiety and many other negative phenomena break the whole picture of the world. To think creatively, it’s worth turning on the positive side of yourself more openly. A pessimist always looks at the world worse than a positive one. nine0036

The ability to become better develops in the presence of only two components : great desire and penetrating perseverance. Without them, change will simply bypass doors and not knock on them. Now you need to take a piece of paper and a pen. For the solemnity of the process, they must be beautiful (this is not unimportant) - so the process will be official. It is important to write down the following points that you need to adhere to on the way to a new "I":

Switch from frivolous goals to more important ones. At first the mind will be a little shocked, but without it in any way! Quit your job within the next few months for your dream job. Develop self-control - do not sit for hours at the TV, computer, but do yoga, reading literature. In general, what we have been thinking about for a long time. nine0036
Conduct a deep analysis of reality. Write things that do not suit you and you need to do away with them. Near each - write ways to solve the problem, replace "this" with "other".
Write a step by step plan. Do not earn a million in 3 years, but paint how you can do it. Under the big words should be the stages of implementation. It is worth including as many resources as possible to fulfill the dream.
Work on shortcomings. What is killing time? Not going to the forest for mushrooms (on the contrary, this is a plus), but thoughtlessly sitting at the phone, playing consoles until night, aimless shopping trips. It is important to eliminate the stimuli that hypnotize us. nine0036
Monitor the fulfillment of goals. It is important to record each result in a diary and compare with each other. How to become better if you do not understand at what stage you are now? It's nice to realize that a month ago we were at the foot of the mountain, and today we are practically at the ridge.
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