Are you stuck?
Fed up with being fed up?
Sick and tired of being sick and tired?
Tired of talking about change that never happens?
You weren’t born to just pay bills and die.
You deserve a better life.
How To Live A Better Life – 33 Simple Things You Can Do
1. Set an intention to live with kindness and awareness
Kindness, compassion and love makes a better society.
You cannot expect to understand everyone, we are not all on the same journey.
But some people are unkind or even downright evil, I hear you say.
They are of course best avoided. But that is not the point here.
Surround yourself with positive people. Get rid of the toxic ones in your life. You become whom you associate with.
My dear friend Craig Ballantyne has some wise words about conflict which I often share:
I do not engage in confrontations with anyone, in-person or online. This is a waste of time and energy. If I have caused harm, I apologize and fix the situation. And then I take a deep breath, relax, breathe out, and re-focus my efforts back on my work and goals.
A better life can be yours.
You can live the life of your dreams.
2. Live A Better Life – Drink one more glass of water.
Our bodies are composed of about 60% water. Drinking water helps our body to maintain a healthy balance of body fluids.
These fluids can play an important role for the vital activities like digestion and absorption of foods, blood circulation, salvia production, transportation of nutrients, and to maintain our body temperature.
Drink 8 glasses or more water every day.
Many people are chronically dehydrated without even knowing it.
Don’t be one of them.
3. Don’t lose hope
As Daniel Kahneman said…
‘Nothing in life is as important as you think it is when you are thinking about it.’
Don’t lose hope, you never know what tomorrow might bring.
Those things you worry about are rarely as bad as you imagine they will be.
Sometimes you must hurt in order to know, fall in order to grow, lose in order to gain, because most of life’s greatest lessons are learned through pain.
4. Nurture your mind with great thoughts.
Where your thoughts go, your life follows.
Choose your thoughts wisely, because your life will always move in the direction of your thoughts.
And stop whining about the things that go wrong in your life.
You will never go higher than you think.
5. Stop Comparing Yourself To Others
There is always someone faster, better or smarter than us.
Everyone is different, with different levels of intelligence and skills.
If you compare yourself to others you will be miserable most of your life.
You compete with yourself only… even if society tries to make you think the opposite.
Enjoy your own life without comparing it with that of another.
~ Marquis de Condorcet
Image credit: CHIBIRD
How to change your life for the better
6. Scroll less. Watch less TV
Switch of the TV, Netflix, etc
Set internet controls. Ration the amount of News Watching you do or eliminate it all together.
It’s hard to put down the cell phone and pick up a book when technology dominates your life.
There is no need to quit technology altogether, but it is smart to reduce the time you invest in unproductive activities and increase the time you put on to reach your goals.
Limit social media use, since it is one of the biggest time wasters.
7. Do one small thing that progresses a major life goal
Having a major life goal and not progressing it is an ENERGY DRAIN.
If you want to write a book or start a blog – write one paragraph.
If you want to run a marathon – run one mile.
Do a financial health check.
Map out your monthly income and expenditure.
Save more.
What one thing should you be doing right now, that you are not?
Do it now!
8. Stop being afraid
Stop being afraid of what could go wrong and start thinking what could go right.
One day I will write a book about this.
We generate fear while we sit. We overcome them by action.
9. Choose comfort for your future self over comfort right now.
Imagine you are living forward, 10 years from now and looking back.
What would your future self wish you had been doing today?
One of my favorite quotes about entrepreneurship is…
Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won’t, so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can‘t
This quote can be applied to everyone, no matter their profession.
Get started NOW.
One day you’ll be older and wiser, what would this person say to you today
~ Kamal Ravikant
10. To Live A Better Life – Let Go of Regrets
Own it.
Learn from it.
The past should be a learning experience not an everlasting punishment.
What’s done is done.
Whatever has happened to you in your past has no power over this present moment, because life is now.
Oprah Winfrey
Address the choices you’ve made in the past and change the choices you’ll make in the future.
Make room for the new…
Some changes look negative on the surface but you will soon realize that space is being created in your life for something new to emerge.
– Eckhart Tolle
11: Work for a cause, not for applause
Work for a cause, not for applause.
Live life to express, not to impress.
Don’t strive to make your presence noticed, just make your absence felt.
12. For a better life – Stop Complaining!
Appreciate how lucky you are every day.
Oh, and stop judging people…
Judging a Person Does Not Define Who They Are… It Defines Who You Are.
Judging = Complaining!
Next time you feel like complaining, ask yourself…
What is good about this situation?
What can I learn from this situation?
Recommended Reading: 21 Key Principles For Success
13. Enjoy the simple things in life.
Simplifying your life is about having more, not less of the good things…
If you think simplifying your life will mean making less money or enjoying less success, think again. Simplifying your life is about having more, not less of the good things. More passion. More meaningful work and relationships. And you can have more of those things by having fewer of the bad things – unsatisfying rituals, self-destructive habits, energy-draining feelings, and so on.
Mark Ford
Live in the moment – appreciate the sounds, smells and sights that you take for granted everyday.
Remind yourself every waking hour to do this.
Happiness is a matter of choice.
You chose it rather than it choosing you.
14.Where focus goes, energy flows
What you focus on is what you get!
No matter how bad you may think things are, there are at least a few things you could be grateful for.
Most people set their goals, and commit only a short period of time.
People who succeed in life have true commitment and laser-sharp focus on the things they want to achieve.
The man who chases two rabbits, catches neither.
– Confucius
People who say “No” are more likely to be focused on their goals rather than those who say “Yes” to every new shiny object.
15. Recognize that everything worthwhile has a cost – be willing to pay it
Every activity has an opportunity cost.
Ask, ‘Is this activity worth what I am sacrificing for it?’
Clarity of purpose must come first. Be absolutely ruthless in refusing to spend time where it simply cannot give you optimal results.
~ Steve Pavlina
A successful life requires a series of trade-offs. You give up one thing to achieve another.
If you are an entrepreneur, you will work long hours to make your business a success. If you are also a parent, that may mean missing our on some of your children special occasions.
There is no judgement here, these are just facts.
Likewise if you fail to save now or invest now the chances are high that in latter years you will not be able to afford the lifestyle you hoped for.
Again, no judgement. This is how life is. Recognize it and choose wisely.
16. Focus on Fewer Things (and Get Really, Really Good at Them)
You can’t do it all and you don’t have to.
As we discussed above, everything has an opportunity cost.
If your hourly rate is $1000 per hour, there is no point in doing $20 an hour tasks.
But let us look at the bigger picture…
What are you best at?
(I would also ask what do you enjoy doing as invariably you will end up being good at it)
What 3 things are you best at?
If you can find a business or a career that incorporates the three things you are best at it is almost guaranteed you will become world class at them.
Or at the very least, better than the average.
17. To Live A Better Life – Talk to yourself kindly
Take some time to notice your self-talk.
To notice how you speak to yourself.
Use kind words.
Don’t judge yourself harshly – rather observe.
Judgement is different from observation.
Judgement is when you attach value to something that’s happened or happening.
Observation is looking at what happened and not attaching value.
You will learn from observation. Observations lead to improvements.
Observation is positive – judgement is negative.
18. Notice what your body is feeling.
Scan down your body, notice how your body is feeling right now.
Is there anything that needs attention?
During a body scan meditation you bring attention to your body, noticing different sensations, as you mentally scan down, from head to toe.
19. Declutter Your Life & Your Surroundings
To focus on the things that matter, you need to de-clutter your space by removing unnecessary items. Living a simple life by owning less stuff is a great idea. We need much less stuff than we think we need.
But, if you still want to keep everything you have, use a system that allows you to be organized. If you have too many things that are not organized, you will feel overwhelmed, anxious and not focused.
If you receive a lot of paperwork sort through it often. Set up a filing system and shred the rest.
Set a system up so that you only “touch” that paperwork once, rather than shuffling it around your desk.
The same applies to important online communications. Have a system for responding to important emails, etc.
20. To Live A Better Life – Say NO more often!
Say no and own it!
Set your life priorities.
Be firm in saying no to the things that are not important to you…
Those things that do not align with your goals!
Warren Buffett says “Really Successful People Say No To Almost Everything”
When you understand that you will be inclined to say No more often.
21. Stretch!
Stretch out your body by stretching your various muscle groups for five or 10 minutes.
A writing coach I know, recommends writing straight for 33 minutes and then exercising for 6 minutes.
His recommended form of exercise is stretching [Body balance, Yoga, Pilates]
If you’re in need of a five-minute full body stretch, then this video is for you!
This routine has 14 stretches, held for 20 second each, that will loosen your major muscle groups from head to toe.
22. Say goodbye to people who don’t bring positive energy into your life.
Most of us have heard this, or a variation of it…
‘You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.’
Tony Robbins, Eben Pagan and Tim Ferris have all said it, but I believe the originator was the late great Jim Rohn.
Join a Mastermind – or create your own mastermind of like-minded positive people.
Don’t be the smartest person in the room.
Hangout with, and learn from, people smarter than yourself.
Respectfully decline the company of negative people.
23. Embrace Your Flaws
Flaws are what brings individualization to every one of us. Without them we would all be looking, behaving and sounding the same. Life would be without color, rhyme, or meaning.
Whenever you feel your shortcomings hold you back, think of Marilyn Monroe. Her blemish is regarded as one of the most famous beauty icons of all time.
It is not a flaw – it is a trademark!
24. Keep showing up
Show up. Keep showing up.
Somebody successful said: 99% of success is just showing up.
I write a lot about entrepreneurship and success. I have interviewed lots of successful people.
Interestingly, most of them are humble individuals.
Some play down their success and suggest they were lucky.
But the common theme I discovered was that the harder they worked, the more luck they had.
Or, the more they showed up, the more “luck” and success they had!
25. Do more than is expected of you
Years ago, a mentor said to me – “Barry – do the job before you get paid for the job.”
This is a tip I have passed on to many young people over the years, including my children.
It easier to progress in a career than most people imagine by applying this principle.
Sure, some people will say you shouldn’t perform work that you are not getting paid to do.
I respectfully disagree.
26. Be Enthusiastic = A Better Life
I can’t remember who first said this to me, but it is something I have always remembered.
Being enthusiastic is worth 25 IQ points.
When life forces your hand, embrace the new chapter.
Blogging, Entrepreneurship, Life doesn’t always go to plan. Accept it!
There will be good days and there will be not so-good days.
Being enthusiastic helps you to bounce back in the face of adversity.
Remember:
=> Life happens for you, not to you.
=> This too shall pass.
=> Be with what is.
Successful people think differently about fear and failure.
27. To Live A Better Life – Live below your means.
Spend less than you earn.
This means trading immediate pleasure for the sake of long-term gain.
You are placing a higher priority on saving than you do on spending.
This takes self-discipline and sacrifice. But it is worth it.
Don’t buy the “next big thing” just because you can.
Be grateful for what you have rather than craving what you don’t have.
Invest in your education instead of materialistic goods.
28. To Live A Better Life – Go to the gym, Save money, Limit alcohol
OK, that is three things!
Go to the gym, Save money, Limit alcohol.
Do I need to expand on that?
We all know this makes sense.
These are 3 things you will not regret doing!
29. No problems, no progress
When crisis and disaster strike, don’t waste them.
There is always something to learn, even if it is “what not to do”
No problems, no progress.
30. Don’t take it personally
Don’t take it personally when someone turns you down.
Assume they are like you: busy, occupied, distracted.
Ask again later.
It’s amazing how often a second or third ASK works.
31. To Live A Better Life – Develop the habit of creating good habits!
Success is not accidental!
There are success habits you can adopt that will enhance your life in ways you never imagined.
The purpose of a habit is to remove that action from self-negotiation.
You no longer spend energy deciding whether to do something.
If it aligns with your goals and values just do it.
Good habits can range from always telling the truth, not swearing, to getting up early.
32. Get Outside – Go for a walk in the woods, park, beach…
Did you notice I didn’t say “go for a run” or “go to the gym”.
You should do those anyway, but my point is different.
Go outside, walk around, sit in the park, or leisurely ride your bike. Just spending time outdoors is good for you. It will improve your creativity, help you age better, feel happier and can make you want to work out more.
I rarely, if ever, have my best ideas in the office!
33. Practice Being Grateful
This is No 33 in our list, but it could easily be No 1 on our list.
If there was a secret to a better life, this would be it.
Be Grateful!
Those who pay attention to what is good in their life instead of what is bad are more likely to feel good about their life.
Gratitude improves self-esteem.
Gratitude enhances empathy and reduces aggression.
Celebrate minor accomplishments.
Being grateful helps you to feel happier; it increases the feel-good neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin and helps you deflect negative thoughts.
Research shows that an “attitude of gratitude” can measurably improve your overall well-being.
Watch this video to find out more…
Recommended Reading:
Change Your Life For The Better.
33 Quotes About Life, Purpose, and Success
28 Benefits of Gratitude | Significant Research Findings
How To Create A Better Life – 33 Simple Things YOU Can Do To Change Your Life For The better
This is the foundation for a better life – These 33 steps, compounded, will create a better life.
This time will be different.
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Author Bio:
Barry Dunlop is a lifelong Entrepreneur, Business Coach and Sales Turnaround Expert who is passionate about helping business owners grow their businesses and enjoy a better life while doing it. You can contact Barry HERE or connect with Barry on LinkedIn
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