Steps To Change Your Life
Do you no longer greet a new day with anticipation?
Do decisions weigh on you, as if no matter what step you take, you’ll end up in a terrifying freefall?
Does your life feel lackluster, devoid of excitement or challenge?
Do you dread instead of anticipate, regret instead of rejoice, feel disillusioned instead of hopeful?
Sometimes living a life gets in the way of, well, living your life. In the simple acts of earning a living, doing what’s expected, following the rules, meeting obligations, and handling your responsibilities there’s no room left for you.
It’s time to focus on what you want your life to be. Here are some simple steps that will help you out of the rut and onto a path toward greater personal satisfaction.
-
First and foremost, change your viewpoint. Don’t stall your own life because the situation in which you find yourself doesn’t meet your expectations. Stop expecting for things to happen, and start exploring options.
-
As part of that exploration, determine what you want out of life. Greater financial stability? Love? Fame? Respect? What will bring you satisfaction? Service to others? Artistic achievement? Intellectual pursuits? Athletic prowess?
When you know what you want, working toward that goal will add meaning and excitement to your life. Go full scale if you can, or do it as a sideline. Just getting started is the first and most important step.
-
Make changes that will help you move toward your goal.
Do you need to physically move, to change your surroundings to another neighborhood, another town, another state? Do you need to change your job? If you are unable to make such drastic changes, then change what you can. The bigger changes may be achievable later.
Meanwhile, re-decorate; change your immediate surroundings to reflect your interests and achievements. Change your personal image/style if it makes you feel better about whom you are. Take courses that will provide the necessary skills or enhance the skills you already have in order to reach your aspirations.
-
Don’t hang onto the past. Don’t relive the bad things that have happened or how someone treated you way back when. Don’t let what you felt then, affect your choices now. If you would change your life, move on.
-
Find people who share your interests and passions. Make them your friends, confidants, and supporters. Enjoy them. Exchange ideas, critiques, and laughter. Avoid the kind of people who make you unhappy, who put you down, or who block your achievements simply because you let their disapproval affect your choices.
-
Whatever happens, trust that you can handle the situation. There will be good times and bad times, but an emotionally mature person will accept what is, and deal with.
-
Embrace serendipity. Robert Frost wrote: “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”
Don’t be afraid to go off the path that you’ve set for yourself. You can change the roadmap, and the new direction that you take, which will certainly provide anticipation, is where you might just find unexpected joy and new passions.
Step away from the life that makes you miserable and toward a life that interests you, challenges you, and fulfills you. The first step is always the hardest, but it is the most important—treat yourself as you would have others treat you. That’s when you’ll have the confidence to change your life.
