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.
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:
Consider exploring these areas of your life:
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:
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:
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.”
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.” https://keshiinjakarta.com/
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:
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.
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:
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.
ResearchTrusted Source 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:
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.
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.