Ready for a Fresh Start? Here Are 30+ Ways to Totally Change Your Life
Do you ever feel like you’re in a bit of a funk? If so, you’re not the only one—many people find themselves feeling that exact same way. But the good news is, you don’t have to be stuck feeling that way forever.
Most people fail to realize that making one small change can have a big impact on their overall day-to-day, as well as their future. Wondering how to change your life? You've come to the right place: We’ve compiled 30+ ways your can change your life for the better! So, instead of continuing to live every day as you have been, try out one (or several) of them below.
The sooner you decide to take charge and switch up a few of your bad habits, or go after your dreams or do something you’ve been putting off is when you’ll begin to see changes in your life start to happen. There’s no time to waste. Here are 30+ ways you can change your life that you can begin doing today.
How To Change Your Life: 30+ Ways To Start Fresh
1. Visualize what you want
"To change your life, you need to first imagine a different life," says Lisa Petsinis, a life and career transformation coach. "And you can do this by using the power of visualization. When you visualize something, your brain doesn’t know the difference between your vision and reality, and you jump-start your reticular activating system, which seeks information in your environment to help you achieve your goals." So cool, right?! "Think of it as mental practice," she says—one you can use to help you work toward any goal. "I recommend visualization to my clients who want to excel at an interview, prepare for a challenging conversation, or improve their wellbeing."
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2. Ask a question before you go to bed each night
"Your subconscious mind works overtime while you sleep," says Kelly Rudolph, founder of Positive Women Rock and confidence coach for women. Here's what you need to do: "Give it some direction by asking it a clear, simple question you’d like the answer to by morning. You’ll soon find that you can relax and sleep more peacefully while it works on your behalf as your teammate to bring you closer to a solution. For a big challenge, chip away at it by asking a small question each night until you get an answer to each one."
Related: The #1 Most Surprising Benefit of 'Shadow Work' and How To Use This Simple Tool
3. Confront a fear
Choosing to step outside your comfort zone is one way you can change your life. Start by creating a list that includes small things that scare you. Then, slowly start to check them off one-by-one. You’ll be a braver version of yourself before you know it!
4. Don’t be a people-pleaser
Practice channeling your energy toward things you only truly care about, which means you have to practice not saying “yes” to everything. Instead, start telling yourself that it’s totally OK to turn things down and say “no” every once in a while. It’ll make a big difference in your mental health.
Related: 100 Uplifting Quotes About Change to Help You Weather Those In-Between Times
5. Discover your purpose
"One of the best ways to change your life is to uncover your life purpose," Petsinis says. So if you're feeling stuck, here's what she suggests: "Reconnect with your passions, lean into your strengths, create meaning and contribute your gifts to the world in an intentional way. When you’re on purpose, you simply shine!"
6. Pick up a book
Checking out and escaping to another world during your day is a magical way to change your life. Reading is not only fun, but it will promote self-growth, imagination and even help you learn. If you’re not a huge reader, no worries, you can still take part in this by listening to an audiobook instead.
7. Create a dream board
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You may think about your goals a lot, but sometimes you need a visual to push you to actually pursue them harder. You’d be surprised how seeing your dreams laid out right in front of you can help push you to actually go after them. That’s where a dream board comes into play. Just cut out photos of things you want to do and place them on a poster.
Related: How To Make a Vision Board, Plus 25+ Inspirational Printables To Get You Started
8. Pay attention to your emotions during the day
"Your emotions create your most powerful energy to change your life," Rudolph explains, so make the most of them. "Purposely notice if you feel happy or sad, up or down, loved or afraid around different people and in various places and situations. Your goal is to feel positive emotions," she says, "and the quickest way to switch is to really feel gratitude for something so your positive emotional energy will magnetize more positive people and situations."
9. Be kind … to yourself
Sure, you may be kind to others, but don’t forget to be kind to yourself! Putting yourself first and not overlooking things that bring happiness to your life is very important. As soon as you start doing that, your spirits will be lifted.
Related: 35 Useful Phrases to Combat Imposter Syndrome as Soon as It Strikes, According to a Psychoanalyst
10. Invest in people who align with your values
Rudolph says: "If you feel your best around friends who are compassionate and have integrity and a good sense of humor, prioritize your time with them and keep your eyes open for new ones to add to your positive group. It’s a boost to the mindset, energy level, immunity and resilience of everyone involved."
11. Stop procrastinating
The best way to make sure you get things done is to just do them and not keep putting them off. Even taking small steps toward your goal is a great way to get started on a big project so it won’t be too overwhelming. Doing a little each day until it’s done is a good alternative to doing it all at once if that idea stresses you out.
12. Make a list
Set daily goals for yourself. You can do this each day by writing out a short list. Getting in the habit of doing so will not only help you organize your life, but it’ll help you feel more accomplished too.
13. Practice mindfulness
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"This can be as easy as taking some deep breaths, taking a mindful walk, mindful eating or establishing a meditation practice," Petsinis says. "The magic of mindfulness is that it invites you to be more curious and less judgmental as it helps you become more compassionate toward yourself and others. For minutes a day, you can get grounded, connect to your breath, and be more present to signals that can guide you in making important, life-altering decisions."
Related: The Benefits of Mindfulness—Here’s How to Live In the Here and Now (And Why You Should)
14. Adopt a growth mindset
"You can’t change your life if you’re afraid to take chances," says Petsinis. "It’s OK to hit rock bottom; that’s where the growth is. Embrace challenges, learn from difficulties, apply effort and persistence in the face of obstacles, and remain confident that you’ll succeed." Check out these growth mindset quotes if you need any inspo!
15. Let go of regrets
There’s no denying it: Holding onto regrets will only hold you back in life. If you spend all your free time thinking about them, you’ll miss out on so many things happening around you. So instead of regretting experiences, let them go. If you want to visibly let them go, write them each down on a piece of paper and burn them in your fireplace. Then they’ll be out of sight—out of mind.
16. Make a healthy choice once a day
It’s hard to be healthy 100 percent of the time, but that doesn’t mean you can’t work toward making healthier choices. Do so by snacking on an apple instead of a cookie or by using coconut oil instead of vegetable oil while cooking. You can start small and work your way to bigger things.
17. Start writing
Journaling every morning is a great way to calm your mind. It’ll help keep you from getting distracted by ideas that are spinning around in your mind and make you less anxious about things that may be worrying you.
Related: Boost Your Confidence (And Change Your Life) With These 50 Positive Affirmations
18. Remember to relax
Being constantly on the go can get tiring fast, which can cause you to feel burnt out and sometimes even make you start to hate things you used to love. When you start to have those feeling occur, give yourself permission to take a break for yourself.
19. Get a focus buddy to speed up your results
"When two people focus on the same outcome, the sum of their combined energy is greater than that of two individuals," Rudolph says, so use it to your advantage! "Share the details of your dreams and intentions with someone positive you feel emotionally safe with. This will magnify your energy and speed up the desired result. On days when it’s easier to focus on their dreams, there will still be someone focused on yours."
Related: 16 Things People With High Emotional Intelligence Often Say, According to Psychologists
20. Live in the moment
When you’re presented with a great opportunity, don’t push it off—go for it! When you start living your life in the moment, you can fully enjoy it. Things will start to excite you more and you’ll feel a sense of happiness that you have been missing out on.
21. De-clutter your space
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You don’t have to clean out your entire house at once. Instead, pick a room you’re in the most, like your bedroom, and clear out all the clutter. Then, move on to another room on another day. Once each area is de-cluttered, you’ll feel accomplished and renewed.
22. Drink up
Well, water that is! And though consuming the recommended eight glasses a day may seem like a hefty goal, just start out by focusing on drinking more water than you normally would each day. It’ll become easier to continually add more as it becomes part of your normal routine.
23. Be positive
Your mind is more powerful than you may give it credit for. Training yourself to have a positive outlook on things will change your life in a great way. It will help you see the good in things and believe in yourself more than ever before.
Related: 100 Stay Positive Quotes
24. Schedule “me” time
No matter if you set aside an hour a day for yourself or a day each week where you can focus on "me, myself and I," it’ll greatly impact your life. During that time, you can pamper yourself by doing something like taking a bubble bath or getting a manicure. Just taking a little time to put yourself first will transform your life.
25. Give yourself a makeover
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Sometimes, all you need to do is switch up your appearance to give you a new lease on life! You can do something like change up your haircut, your hair color, your lipstick shade or your wardrobe. The best part is, however you decide to makeover yourself is completely up to you and you can be subtle about it or dramatic.
26. Take a social media break
If you make it a priority to stop scrolling through Instagram and other social media outlets, you’ll realize how much extra time you have in your day. You don’t have to delete the apps, but limiting your time on them and sticking to it will make a huge difference and help you be more present.
27. Lay off the alcohol
One way to change your life is by changing your alcohol intake. While you don’t have to give up alcohol cold turkey, you’ll find that limiting the amount you consume will not only allow you to think clearer, but it will also improve your health and allow you to save more money.
Related: 100 Quotes About Self-Care
28. Continue to educate yourself
You may be done with school, but you should never stop learning. Taking on a hobby that lets you be taught something you’ve never known how to do, like pottery or learning a new language, will challenge you.
29. Don’t worry about what others think
It might be hard to not care about what others think at first, but once you can stop letting other people’s opinions affect yours, your life will change for the better. Whether it’s doing something like changing your hairstyle or voicing your thoughts about a topic, you’ll be able embrace your true self the less once you stop worrying about if others like it or not.
30. Cut toxic people out of your life
When you’re trying to change your life, you have to consider the people you have in it and letting some of them go. If you have people in your life who bring you down, don’t encourage you and who aren’t there for you when you need them, cut them off and focus on the friends who are positive, you can count on and who want to see you be the best version of you.
31. Travel more
Even if you don't have the time or money right now for traveling abroad, that doesn’t mean you can’t take little road trips and explore the outdoors. Taking the time to learn about new places, even the ones around you, will open your mind and give you a sense of peace and exploration. Plus, it’ll create amazing memories.
Related: Adopting This One Simple Phrase Can Prevent 'High Achiever Burnout,' According to Career Experts
32. Expand your circle
Did you know that you end up absorbing the energy and traits of those you spend time with? That’s why it’s important to never stop making new friends. You never know what positive attributes someone new could bring to your life.
While you're looking for ways to change your life that will work for you, check out these 150 best life quotes to help you stay inspired.
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