Starting a life makeover can be overwhelming. In movies, it’s often portrayed as this big sudden change. But in reality, transforming your life happens through small changes and routines.
That’s why I decided to gather 9 things that you can start doing now to begin changing your life.
1-Have a morning routine
Having a morning routine is an absolute game-changer when it comes to having a good life and living in joy and contentment.
What you do in the first hour after you wake up determines how the rest of your day will go. You can either start your day feeling energized and motivated, or tired and grumpy.
My morning routine has been changing throughout the years, but there are three things that always make my days better, I call them my golden trio: Move, Meditate, Journal.
You can try my golden trio and see if it works for you. Or you can come up with your own morning routine depending on what you need and what makes you feel good.
Don’t hesitate to mix and match until you find your ideal morning routine. And keep in mind that you can always switch it up and adapt it to your lifestyle.
Make sure to grab my free Morning Magic guide here.
2-Read
The thing is: you can learn about anything you want just by reading the right books. And you can live in an alternate reality just by picking up a novel. Isn’t that magical!
Reading is one of those habits that will always be beneficial for you. No matter what you read or in what format you read it (paper, digital, or even audiobook), there is always something to learn from books.
If you don’t like reading or if you’ve been on a reading slump, I recommend starting with something easy and light. Pick a book in your favorite language, maybe no more than 200 pages, probably a fantasy novel or an easy self-help book, and start reading.
If having a community is important to you, or if you just need book recommendations, then make sure to follow hashtags like #booktok on TikTok. I can’t tell you how many times I found great titles and got motivated to read just from scrolling on #booktok.
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3-Set goals for yourself
I’m all about mindfulness and living in the present moment, but that doesn’t mean having no goals and nothing to move towards. If anything, having a goal to work on is what makes the present moment even more precious.
Make it a habit to set goals for yourself and work on them. Take a sheet of paper and write your big vision, the life you dream of living. Then break that down into yearly goals. Now for each yearly goal, set monthly goals that will get you there.
At the beginning of each month, list what you will do each week to achieve your monthly goal. And at the end of each month, celebrate your wins and reassess your goals.
4-Make a vision board
You’ll never know how life-changing it is to have a vision board until you make one.
Thinking of your dream life and daydreaming about it is one thing, but having a visual representation of it in front of your eyes every single day is a whole new level.
Here’s how you can make a vision board:
Decide on the theme of your vision board (monthly goals, dream life, bucket list, career…)
Go on Pinterest and enter keywords that match your goals/ dream life (you can use my Pins for inspiration).
Save the pictures you find on your laptop.
Arrange the pictures in Word and print them.
You can also cut pictures from magazines.
Have fun cutting the pictures and sticking them on a poster board.
You can add your own doodles and embellish your vision board the way you want.
And make sure to place your vision board where you can see it every day so that it acts as a reminder of the life you’re manifesting.
5-Travel more
One of the things that will have the most positive impact on your life is traveling. And I don’t mean necessarily going far away and spending a lot of money. I know that that isn’t always an option. But traveling to a close city for two days every once in a while can be so fulfilling and eye-opening.
The first obvious thing that happens when you travel is that you get out of your comfort zone. And that helps you be more comfortable with new situations and people.
Speaking of people, traveling is by far the best way to have meaningful conversations and genuine connections with others. Even if you’re shy or introverted, it is much easier to talk to people when you’re traveling.
The third thing that traveling will do for you is that it will make you appreciate the beauty of the world. And you will even learn to appreciate the beauty in the mundane.
Traveling has this magical way of making you see things with brand new eyes. It is definitely one of the habits that will change your life.
6-Move your body
Every successful person out there has some sort of physical activity in their daily routine. And people who are generally happy with their life happen to also be people who move their bodies often.
Whether it’s running, swimming, going to the gym, dancing, or doing yoga… moving your body daily is the best way to get rid of stress and welcome the feel-good hormones that your body produces when you exercise.
Moving your body also builds and strengthens your relationship with it. You start being more in tune with your body and its needs and begin to admire all the things it can do.
So, make sure to start moving your body on a daily basis. Choose the physical activity that you like and stick to it, or switch it up every day depending on your needs -some days your body will want a gentler, slower practice.
7-Cut toxic people from your life
No matter how good you work on yourself, if there are people in your life who are constantly dragging you down, you can only go so far.
That’s why it’s important to look at the people around you and decide whether they have a positive or negative impact on you.
You can do this with literally everyone in your life: your friends, family, coworkers, acquaintances… Anyone that is part of your life is either contributing to your well-being and joy or sabotaging it.
Sometimes toxic people aren’t even aware that they are toxic, they usually have their own issues and the only way they know how to deal with them is by spreading their negative emotions around.
You can either completely cut toxic people from your life by not having any sort of contact with them, or you can choose to protect your energy, set clear boundaries, and distance yourself from them as much as possible -this works specifically with people that you can’t just get rid of, like family or coworkers.
8-Get out of your comfort zone
“Your comfort zone will kill you.” I know you’ve probably heard or read that somewhere. And while I don’t mean it’ll physically kill you, I definitely mean it’ll kill every opportunity for a better life and a better you.
The truth is: no growth or expansion will ever happen from staying in your comfort zone. Nothing new ever happens there. And so, by staying in your safe bubble, you are not developing any skills and you’re not learning anything new.
On the other hand, when you start getting out of your comfort zone, even if it’s baby steps, you start inviting more growth into your life. When you do things that you don’t usually do, it allows you to learn new things, meet new people, go to new places, and that helps a lot in growing your confidence and improving your life in general.
How to become confident: 4 tips that actually work.
9-Practice gratitude daily
If there is only one thing you could take away from this article, let it be gratitude.
I can’t stress enough how important gratitude is. It really can have the biggest impact on your life if you practice it daily.
Take the time to acknowledge what you are grateful for and bask in that feeling. Feel gratitude for your healthy body, the phone or laptop that you’re reading this from, or the latest accomplishment you’ve made.
Let gratitude become a daily habit.
By practicing gratitude, you will learn to see the good in every situation. You will elevate your frequencies and start attracting more things, events, and people to be grateful for.
How to practice gratitude daily.
Cover photo by Aditya Saxena via Unsplash.
La Soumaya 