Have you ever woken up and thought, “I want to change my life” but have no idea what to do or where to start? Getting out of your routine, becoming unstuck, and learning how to change your life can be scary.
But with these tips, you’ll be better equipped to make the changes you desperately want. Ready to unlock your full potential and live the life of your wildest dreams? Read on!
Is it really possible to learn how to change your life?
The answer is simple: yes, you absolutely can! Anyone, no matter how stuck they might feel, can make a change. It all starts with a decision and then you can begin embracing the elements of change.
Do you want to change your life? Decide that you do, commit to it, and begin today. Once you make the commitment, the changes are guaranteed to flow.
So you’re feeling inspired, right? I hope so!
Don’t turn back now, even if thoughts like these start to creep into your head: am I really ready for this? Can I really succeed? Is change too much work?
By following just one of the eighteen tips below, you’ll see that changes that seem impossible now are within your reach.
How to change your life in 18 ways
So let’s dive into the 18 things you can do right now to begin to change your life!
1. Create a vision board to inspire yourself on how to change your life
A vision board is a great way to tap into your imagination and put your dreams down on paper. By visualizing a better future and seeing the reminder of what your life could look like, you’ll be inspired to keep working as you gain more clarity.
Once the dreams you’ve put down on your vision board start coming true, you’ll be even more likely to keep growing and evolving.
And if money is the area you’d like to focus on, you can make a specific financial vision board for achieving financial goals.
2. Change up your routine (or create one if you don’t have one)
Routines can leave you feeling stuck in a rut, or they can get you out of one. If you have been following the same routine for years, switching it up, even slightly, is a surefire way to shake things up in your life and create positive change.
If you don’t have any routine at all, your life might feel chaotic and a bit out of control. For most of us, it’s hard to achieve our goals when we feel frazzled all of the time. To fix that, start by implementing a morning or night routine.
It doesn’t have to be hours long; a simple journal practice with your morning coffee, some stretching in bed, or a walk around the block are all great starts.
Having a routine is essential to changing your life because it helps you focus on daily goals, which can, in turn, help you with your bigger dreams.
3. Set goals
It’s almost impossible to create change in your life without having goals. Because without a target to work toward, you might feel like you’re drifting through life or wasting time.
So to create real change, set a goal. And, remember, don’t pressure yourself to reach your goal the day after you set it.
Also, keep in mind that change takes time, and baby steps are almost always enough to get you where you want to be and create a behavior change.
4. Change your outside appearance to make inner changes
Sometimes we just need to shake things up on the outside to create inner change. Take stock of how you feel about yourself.
Do you feel confident in your clothes? Is there something about your image that doesn’t feel authentic to who you really are?
By making slight tweaks in your outer appearance and gaining some self-confidence, you’ll be better able to face the world and the changes you’re working on.
You don’t have to do anything major, but a nice haircut and a few new things for your wardrobe can improve your mood.
5. Commit to a healthier lifestyle
Take a look at your exercise and diet habits. These are two areas where small choices can make a world of a difference when learning how to change your life. If this is an area you’d like to improve, vow to do something small every day.
Can you start by drinking more water? Adding an extra portion of vegetables to your dinner plate?
Just as changing your appearance can give you a little extra pep in your step, making healthier lifestyle choices can increase your energy and make you feel ready to conquer the world (and change your life).
6. Stop saying no
There’s a time and a place for putting your foot down, putting yourself first, and saying no. But there’s also a benefit to saying yes.
If you’re someone who usually turns down offers to try something different or makes excuses to avoid new situations, why not start saying yes more often?
Getting out of a rut and making changes often begins with getting out of your comfort zone. Once you start doing it, you’ll want to keep doing it, and change will flow.
7. Learn something new
Learning something new, whether related to the specific differences you want to see in your life or not, can bring about transformation. When you learn something new, you not only gain new skills but also more confidence.
The confidence you gain from learning something new is like a building block that you can keep adding to. Learning new skills can also help you increase your income!
8. Write it all down
We’re big fans of journaling here at Clever Girl Finance. It’s one of the best ways to clear your mind, reframe negative thoughts, and help you discover what it is you truly want.
Journaling is a great tool when you are embarking on change because difficult issues often accompany big shifts.
So instead of stopping when you come to a crossroads on your transformation journey, try journaling your feelings because it can help you keep going and push through.
It can be as simple as writing, “I want to change my life because…” and then going from there.
9. Focus on your sleep
Our culture might glorify hustle, but the real key to a fulfilling life might just be getting enough sleep.
If you’re like most people and don’t get enough sleep, changing your sleep habits can launch you out of a lethargic and inactive state and into an energized one.
Also, the changes you’ll feel after improving your sleeping habits will extend across your entire life.
10. Embrace minimalism
Instead of buying new things to make your life feel different, take the opposite approach and embrace minimalism. You don’t have to become a minimalist in all aspects of your life.
For instance, decluttering your home, purging your social media feeds, or clearing out your makeup bag all can be life-changing in themselves.
After decluttering, you may find that you feel more clear-headed and able to focus on other things in your life you want to improve.
11. Implement a financial plan to make real change in your life
Our finances impact every single aspect of our lives. If you want to make significant changes across the board, start by creating a financial plan. The first step to change is deciding to do it, and the second is committing.
Clever Girl Finance’s completely free courses can help you create a financial plan of your own.
12. Practice gratitude
Appreciating what you have can truly change your life. Giving thanks has even been shown to make people happier, so if that’s the sort of change you’re seeking, look no further.
Starting a gratitude practice is simple – every morning or evening, write down three things you are grateful for. That’s all you have to do to change your mindset and your life.
13. Cut out negative people
Don’t surround yourself with negativity. No matter who it is or how long they’ve been in your life if someone doesn’t support your dreams, they don’t deserve a space in your life.
It might sound harsh, but you’ll see that once you stop spending time with dream crushers, you’ll have more time and space for those who believe in you. And you’ll start to believe more in yourself.
14. Change up your environment
One of the best ways to get out of a rut is to change your environment. Sure, you can move across the country or remodel your house, but you can also change up your space for free.
Move your furniture around your bedroom, start working at a new coffee shop instead of your home office, or clear out a space in your garage for your yoga mat and create a home “gym.”
Like our physical appearance, our physical environment can have a lot of influence on how we feel inside. So making little tweaks to it can lead to bigger changes.
15. Say affirmations that inspire change
You may think, “I want to change my life” and the power of positive affirmations can have a bigger effect than you may realize. You can make your own inspiring mantras that are specific to your situation.
Or if you want to get started right away and aren’t sure what affirmations to use, try these morning affirmations or even financial ones. Repeat them daily and your mindset will shift.
16. Read some books
There’s really nothing that can inspire change as much as a great book that makes you think and helps you form new ideas. You can learn how to change your life, be more productive, learn a new skill, and more.
No matter what your interests are, there’s a book for you. There are some fantastic reads for those interested in budgeting, or you can even branch out into a subject like minimalism.
17. Create habits that help you change
Whatever parts of your life need a change, from healthier living to negative thought patterns, all of this can be improved with good habits.
You can start running a mile every day, replacing negative thoughts with positive ones, reading instead of watching TV, or a million other things. Pick the habits you need based on the changes you want to see.
18. Learn to love yourself and treat yourself kindly
So if you take one lesson from this article or decide to implement one tip, let it be this one: if you really want to change your life, make sure you love yourself and put yourself first. If you don’t, or if you have trouble with that, work on treating yourself better.
Get rid of that inner critic living inside your head, spewing negative comments about yourself you’d never even dream of saying to your worst enemy.
So give yourself a break, be proud of all that you’ve accomplished already, appreciate what you have, and make the space to learn how to change your life. Because you deserve to feel what it’s like to truly love who you are!
Tips for success when making change in your life
As you think about which ideas you want to try out to make a difference in your life, here are some tips to help you with the process.
By looking out for these common traps and making an effort to avoid them, you’ll be better equipped for success.
Focus on one thing at a time and then expand from there
A smart question to ask yourself is: what do you most want to be different in your life and why? Maybe your answer is “everything,” which can feel very overwhelming.
If you don’t have a clear picture of what you’d like to change or how to create new habits, an excellent way to figure that out is to ask yourself some questions. Do this before trying the ideas mentioned above.
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- How do you spend your time?
- Who do you spend your time with?
- How do you feel in your relationships?
- What does your daily routine look like?
- Do you feel comfortable financially?
- What are your goals, plans, and dreams? How close are you to achieving them?
- How is your physical and mental health?
Once you answer a few of these questions you should have a clearer picture of what you’d like to change.
Drop your limiting beliefs when discovering how to change your life
Any negative stories you tell yourself aren’t helping you one bit.
Maybe you’ve decided that you’re lazy or not entrepreneurial. But guess what? Those stories are probably not true and are self-imposed limiting beliefs that are holding you back.
In order to make a difference in your life, you’ll have to drop your limiting beliefs. Once you drop the old story you’ve been telling yourself for years, you’ll see your true abilities and will be better able to go after your dreams.
Work on change every single day
Instead of revamping your life overnight, vow to change little by little. “Continuous improvement” is the concept of making little changes every day that eventually add up to big change.
This is usually a much more successful approach to change than one giant overhaul because it’s easier when you break big goals down into smaller ones.
Be patient
Lastly, change isn’t going to happen overnight. No matter how laser-focused you are on making changes, it takes time. Also, be patient with yourself and allow your journey to unfold and embrace the change.
At first, you might not notice anything different, but change is coming.
Change my life? Who me? Yes, you!
To make a change, it all begins with committing to taking the first step. Have you decided yet which step you’re going to take?
Instead of waiting for the New Year, your birthday, the perfect Monday morning, or whatever it is that has been holding you back, why not make today the day you begin your transformation?
Pick something from the list above and be intentional as you learn how to change your life!