A few weeks ago, I read an article by an author who talked about things he desired to stop doing in his life. He made several great suggestions on things that we can stop doing to make our lives better. As I thought about his list of things to stop doing, it then occurred to me that if I stop doing these things then I needed to replace them with something different.
So, I sat down and began to write a list of things I needed to start doing. After several days of working on the list, I came up with 20 things.
Here is the list
1. Start forgiving. Don’t live your life frustrated and angry about what others did or did not do. Forgive. Life is too short to hold onto unforgiveness. Unforgiveness weighs your life down.
You forfeit peace of mind. Free yourself by initiating forgiveness. Because you forgive, does not mean you have to have a relationship with that person. Don’t waste another second, seek forgiveness and move forward.
2. Start spending time with authentic people. These are the people who add value to your life. They are not about games and gimmicks. You can count on them to tell the truth in a way that shows love. They do make more deposits in your life than withdrawals. You can count on them to be real in up and down times.
3. Start embracing change. Change is often difficult. It can interfere with your routine. It can make life uncomfortable. It can disrupt your life. The hardest part about change is letting go of what you were used to and moving on with something different.
No matter how much you want things to stay the same, they will not. Change is inevitable. Stop worrying and doubting, and believe that things can work out. Embrace the change, live expectantly and enjoy your life as you move forward.
4. Start defeating the fear of failure. Don’t let past failures hold you hostage. Don’t let thoughts of failure keep you from trying. One of the major problems that keep people from living their best life is the fear of failure.
Every person experiences failure at some time. Realize that failure is not final and is a part of the success process. The key is to learn from your failures, get back up, dust yourself off and keep trying. You are not finished when you fail, only when you quit.
5. Start seizing your moments. There are moments in life when you have to overcome fear and exercise your faith. When your moment comes, you can’t wait for other’s approval. You can’t wait for things in your life to be perfect. You must seize your moment at the time it comes because you may never get that opportunity again.
You must come to the point when you say, “I am tired of living a life less than what is possible for me.” You have to say with confidence, “Though I don’t see how, where or when my vision will manifest itself, I am determined to pursue after it with tenacity.”
6. Start breaking free from your comfort zone. The desire to remain in your comfort zone is natural and because of that instinctive need, we jump on the someday bandwagon and push our goals and dreams to the side until another day.
Unfortunately nothing ever happens. Tomorrow becomes next week, which soon leads to next year. Then next year leads to five years, then ten years. Until eventually, the life you desired to live becomes a distant memory. You can’t afford to fall into the trap of “someday” because it may never come.
7. Start being honest with where you are. Be honest about where you are in life and what needs to change. Be honest about what you desire to do and who you want to become. To get where you desire to be is going to take effort. You are going to have to roll up your sleeves, put on your workbooks, strap on your hardhat and go to work.
Talking about your desires won’t make them happen. Dreaming about your future won’t open doors to success. Reading books about others success won’t magically transfer to you. You must be honest with yourself where you are, choose to change, create a plan of action and consistently take action.
8. Start making your life a priority. – Your life matters. If you don’t value yourself, look out for yourself, take care of yourself and stick up for yourself, who will. Do not neglect your mental, physical and emotional health because you are always taking care of others. Remember, you can help others without neglecting your own needs. And once your needs are met, you will likely be far more capable of helping those who need you the most.
9. Start being yourself. – You are not a carbon copy. You were created to be unique. You may resemble your father or mother, but you are not them. You may have gifts and abilities similar to someone else, but you are still different. Don’t fall into the world’s trap that wants to make you like everyone else, find the courage to be yourself.
Uniqueness is priceless. Embrace that individual inside you that has ideas, strengths and courage like no one else. It’s God’s gift to you. Being YOU is worth the effort! Trying to be anyone else is a waste of the person you are.
10. Start living in the present. – Right now is where you are. Right now is the only moment guaranteed to you. Right now is your best life. It is easy to get caught up in the busyness of life that you miss living your present moment. Many people are running on fumes because they are too busy focusing on tomorrow that they fail living today.
Stop worrying so much about how great things could be tomorrow that you miss how great things could be today. Stop dwelling on what did or didn’t happen yesterday that you lose hope for today. Learn live in the present and experience life as it’s happening. Appreciate the present for the tremendous potential that it holds, right now.
11. Start facing your problems. If you have been running from your problems; STOP. It is time to face them head on. No, it won’t be easy. You may have to confront a love one who caused you pain. You may have to give up an unhealthy habit to move forward. You may have to face an issue that caused you great pain years ago. Now is the time to take a stand
Running from your problems does not solve them, it only makes things worse. Your problems will not magically disappear; you must take small action steps in the right direction to solve them. Not confronting them quickly will only cause more problems. Make up your mind today to stop running from your problems but instead face them head on.
12. Start accepting responsibility. The extent to which you achieve your personal vision depends on you taking responsibility for your life. Too many people have a habit of blaming others for their circumstances. Some people always have an excuse to why they cannot move forward and achieve their vision. They say things like their parents did not support them, the company did not promote them fast enough, the job market did not provide the right jobs and the list goes on and on.
You may have to admit that your circumstances are a direct result of the choices you made. If you want to live life at maximum capacity, you must take responsibility for where you are, stop blaming others, learn from your mistakes, make the necessary changes and live forward.
13. Start enjoying your journey. Many people spend so much time focusing on what others have or what they are doing that they cannot enjoy life. Some people think they will be happier when they reach a certain social status that someone else is living. Instead of enjoying their journey, they become so fixated on someone else’s journey that they cannot enjoy their journey.
Unfortunately, it takes a while before you get there, and when you get there you’ll likely have a new destination in mind. You’ll end up spending your whole life working toward something new without ever stopping to enjoy the things you have now. So take a quiet moment every morning when you first awake to appreciate where you are and what you already have.
14. Start thinking positively. The way you think plays a major role in your success. If you possess a negative mindset, you probably won’t make it. If you expect failure, it makes it easy to not try. Negativity is like a weed, it will sprout up when you least expect it. If you don’t kill negativity from the root, it will keep coming back. Negativity blocks your focus and sabotages you from seeing and progressing towards your future possibilities.
When you catch yourself speaking negative words or thinking defeated thoughts, immediately replace them with positive words and empowering thoughts. If you don’t, your defeated thoughts and negative words will over shadow any attempt for a progressive mindset.
15. Start taking consistent action. – If you want to live out your vision, accomplish your dreams or succeed with your goals this year, you must take consistent action. You can have a powerful dream, a compelling vision and a well-written goals plan, but none of that matters if you do not take consistent action.
Consistent action is a reliable, dependable and coherent approach to daily living that aligns an individual with his or her life goals. This daily approach is not a system of habits, but a progressive attitude of pursuing your goals even when adjustments and changes are necessary. If you have spent time reading, researching and restructuring the perfect plan without taking action, you have wasted time. And though you can’t get your time back, you can start taking consistent action today.
16. Start working toward your goals every day. – Remember, to walk one mile you must begin with one step. Whatever it is you dream about, start taking small action steps every day to make it happen. Don’t spend another day thinking and talking about your goals, write them down and DO something.
The harder you work the luckier you will become. While many of us decide at some point during the course of our lives that we want to answer our calling, only an astute few of us actually work on it. By ‘working on it,’ I mean consistently devoting oneself to the end result.
17. Start embracing change. – Change is often difficult. It can disrupt your life. It can interfere with your routine. The hardest part about change is letting go of what you were used to and moving on with something different. No matter how much you want things to stay the same, they will not.
Change is inevitable. Stop worrying, fretting and doubting, and believe that things will work out. Embrace the change, live expectantly and enjoy your life as you move forward.
18. Start living your legacy. Your reputation is who you are supposed to be; your legacy is who you are. A reputation is made in a moment; a legacy is built in a lifetime. Reputation is what men say about you; your legacy is what you leave behind when you go. What kind of legacy are you going to leave; one that will last for generations or one that will die when you die?
19. Start living your uniqueness. – You were created to be unique. You are not a carbon copy of anyone. You may resemble your father or mother, but you are not them. You may have gifts and abilities similar to someone else, but you are still different.
Don’t fall into the world’s trap that wants to make you like everyone else, find the courage to be yourself. Uniqueness is priceless. It’s God’s gift to you. Being YOU is worth the effort!
20. Start creating new habits. – You can’t expect to get new results by doing the same things. You must create new habits to get the results you desire. Forming new habits are hard. They require daily action.
The excitement of the possible rewards you will receive if you implement new habits will drive you in the beginning. But, if you don’t remain consistent and committed, after a couple weeks your drive will fizzle out and you will go back to business as usual. If you want your new habits to stick, believe you can change and take action.
“There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction” Winston Churchill
Question: What can you start doing for yourself to help you live better? Leave a comment below.