We all strive for a better, more comfortable life. But most of the necessary changes to improve require long-term and consistent overhauls – and not everyone has the patience for that. Most of us realize we could have a better life if we had a higher paying career or a bigger house, but these are achievable goals in the span of an afternoon.
Thankfully, there are positive changes you can make right now to improve your life, and in some cases those improvements can be dramatic.
How to Improve Your Life
If you have an hour, or in some cases just a few minutes, you can apply these changes to make your life more positive, more comfortable, and more rewarding.
- Make your bathroom more welcoming. Your bathroom is one of the most important rooms of the house. It’s where you clean yourself, relieve yourself, and see yourself in the mirror. If it’s not a comfortable place, it can affect your psychology for the rest of the day.
Make upgrades to your bathroom to make it more welcoming and cozier; investing in a bidet can give you a more thorough clean, buying better towels can incentivize you to shower more frequently and enjoy the experience, and even just cleaning the bathroom can improve its appeal.
- Clean your room. Take a moment to clean your room, or maybe your entire house if you have the energy. Even small-scale cleaning tasks can instantly make you feel more productive and more confident. Plus, you’ll have the benefits of a more organized environment – and you’ll have more motivation to tackle your bigger problems.
- Meditate. The benefits of mindfulness meditation are so well-documented, there’s no excuse not to try it. It’s also very simple and accessible; you don’t need any equipment or experience to begin. Simply focus on the present moment, allowing your thoughts to flow in and out of your mind like water flowing down a river. It takes practice, but the more you do it, the more benefits you’ll get.
- Exercise. Physical exercise is similarly beneficial, providing a short-term boost in feel-good chemicals like dopamine and providing long term benefits, like staying in shape and reducing the possibility of developing a serious health condition like diabetes. If you don’t have access to a gym, you can try calisthenics or go for a walk.
- Practice positive self-talk. Negative self-talk is a major influencing factor in symptoms of depression and anxiety. You can fight back against this with positive self-talk. Instead of recounting bad memories or reflecting on the burdens of your present existence, think about what you’re grateful for and the upside of your situation, no matter how grim it looks.
- Fix your posture. Are you slouching? Studies show that holding an upright and confident posture can make you feel more confident and better about your life. Take a moment to pull your shoulders back and keep your chest out. It’s hard to practice good posture if you’re used to holding bad posture, but in time it can become your new normal.
- Talk to someone you love. Even if you consider yourself a loner, human beings are social animals, and we typically feel better after reinforcing our most positive relationships. Take a moment to text or call someone you love, whether it’s a family member or friend. Even a few minutes of interaction can make you feel better.
- Talk to a stranger. It’s not just about people you love, either. Talking to strangers can be a surprisingly enriching experience, even if you’re only making small talk. It’s also a great way to expand your network and start building new friendships and relationships.
- Shut down negative experiences. Too often, we continually expose ourselves to experiences that make us feel bad, such as reading the news, comparing ourselves to people on social media, or playing frustrating video games. When you notice your mood start to turn, drop the experience. There’s no reason to continue.
- Journal. Finally, journal. Write down your thoughts and feelings so you can better understand them. The mere act of writing them down will help you contextualize them and make them feel smaller, especially if they influence you negatively.
Taking Things One Step at a Time
Your life doesn’t have to get better in one fell swoop – and it probably won’t. Instead, focus your efforts on making manageable, marginal improvements to your life, one step at a time. With enough steps forward, you’ll end up feeling much better about yourself and your situation, and you’ll have the momentum necessary to make even bigger and better changes in your life.