How to Change Your Life: 10 Ways To Live Your Best Life

Change is inevitable, and we all face life-altering decisions at some point.

Keep reading for some tips on how to effect positive change in your life.

“Your life does not get better by chance. It gets better by change.” – Jim Rohn

Change is so many things.

It’s scary, exciting, and unpredictable, but most of all it’s necessary.

Think back on your life and your routine 20 years ago:

• What was the most important thing in your world then?
• Who did you hang out with?
• What was your favorite restaurant?

How to change your life in 10 Ways

Are any of those things the same as they are today?

I doubt it!

You’re a different person now, and in 10 years, you’ll have different answers than you would today.

But as we get older, we tend to be more resistant to change.

We get set in our ways, and our routines, and unintentionally close ourselves off from new experiences that can improve our lives.

Shift to a Positive and Plentiful Mindset

Your mindset filters how you view your world, what you see and how you interpret every situation.

If you have a negative, closed mindset, you’re instantly cutting yourself off from opportunities on the horizon because you can’t see past the negative.

You attract what you put out there, and to welcome positive change into your life, you first need to believe it’s possible.

You may have heard the quote, “whether you believe you can or can’t, you’re right.”

First, start recognizing where your current mindset is leading you.

For example, when you’re presented with a new project at work, do you dwell on the myriad of things that could go wrong?

Are you caught up in how hard this project could be?

Do you lack self-confidence?

Instead, try thinking of just one way this could positively impact your life.

You could learn a new skill set, make a new contact, or be trusted with larger projects.

Changing your mindset won’t happen instantly, but tuning in to how you interpret your surroundings and working towards seeing bigger and better outcomes will pave the way for positive changes in your life!

Here are 10 Signs It’s Time To Change Your Mindset.

Find a Mentor

When I changed careers, I reached out to a female coach who worked with women clients just like I aimed to do.

She was nice enough to meet me for coffee and let me ask her questions about getting into the wellness business, and has become a mentor to me ever since.

Whether you work with a mentor for your career, relationships, wellness, or just life in general, your life is guaranteed to change for the better.

A mentor has been in your shoes and is empathetic to what you’re going through.

They can shed light on things you’ve closed off – consciously or subconsciously – and guide you through changes you may not know how to navigate.

Here are a few sites to get you started:

• Business Mentoring: Score.org (FREE small business mentoring)
• Life Coaching: Beautiful You Coaching Academy
• Career Coaching: TheMuse.com

Cut Out Toxic Friends

We all have those friends who we’ve been friends with “for-ev-er.”

Often, these are wonderfully fulfilling relationships.

However, have you ever wondered if you met them for the first time today if you’d be compatible?

Old or new, toxic friendships can bring you down and limit your potential for positive change.

It can be hard to cut ties, but here are a few ways to create room in your life for healthier friendships:

• If you’re feeling assertive: Let your pal know what’s bothering you. Her response—and actions—will tell you if it’s time to move along.
• If you’re feeling passive: Pull back, make fewer plans, and be polite but not overly friendly. (In other words, don’t be dishonest.)
• Either way: Cultivate new friends who make you feel enriched, enlivened, and embraced because that is what good friendships do. 

Learn Something New

As children, basically, everything we do is new.

We constantly learn new skills and aren’t surprised when we encounter something we do not know.

You tend to stick with what you know when you’re an adult.

Unless required, it’s easier to go along with what you’re good at because the risk of failure is low.

However, when we open ourselves to learning something new, we’re presented with aspects of ourselves we either didn’t know or forgot as we grew up.

This creates space for change by laying out possibilities for our life we didn’t know existed!

I took tap classes as a kid and recently found a studio in my neighborhood that offered beginner adult tap.

It was strange learning as a beginner, something I used to be very proficient at, but I am loving it!

It reopened this area of my life I forgot I enjoyed, I have a new hobby and am meeting neighbors I wouldn’t have before.

Starting as a beginner can be intimidating.

Click here for tips on how to approach it with love.

You will also enjoy our article on creative hobbies.

Create a “Bucket List”…of Sorts

Many people have things on their “bucket list” of what they’d like to do in their lifetime.

This is great in theory, but these dreams are often so big and their timeline unknown that it’s easy to never actually do them.

By creating more realistic and time-sensitive lists, you’re much more likely to accomplish these new things you’d like to do, which will inevitably bring change to your life.

An example I see often is a list tied to a birthday; “40 things to do before I’m 40” or “30 things I will try in my 30th year”.

These can be small, “hosting a dinner party,” or big, “traveling out of the country.”

It’s up to you!

My list is in the making, but the idea is to get my husband and me out of our usual haunts.

We live in Chicago, known for its plethora of unique neighborhoods, yet we head to the same areas and establishments nearly every weekend.

I’m currently making a list of different neighborhoods we haven’t been to and picking a specific thing to do – check out a certain bar, order a “famous” dish at a restaurant, see a show, etc. – so we have a plan.

It’s summer, so we can bike, letting us see more of the city we have called home for over 8 years!

I hope to have a new list of “go-to” streets and restaurants.

Make a New Friend

When you’re young, making new friends is easy and natural.

Even in high school and college, it doesn’t take much effort as everyone around you is generally the same age and living in the same environment.

As an adult, things are different.

It takes more effort and can be a little awkward at first!

Making new friends is essential for growth and change as you’ll be connected to new groups of people who could change your perspective on anything and everything.

Not sure how to navigate the world of adult friendships?

Check out these 5 methods and become a pro!

Change Your Routine

I am admittedly a creature of habit.

I love my routines and, even after a wonderful vacation, long to “get back to normal.”

In many ways, this works well; it lessens the number of decisions to make, which has been shown to reduce stress and helps me plan my day easily.

But routine often leads to a rut, which is no way to foster change!

The good news for those comforted by routine is that you don’t have to drastically alter everything to welcome change in your life.

Trying a new place for your morning coffee, taking a different route home from work, or switching up what you do for a workout are all small changes that can give you a fresh perspective on your day.

Check out this post for a few morning ritual ideas you can use to shake things up!

Find Your Passion

Before becoming a health coach, Sunday nights were rough.

I didn’t look forward to my job and finally got to where I couldn’t ignore my guilt for staying in a job my heart wasn’t fully in.

I couldn’t stomach spending my life doing something I wasn’t excited about.

This discord was affecting my mood and, in turn, my life.

But what could I do?

I needed a change but had no idea where to turn.

So, I started reexamining what brought joy to my life and when I felt my truest self.

Finding your passion isn’t as easy as it seems it should be, but once you find something that you not only enjoy but have a knack for, your world opens up with different paths you didn’t see before.

Even if you don’t feel the need to change careers, finding your passion through hobbies and volunteer work will indeed change your life.

Need help discovering your inner light?

Think you’re on to something?

Check out these 3 ways to determine if you’ve hit the passion jackpot.

Go With The (Creative) Flow

Have you ever been so into a project – cooking, reading, writing, puzzling, etc. – that an hour slips by without notice?

That is known as a state of flow.

Getting into a creative flow has similar effects on the brain as meditation in that it reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, and produces dopamine – a natural antidepressant.

“That’s great!” you’re thinking, “but how does this change my life?”

When you flex your creativity muscles, you expose yourself to new experiences, and this openness allows your mind to wander and seek out more new avenues to explore.

Think you aren’t the creative type?

Check out these secret ways of highly creative people and get your creative juices flowing!

Argue For Change

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

– Albert Einstein.

If you wish to welcome change into your life, you must do something different.

This sounds obvious, but knowing what to change is where many of us get stuck, hoping that if we keep chugging along, things will improve on their own.

We also fear the work that goes into change, and with unknown challenges on the horizon, it can seem more comfortable to stay where we are.

What helps many of my clients is making a pro and con list.

For example, if you’re unhappy with how often your family orders in during the week but haven’t been able to get yourself to cook more often, your list could look like this:

Changing behavior:

Pro’s – eat healthier, save money, learn a new skill, could be a family activity, less guilt

Con’s – need to learn more cooking skills, more planning

By forcing yourself to think of how staying the same or how to change your life will impact you, you’re likely to discover what you thought was scary is really going to be worth it in the end.

What are you doing to change your life?

The more often you change behaviors and routines, the more readily you jump at change.

Start small and learn how you approach and accept life as it shifts.

What are you doing to change your life for the better?

Do you have any other ideas to share with us?

Let us know in the comment section below.