How to Improve Your Life Starting Today

Tips on how to become a better you

Trying to get better at what I do and how I feel every day, I found some tips that actually helped me to become a greater version of myself. Some small and easy steps that improved the quality of my days, and I highly recommend everyone should follow at least some of them too.

Set goals

It is not really necessary to put them on the fridge or on your nightstand to see them every day. This will only make you feel pressured, and if not else, will slow you down from achieving them. Write your goals down and leave the paper on your desk or your bookshelf, even better in a book. If you have your goals altogether as a to-do list it will be easier to get it done. Your big goals like buying a house and your smaller goals like drinking less coffee every day. Don’t try to put the hardest ones first/last. Don’t separate goals from goals. Just put them on paper.

Choose a goal to start and have mini-goals for that one

The most important thing I’ve learned in my twenty-something years is “Make one step at a time”. No need to rush. Pick a goal. Make it the headline of a smaller do-to list and start. If you are told to read 40 books in a year, you will probably say no thanks and skip conversion. But if you were told to read just 3 books a month, you will consider it. It’s about 10 days for a book. That means on an average book you have to read only 25–30 pages every night before you go to bed. Just enough to get you sleepy. Is it that much? But 3 books every month, equals 36 books in a year. Almost 40. So maybe you should read a little bit more on vacation.

Cut the bad habits

Yes, it’s true we have to love ourselves just the way we are and if we don’t do it first, nobody is going to. But! We all have to try hard and be better every day. As I read somewhere once: “To live a balanced, productive, creative and fulfilling life, ridding yourself of your unproductive habits is an important investment”. I couldn’t agree more with that. For example, if you smoke, it’s a bad thing to do for yourself at first. Apply the mini-goals step. If you smoke 30 cigarettes every day start smoking 28 for a week or 10 days or 20 days. After that 26 cigarettes. 24. If you are willing to do it, slowly you will stop that bad habit of yours, or at least you will decrease it a little bit.

Don’t be a friend only to your friends

Okay, sure, all of us have friends less or more. It is good to have some people to know you better than everyone sees you, but it’s even better when you can share your thoughts with someone who doesn’t have so much in common with you. Maybe that person will help you see things from another viewpoint. It might be helpful. Or not. It doesn’t mean it’s bad to hang out with people older/younger than you, people you think are more intelligent than you, or the ones you think that you are more intelligent instead. Be open to possibilities. Everyone has something to teach you. I recently made a foreign friend (thanks to Medium), and from him, I learned a lot of new information about his country and way of living.

Learn new things

It’s important to learn things you never knew existed, from someone who knows a little bit better. That way you keep growing. Don’t stop at knowing 10 things. Learn another 10. Accept new challenges. Read and learn about something you don’t find so interesting. You will actually find out it’s a way better subject than what you’ve always believed. Look at other countries' cultures, and people's habits, and politics, and animal behaviors, and everything. I recently learned in India, when you want to show respect for someone, you add Ji after his name. I found it impressive.

Travel as much as you can

The biggest mistake I have done is visiting for 10 years the same place. True, I had my friends and family there and I wanted to see them, but now that I have way more responsibilities as a job to run to, a kid and a husband to take care of, a house, and many things to keep in order, I only wish I was for once free of those things just for a week so I can travel somewhere I haven’t been. See people live differently than what we are used to seeing, read about local myths, etc. I still can do all these but probably in some years. That’s why I feel like I’ve wasted my time. For 10 years I could at least go once somewhere else. Travel as much as you can, meet foreign people and places and you will be one step closer to feel life.

Try something different

Do it as a challenge. Once a week or once a month try something new. Go to a new restaurant or try different country’s food, go for a drink with the guys you work with, and have never said more than a ‘hello’, watch a movie out of the genders you usually do. Don’t leave your brain work on autopilot doing the same 24 hours, same 30 days, same12 months.

Be confident

For some, this might sound difficult. Find your friends or your partner or your mother, the one that gives you compliments that are true not just to flatter you, and listen to them. Everyday! If it’s necessary, call them every time you feel low. When you start believing you are worthy, you will become worthy. Also, worth reading and pretty inspiring, one of my favorite writers Chris Hedges, is top on my reading list when it comes to appreciating myself.

Add something new to your daily schedule

Even if it’s just for one day every week, add something new. Jogging. Reading. Writing. Meditation. Anything you want. Everything you want! Don’t think that you don’t have time. You will be surprised how much time we spend just because we have a time limit. I’ve noticed myself doing the same thing for 3 hours when I knew I had the time and later for just 1 hour because I was in a rush. Same job done. You have time (in your daily schedule).

Focus on good things

Every night before you go to sleep find and think about 3 (or 5, or 10) good things of the day (or your life, or tomorrow). Sleeping with good thoughts gives you good sleep. A good night’s sleep gives you a better start of the day. And in Greece, we say that “A good day is seen from the morning”. Meaning, obviously (or not?), that whatever you do, if you start good, it will be all good.

Practice

You want to learn a new language better? Practice and talk that language as much as you can. You want to write better? Practice and write every day even if it’s just thoughts, an article, a page, a book. Practice can make you perfect at anything.

Explain it to someone

Albert Einstein said that if you can’t explain it to a six-year-old it means you probably don’t understand it completely. Try to explain to your friend/partner or whoever you want, whatever you want. That way you will understand it better. And you will teach him something too.

Try at least one of these and see a real difference in your life.

We are getting better day by day at being ourselves.

Start today!