20 Tips to Better Life – Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life

Do you want to live a better life? If you're asking yourself this question, it's time to take action. There are many ways to improve your life and create a more fulfilling existence. The following 20 tips can help you get started on how to live a better life from where you are. 

Your priorities define your life. There are many ways to approach life, but a consistent application of your priorities will drive you in the right direction.

In order to get the right outcome for you, you must first know what the right outcome is for you. So let's get started by asking what is a better life.

What is better life?

Does having a better life mean making a lot of money or staying in a big house ? Or does it mean being successful in a career? Or does it mean having a loving relationship with your spouse? You probably realize that having a better life probably means different things to different people and there is no one single universal definition for everyone.

As we all know, “better” is a relative term. One person's glorious is another person's meh so better for you doesn't mean it's better for me which means that it depend largely on individual's perception. Another thing is there are many ways to live life, and it is up to the individual which lifestyle is best for them. For instance, the frugal lifestyle might be for you if you are more interested in saving money and paying off debts. On the other hand, if you are looking to live in a more extravagant lifestyle, the spend-thrift lifestyle might be the right one. Neither seem to be better than the other, but it all depends on the individual.

Therefore, it is important to ask yourself what does having a better life mean to you and also better in terms of what? Personally, I find that it's helpful when I think about what makes me happy and also reflect back on my life. Do I have a better life now compared to 10 years ago? Why do I feel that it's better or worse? You could then define what better life mean to you and what kind of lifestyle you are trying to achieve.

For me, it is important to me that my ultimate dream should be to live a good life – not just to be healthy, but also to be happy and enjoy some of the things that life has to offer. Therefore, you need to start right where you are and think of ways to make it better.

After knowing what better life means to you, the next step would then be laying the foundation to building and living better life through changing your thoughts in the following 20 ways:

1. Let Go of the Past

Many people have a hard time letting go of the past. They are prisoners of their past. They live in the past. They think in terms of “If only…” or “What if…” The truth is, the past is over and done with. It is nothing but a memory.

If you are holding on to the past, it is because you are still attached to it emotionally. You are still caught up in it, and you will not be able to move forward in life. You cannot begin to heal until you let go of the past. Therefore, you need to begin to let go of the past right now!

2. Stop Worrying About the Future

Like what Leo F. Buscaglia said rightly “Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.” When we’re worrying, we’re essentially defeating ourselves before we even begin. And usually what we are worried about never happens anyway. So, in many cases, our worrying is really just a waste of time. On the other hand, when we stop worrying we often find that the world is a much more pleasant place to be in. Our thinking becomes clearer. Our creativity is unleashed. Our confidence is restored.

3. Be Present In The Moment

It was said that “Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift. ” That's why we call it the present. So the best place to be is actually the present. You need to live in the present, think in the present and create all of your work… In The Present!

You can't write a best-seller about what's happening next month or next year. No matter how good you are, no matter how brilliant your insights are, you'll still miss the boat if you don't do it now.

4. Realize That You Are Enough

As children, some of us were told we were not good enough. We were told we were not smart enough, not pretty enough, not talented enough and so on. You need to realize that you have been created by God so you are good enough as you are as a unique individual. There should be nothing that anyone can say or do to make you feel less than perfect.

You are a perfect expression of God's love. So, stop looking for validation from others and start giving it to yourself. Start giving yourself compliments. Tell yourself how great you look. How smart you are. How talented you are. How wonderful your relationship with your mate is.

5. Don’t Take Things Too Personally

Your boss, co-workers, and even your friends and family members are all human beings. When they say something that might be interpreted as being demeaning or even critical, try to look at it from their point of view and do not take things too personally. Try to look at things objectively. If what they say is true to a certain extent, then try to improve and move on and if what they say is not true, then just smile and say thank you and move on.

Do not dwell on it and replay in your mind again and again as it serves no purpose. The person who said it may have already forgotten about it but why are you still punishing yourself by repeating it?

6. Don’t lose hope – Look toward the bright future.

When times are tough, it is easy to get stuck in a negative rut. However, if you keep a positive attitude and keep looking forward, you will eventually find yourself in a much better situation than where you were when you started.

7. Don’t be afraid to fail.

Tell yourself that it’s okay to make mistakes and mess up. Just treat the failure as a learning experience. Forgive yourself for the failures. Don’t hold on to them like you would a “loser” identity. It doesn’t serve you or anyone else to do that. Remember, your ego will try to convince you that you are too important to fail. But many a time, this perfectionist tendency and the fear of failure can prevent us from making a difference which may lead to regrets later on. And that is a terrible mistake!

8. Be Enthusiastic – Always believe something wonderful is about to happen

Everyday when I wake up and when my feet touch the floor, I would say to myself “It’s gonna be a great day!” And interesting enough, I find that this positive expectation usually lead to positive outcome. Another thing I do in the morning is I would read a list of positive affirmations to myself. I believe this sets the context for the day.

9. Get Rid of Negative Thoughts.

To create a better life, you need to get rid of your negative thoughts and control your negative inner monologues. Famous Author of the book Limitless, Jim Kwik, called these Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs) as they are just like ants crawling all over you automatically. If you have negative thoughts frequently, you will naturally be less happy as you are always thinking of the worst.

So the next time if you have some negative thoughts, try to be aware of them and put a stop to them, or better yet, try to replace them with positive ones. Or better still, start looking for the positives in the negative situation. Nurture your mind with great thoughts. That way you will start to become more positive, more energetic, and more positive towards the things around you. This way you can bring more love and happiness into your life.

10. Keep an open mind

There is a famous saying by Frank Zappa that “A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it is not open.” You need to keep an open mind so that you can be receptive to new ideas and possible solutions. You need to be willing to take a small step in a new direction away from the comfort and security of your old routines to really allow that new knowledge to sink in.

11. Stop being afraid

Know that it is natural to be afraid of things or experiences that are new or unknown to us. And, know this: Most of the time, the things we are most afraid of never happen anyway! Therefore, be afraid, but do it anyway. You can do it. When you're done, you'll feel so proud of yourself. You'll feel like you can do anything. And you will. Because you just did.

12. Let Go of Regrets

If you're looking back on your life, you can't change the past, but you can change the future. Therefore, there is really no point regretting for something you should have done or said. Just like you need to let go of the past, you need to let go of regrets too. It's over and gone so just move on. Instead of regretting, focus on doing something to prevent regrets later on.

For example, if you haven't told the people in your life how much they mean to you… do it now! Tell someone you love them. It takes about 5-seconds and will brighten their day (and maybe even yours).

13. Say more often “yes” to exciting new challenges

And less often “no” when you are afraid of the unknown! No one is ever going to know what you don't tell them. So tell them… all about it! When you say “yes” to life, things really start happening for you.

But, most people are too busy being “nice” to life to ever experience much success. They are too scared to jump off cliffs and see how high they will fly. If you want to go fast, you must first take some chances. If you want to go far, you must first get some help!

14. Embrace Your Flaws

You need to recognize that everyone of us are born with flaws. For it is because of these flaws that make us human. When we embrace our flaws, we stop trying to be so darned “perfect” and instead, we can start working on making things better for the people around us. We can begin to truly love others by first loving ourselves.

15. Be Confident In Yourself

The first step to changing your life is to be confident in yourself and your abilities. You can do anything you set your mind to. If you believe in yourself, no one can stop you. If you don't believe in yourself, nothing will work.

One of the main reasons people don't become successful is they don't believe they can become successful. They either don't believe in themselves or they don't have enough “faith” in themselves to make it happen. There's a big difference between having “confidence” and being “arrogant”. Arrogance is believing you are better than other people, while confidence is simply having faith in yourself.

16. Identify your dreams

Many people have been living through the drudgery of their jobs that they forgot how to dream. They get up in the morning, do the same thing over and over, and go to bed at night, numb to the world. They have forgotten their purpose in life. They exist but they are not alive. If you want a better life, you need to remember how to dream like a child.

Find a quiet place where you can sit and reflect. Think about your vision of the future, and think about what you wish to create for yourself. Try to identify your dreams and desires. Write them down to be sure they are clear. Your life is a reflection of your thoughts. If you want a better life, you need to think better thoughts. If you want a better financial future, you should think about financial freedom and everything that goes along with it.

17. Realize that nothing is permanent in this world, not even our troubles

This is particularly true when you are in the middle of a difficult situation or phase in life. just remember that this too shall pass. Realize that there are many people in the world who love you and are willing to help you. Realize that sometimes life is unfair. Realize that it is the choices we make, and not the cards we are dealt, that determines how our lives will turn out. Realize that you don't have to walk alone through the storms of life.

18. Know that everything happens for a reason

You need to know that every experience, even the bad ones, is an important ingredient in your “tool kit” of life. Sometimes things just happen and there isn't a single speck of us that can do a thing about it. Other times, we have a chance to learn something and sometimes this learning comes in the form of an unpleasant experience. Therefore, if you see a bad day or a bad time in your life turn it into a lesson and wisdom.

19. Maintain A Desire For Improvement – just improve 1% per day

To live better, you need to think of ways to be better but you do not need to have breakthrough improvement. According to Author James Clear of Atomic Habits fame, you just need to improve 1% everyday and you will be 37 times better in a year.

Keep this desire for improvement alive and well. Help others see the improvements you make in your life. Let people know how you are constantly striving to be better. If you truly want to get somewhere in life, you need to have this constant desire to be better.

20. No problems, no progress

While we all wish for problems to go away in our lives, we need to recognize that there are positive side to the problems we experience. It is only when we have problems that we are forced to find solutions. When things are easy, life is boring! Therefore, without problems we won't grow. And, without growth, we won't evolve into a higher state of being.

We also need to accept that problems are part of life. Like Norbert Elias said “Death is a problem of the living. Dead people have no problems.”

Conclusion

The first step in changing your life is to change your thinking. We have gone through the 20 tips that you need to change your thinking to better your life in this article. However, this is not the end as there are more things you can do to live a better life. To learn how to better your life step-by-step, sign up for my FREE 5-day mini course for actionable steps to a better life.