Sometimes, life can feel like you’re on a train that’s jumped it’s track, with no idea what all the controls in the engine room do, and you’re pretty sure either a toddler or practical jokester is making all the calls. How are you supposed to change your life for the better when it all feels so random and chaotic?
It can be depressing to imagine being stay stuck in stasis for weeks, months, or even years, but there is hope! There are a set of key habits and areas that you can invest in that can change your life completely. You simply need to know and execute the one’s that resonate with you in a way that fits your lifestyle. If you’re ready to see a complete 180 in your life by the end of this year, you’re definitely going to want to keep reading.
This blog post is all about, 10 things you need to start doing to change your life for the better in 2024.
Best Habits That Will Change Your Life
If you’re going to change your life, there are some areas you seriously need to consider investing your energy into. Firstly, developing habits is SUPER important. If I’m being honest, Atomic Habits, by James Clear completely changed the game for me when it came to transforming myself into someone who is healthy, empowered, and successful according to my actions and not just my words.
The following is a list of habits that I know can change your life for the better:
Working Out
Okay, so hear me out!
Exercising regularly is not just a fleeting trend but a foundational component of a healthy lifestyle. While it might seem elitist to list “working out” as a top priority, the benefits of a good fitness routine are well-documented and can positively impact both your physical and mental well-being.
Changes in the mirror are not the only thing you’ll experience when you begin to incorporate workouts into your daily or weekly routine. Sure, there’s the obvious physical transformation that comes with consistent exercise, but the effects are so much deeper. It’s also a natural mood lifter, capable of reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety. Physical activity can act as natural stress-reliever, and can even help you focus better!
Journaling
Before anything else, I am a writer. So I may be a little biased in listing journaling as a top habit to focus on that will change your life forever, BUT the effects it can have on your life are worth it. Journaling has been known to help boost memory, creativity, calm anxiety, achieve goals, and so much more!
Try adding this habit to your daily routine, or is an “as needed” manner to help manage you better manage your emotions, creativity, and productivity with a level head.
Eating Healthy/Drinking Water
Fuel your body and mind, and you’ll be able to do anything you set your sites on.
Creating habit out of being mindful with food can have both short term and long term benefits on your body that will make it easier for you to accomplish your goals. I was a former health coach for a popular health and fitness app, where I guided hundreds of people in establishing their fitness/food goals and helped motivate them to accomplish it. The trend I started to notice in my trainees and in my own health journey is that even though the journey is rough, the longer you sustain a healthy diet and water intake, the more energetic, focused, and self-motivated you are.
Wake Up Early
The days where I muster up the ability to wake up at 5AM, are the days I find are most productive for me. If you haven’t you should definitely read the 5AM Club, by Robin Sharma. After reading this book, my morning routine has been optimized with the 5AM structure which has caused a major shift in how productive my day is. Something about waking up before everyone else makes me feel like I can conquer the world.
As you can probably tell, I haven’t mastered this habit just yet, though I can already see the difference between the days where I sleep in and the days where I’m up at 5AM.
Best Focus Areas that will Change Your Life
There’s a new level of access that comes with focusing on this next list of focus areas that will change your life. Though it can take some time for you to see the benefits in some of these areas the results can be glorious.
Full disclaimer, I worked with a few people to help me analyze my negative habits/mindsets and help me make goals that fit my lifestyle. I highly recommend finding a mentor or accountability partner, as it will help challenge any limiting beliefs surrounding areas in your life you may be stagnant in.
Finances
This one’s a doozy. Building your financial health is not easy, especially when your financial habits are crap. (Like mine were). Some of my worst habits included retail therapy, even if it meant jeopardizing my bills or other priorities. As a single mother in HTX, this was so NOT ideal.
I conquered this by reaching out to a financial expert, Carra She’lea. She guided me on the right path to managing my finances and building positive beliefs around money so I could actually feel comfortable with not spending any money leftover in my bank account.
Book a session with her HERE.
Find Hobbies that will change your life
All work and no play leads to heavy burnout, as is my experience. In shedding the activities that had a negative impact on my health and success, I quickly realized I needed to replace them with something positive and enjoyable. Here are a couple I would recommend:
- Gardening/in-house plants
- Photography
- Cooking
- Blogging
- Volunteering
- Hiking
- Learning Languages
- Traveling
- Content Creation
There’s so much more, I couldn’t possibly list them all. I suggest exploring a couple hobbies until you settle on one that you love.
Relationships
The common narrative is to grind, hustle, and work until you get where you want to be. However, there are those of us who prioritize family, friendships, and finding love over corporate climbing. Even if you don’t, investing in growing relationships with your support system, can only seek to make your efforts stronger.
Business/Work
Whether you’re a side-hustle Royale, a business owner, or a corporate climber you must love the work that you do or it will eat away at you. I’ve learned that working for a paycheck will burn you out faster than working for fulfillment.
In whatever capacity you sustain yourself, be sure to set goals that are best for yourself and not your company. For me I had to take into account wanting time for family, having the finances/time to do things like travel, and not work for someone else ever again. That’s why I chose a side hustle that I could turn into a business.
If you feel the same way, check out this blog post on “How to Know What Your’e Doing as a Business Owner in 2024“
Self-Care will change your life!
Self care, self care, self care! I cannot stress this enough.
Send time with yourself. Go on spa dates or brunch with friends. Get your hair and nails done. Go watch a movie by yourself. Turn a business meeting into lunch at your favorite spot. No matter how you incorporate it, make sure to always take the time to spoil yourself.
Spirituality
Your faith-walk will be completely your own. No one should force or influence you into a belief system that you’re not ready to accept. That said, believing in something bigger than yourself is a journey that leads to more than just “having religion.” For me it lead to self-acceptance, letting go of the things I can’t control, and knowing that there’s a greater purpose for me than to struggle financially, physically, and emotionally through life.
That was more valuable than anything on this list.
In conclusion,
These ten areas of your life are super important to lean into when deciding where to start on the journey to changing your life forever. There’s no easy road to get to self-fulfillment. Each step may prove to have its difficulties, but once you get to the other side, you may find it was well worth the warfare to get there.
This blog post has been all about 10 things you need to do right now to change your life forever. Thanks for reading!
Stay Creative,
J.D.
