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Everyone out there, no matter how happy you are or how wealthy you are, knows that they can make changes in their lives to improve them. It’s part of who we are to want to better ourselves.
There’s nothing wrong with this ambition, although as with everything else in life, it’s best to temper it with moderation. There’s a difference between wanting to be happy and being unable to be content with what you have.
But this means that we can always be moving towards something. The trick is to work out how.
Set Personal Goals
The only way to change your life is to pick a direction. What do you want? It’s a simple question with a huge mess of answers, but once you start thinking about it, you can start writing down potential goals.
The most important thing to remember is that personal goals have to be realistic. Yes, we’d all love to be able to fly or become a billionaire overnight, but those aren’t the goals we’re talking about.
We’re talking about setting an ambition for life. Then, breaking that down into other goals that you can attain. Set a goal for the next week. Then, think about where you want to be in the next month or year.
Huge, nebulous goals are very rarely achieved in life. But these smaller goals give you a sense of progression, purpose, and help you to be healthier. Want to lose weight or get fit? Set goals, and make sure they’re achievable.
Try to be varied as well. Maybe you have a goal to be fit. You might also have a goal to get a certain job or reach a certain level of education. These aren’t mutually exclusive, but are the building blocks of becoming the person you want to be.
Build Motivation
We are almost always our worst enemies. One of the reasons that setting goals is good advice is that it helps you to build motivation. If you just have a vague idea in mind and no stepping stones to get there, it’s hard to motivate yourself. We need to taste success first.
Another way to motivate yourself is to look for the base reason for your goals. Just “changing your life to be better” might not be enough to motivate yourself. What does happiness mean to you?
Again, you need specific reasons and goals to work towards. So, let’s look back at our fitness example. Why do you want to get fit? Is it just because it’s a good thing to do? Or is it because you want to have more energy in your life? Do you want to feel more comfortable in your own skin? Do you want to be able to run a marathon?
Don’t Do It Alone
Humans aren’t designed to go it alone and, to tell the truth, major life changes are hard. Some of them can be painful.
For example, if you’re trying to beat an addiction to alcohol, you might have the goals and the motivation, but it’s still so difficult to fight that battle alone. You need help for alcohol rehab, ideally in the form of medical professionals as well as family and friends to give you a support system.
Needing help to reach your goals isn’t a weakness. It’s just being human.
Image Credit: Deposit Photos
