I have been on an upward trajectory to improve my life, in terms of work, confidence and general lifestyle and I thought I would share what changes I have made that can help improve your life.
A few years ago, I found that I was constantly unhappy and felt like I was in a hole I couldn’t get out of. There were things that I was holding onto and holding people for ransom in my mind for their wrong doings to me in my past. It wasn’t an easy realisation that those feelings were poisoning me and wasn’t affecting them in the least.
Let go of people who have wronged you
Forgiveness has always been something I have battled with even though I am a committed Christian and have been since I was 8 years old (a story for another day). In my mind, forgiving someone for what they have done always meant I was saying that what they did to me was ok. Logically speaking that’s how I interpreted it. It is still a work in progress for me, but I have come to realise that my lack of forgiveness for certain people in my life was only eating me up inside.
One particular experience comes to mine. I won’t go into detail as it is very personal but I had some very unpleasant experiences with a family member. They made me bitter and angry and hurt. I just couldn’t let them go because what was done to me was wrong and I couldn’t condone it.
Not long before the pandemic, I decided I couldn’t take feeling like that anymore. I bravely decided to face those feelings head on and let go of my hatred and anger at this particular family member because it was only affecting me.
Un-forgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die…
I cannot tell you the amazing feeling it was to have those negative feeling lift off of me. I had the help of guided meditation and visualisation to watch the other person drift away from me. Whenever those feeling threaten to resurface I, inwardly, say ‘I have dealt with you, you have no place here’. Each time I do that I feel stronger.
Find joy in something everyday
A negative mindset was almost my default setting for many years. I sometimes wonder why I asked myself why I was so unhappy when I was so negative all the time. Makes perfect sense actually.
About 9 years ago, one of my best friends told me she couldn’t be around me because of how negative I was being. It was exhausting her. I don’t blame her actually because I have now been on the receiving end of a friendship like that and I can tell you, it is unbearable. At the time, I was so hurt and angry at her. Hindsight is a wonderful thing isn’t it, because I learnt from that.
Now when I find myself slipping into negativity, I try to find something in that day that brings me joy. Be that a beautiful flower, a quick chat with a friend or some time on my blog. It can anything that works for you. Believe me, it really changes your mindset because you are focusing on the good and accepting the bad is there but it won’t wreck your whole day.
Listen to music
I cannot tell you how many time music has completely changed my day. Music is so therapeutic. One of the things I do to improve in life is to improve my mood and I find music so uplifting.
I am a dance and club music kinda gal. I love music I can dance to and nothing better than a boogie to lift one’s day. Whatever genre you absolutely love, you go for it and blast in the car, bedroom or headphones and see how all your worries drift away.
Find work you love to do
I’m sure most of you know that saying ‘Love what you do and you’ll never work a day in your life’. It has taken me rather a long time, but I love my job. The company I work for now is fantastic and there is never a dull day. I am so not a morning person, but for this job I get up at 6:30am and start work in another city at 7:30am, and I can honestly say I really don’t mind it.
Find a job that you love and you quality of life improve immensely. Think of the number of hours we spend at work… Can you imagine enjoying those hours, instead of a sense of dread, boredom and being unsatisfied. Wow, it really does make a huge difference.
You may also like – Starting a new job
Exercise
One of my favourite bloggers is Olivia Lucie Blake, check out her blog here, started an amazing fitness journey. I was so impressed with her results and dedication to it, I decided that I needed get my you know what together and get fit again.
After almost 20 years of ballet dancing, it is actually disgraceful at how unfit I have become. Just a short while ago, I decided it was high time I got to the gym for some classes. I made the decision that I needed to improve my image. Gym here we go. I started taking classes and the short amount of time, at the time I am writing this, I am already feeling better.
Improve your life by getting the exercise that you enjoy, be that classes, running or cycling. Whatever gets your endorphins going. You will be blown away with the impact it has on your life as a whole.
I hope you have found these interesting and helpful. Please let me know what you think and share the things you have done to improve in life.
Until next time…
Completely agree with finding & appreciating the joy in everyday. Mindfulness is so important. I could work on the capacity to let things go… but I agree it’s the way forward.
Thank you for taking the time to read my post 🙂 I have struggled with letting go of things and people who have hurt me and still do. It takes time and conscious effort for me to get to that point and I have to keep doing it because it isn’t a 1 time thing, it needs to be continual. You’re not alone in struggling with that side of things.
Hello Debs! I love this post and these are fantastic ways to improve life. I always try to find joy in the little things. And I agree with letting go and forgiving people that hurt us. Holding grudges only impact us negatively so we should learn to let go. Also, I’ll add to make gratitude a part of our daily life. It’s crazy how much gratitude can change our lives. Thank you for sharing x
You are so right Ruth. I use an app called Resilience that prompts me with questions about things that I am grateful each day. I’m so glad you enjoyed my post and are practicing some of the things I am too 🙂
Love this! Focusing on the good and trying to celebrate simple joys is always so important, and something I actually need to work on. I really want to get into the habit of exercising more, too! Thanks for sharing x
I’m so glad you enjoyed reading 🙂 yes it doesn’t take much to find something that brings you joy each day. Try an app called Resilience. It prompts you with questions that helps you get into the habit of being grateful for something in the day which in turn assists in you finding things to be joyful about each day 🙂
I loved reading your thoughts on forgiveness. This is something I also struggle with because I hate the idea that forgiving someone means that it is “okay,” because it’s not. So I am still trying to navigate that within myself and my relationships.
I completely understand that and have fought that concept all my life.. Keep trying and know that forgiving them doesn’t mean what they did was OK or chilled. It’s not.. I’m still learning that it’s to set you free as much as it sets them free ☺️ give me a shout if you ever want to chat ☺️
Hello there Debs! Exercise is one routine I incorporate everyday. It is a game changer esp. to get motivated working in a day.
Music is also my joy. When I am not in my blog, I do guitar covers on my channel. We need variations of activities in a day.
I really love that. What a lovely way to unwind. My mum and sister play the guitar and found it a wonderful way to relax and enjoyment. Thank you for taking the time to read and I am so glad you enjoyed.