How To Improve Your Life

Life is filled with some amazing things. It’s also filled with some amazingly-frustrating things that can potentially damage your health, and hold you back from experiencing more of life’s joys.

Wondering how to improve your life? Be more mindful of the things holding you back, such as:

1. Phone Numbers. Specifically, the phone numbers of people that never, ever call you or text you first, and often don’t even respond when you text them. Delete them.

2. Mean/Uncomfortable Messages. These negative exchanges can be in your text or internet history. You save them, then you re-read them, but they only make you feel angry and terrible all over again. Delete them.

3. Subscriptions To Stores You Can’t Afford. They send you tons of emails and texts about the sales you should not be spending money on. Unsubscribe. Now.

4. Bitterness. Do you find yourself thinking about the things that your friends or coworkers have, that you might not be able to afford or have time for? Stop. Focus on being more grateful for the things you DO have. If there is something you dream about obtaining, figure out a workable plan to get it.

5. “Perfect” Expectations. So many people get hung up on the idea of finding the “perfect” significant other, or someone who is going to make you feel better about yourself and fix your problems. Take more responsibility for taking better care of yourself, and realize that true improvement only comes from within. Also, understand that it’s not fair to use other people as fixers. Each of us comes with our own flaws, needs and responsibilities to self, so to expect someone else to be your version of “perfect” and to take care of all your needs is not only immature, but selfish.

6. Pointless Facebook Friendships. Sometimes you stay friends with an ex just so you can keep them around just in case, or to occasionally stalk their new significant other. Or, you maintain online friendships with people you don’t really know, don’t care about, and who post ridiculous things that always make you roll your eyes. Unfriend.

7. Trying To Keep Up With Everybody. Many people keep up with all their friends professionally, even if they don’t want the same things or have the same backgrounds, just so that they can impress them on social media or at parties. Maintain friendships/positive networks with people you truly care about.

8. The Wrong Magazine Subscriptions. Do you have subscriptions to magazines that make you feel ugly, fat, poor, and unstylish? You shouldn’t.

9. The Wrong Friends. Why are you still “friends” with the people who only like to hang out with you when it involves drinking and spending a lot of money…who otherwise aren’t that interested in being around you or hearing what you have to say? Focus on healthier friendships.

10. Name-Brand Needs. Your desire for the name-brand/latest version of everything isn’t necessary. Especially if the generic brand or off-brand version is just as good. Or, if you could get the same item at an outlet store, as long as you were willing to wait a season.

11. Pictures of yourself. Stop torturing yourself by obsessing over the photos of yourself where you think you look so much better. You need to feel great about who you are NOW.

12. Old Clothes. All of the old clothes and accessories that you no longer wear or use, and are just cluttering up your closet? Donate them to people who would actually use them.

13. Junk Food. If you know there’s the potential that you’re going to binge-eat that package of cookies, bag of chips, etc., don’t buy it. Or, buy it, and share it with other people.

14. DIY More. You do not need to go to a coffee shop on the way to work every single morning to get breakfast/coffee. You could just as easily take a few minutes to prepare things yourself most days and save hundreds or thousands of dollars a year.

15. Guilt Over Debt. At some point in their lives, most people live with debt. Feeling guilty or ashamed about it doesn’t make that debt go away. Formulating a plan to pay off that debt, and be more financially stable does make that debt go away.

16. Obsessing Over “The Best Time Of Your Life.” Memories of the time that you label “the best time of your life” makes you consciously feel as though everything else you do just doesn’t compare. Which isn’t fair to you or the people you spend time with. In addition, it severely limits your ability to make/appreciate new experiences that could potentially be just as, or even, more, rewarding.

17. Old Medicine. Read expiration dates, and only take medication for the current ailment you’re dealing with.

18. Relationship Resentment. Your friends are in happy relationships, but you’re not. Feel happy for them, and stop defeating your own potential future relationship happiness by saying that love will never find you. Unless you have a crystal ball. Which you probably don’t.

19. Toxic Relationships. It doesn’t matter if it’s a romantic relationship or a family member. You deserve healthy relationships. People who only make you feel terrible about yourself need to be avoided. Yes, this is much easier said than done, but it’s still true.

20. “THEY.” Who exactly are “they” anyway? “They” can say a lot of things, but are all of them true or correct? Leave “them” behind.

21. “Too Much” or “Too little”. Oftentimes when we hear that we are “too young”, “too old”, “too big”, “too small” etc, it can get ingrained in our thoughts. But don’t let it. We are all in a constant state of change/improvement. And that doesn’t take away from how awesome you already are.

21 Things Holding You Back was originally published on blackdoctor.org