Health & Fitness
15 Ways to Get Unstuck and Change Your Life for the Better
It's simple to say you want to better yourself and change your life, but life changes don't just fall out of the sky. Wanting, wishing, hoping and dreaming are just not enough to do that....
It’s simple to say you want to better yourself and change your life, but life changes don’t just fall out of the sky. First things first—you need to get unstuck.
You need to get out of the rut you’ve been in for way too long. Wanting, wishing, hoping and dreaming are just not enough to do that. In order to change your life, you must be willing to change yourself. You must be willing to accept that doing what you’ve always done only results in getting what you’ve always gotten.
If you are truly ready to invest in yourself, to get unstuck and to create the outcomes you desire for your life, these techniques will put you on the right track.
How to Get Unstuck and Change Your Life
1. Take your mask off. Wherever you are right now is the perfect starting place for transformation. So, take your mask off. Instead of buying things you can’t afford, saying things you don’t mean, pretending that everything is perfect and putting on a front to impress others; accept yourself just the way you are. Masquerading is much too stressful and humiliating.
2. Don’t take it personal. No matter what you do in life, you’ll get criticized by someone at some point. This is especially true when you make moves towards changing your life. The quicker you realize that criticism is inevitable, accept it, and stop taking everything personal—the quicker you can breathe a sigh of relief.
3. Stop dragging your feet. You can’t solve today’s problems by putting them off until tomorrow, so stop procrastinating. Once you’ve made a decision about what needs to be done, follow through. Don’t waste another day putting changes on the back burner. The perfect moment may never come, so sometimes you just have to take the plunge.
4. Socialize. Even for introverts who enjoy a significant amount of alone time, some degree of socializing is necessary. Unfortunately, people often respond to life’s difficulties by isolating from others. Bad move! Too much time alone can exacerbate emotional health problems and keep you from changing your life for the better. The times when you feel like isolating or avoiding interaction with others, are often the times when you need that interaction the most. So, don’t shut everyone out and get lost in your head. Get out and about, network, make time for friends and share your world.
5. Live for yourself. You can’t please everyone, and trying to do so will surely keep you stuck. Remember to remain in touch with who you are, refusing to lose yourself in an effort to do what pacifies the crowd. Follow your own path, live for yourself and do what feels right for you. You know you better than anybody.
6. Utilize support system. Doing everything yourself can be a major barrier to success. If you want to change your life, make sure you have a strong support system in place. Ok, so you’re self-sufficient. That’s great. But everybody needs help sometimes. Friends, family members, colleagues, physicians, therapists—these may be some of the people that make up your support system. Reach out to them rather than pretending you don’t need help in times of physical or emotional distress.
7. Forgive! Holding a grudge is one surefire way of staying stuck in a rut. If you want to move forward and better yourself, start by forgiving those who have hurt you. Then top it all off by forgiving yourself.
8. Make up your mind. Because over-thinking can lead to sustained stress and unhappiness, it’s important to improve your decision making skills. There will be occasions for planning, analyzing and rethinking; but life is all about striking balance. Too much indecisiveness and second-guessing threatens to thwart all attempts to get unstuck. Make a decision and realize that, even if it doesn’t work out as you hoped, it’s not the end of the world.
9. Get active. Physical activity is great for both the mind and body. It helps to release the brain chemicals responsible for happy feelings while reducing the risk of nasty ailments like heart disease. Despite the temptation to lounge for hours in front of the T.V., get off your ass. Something as simple as a walk around the block can make a world of difference.
10. Look good. This isn’t one for the superficial—this is for everyone. When you look your best, you feel your best. And when you feel your best, you easily attract and create your best life. Give your body a pampering treatment, dress for success and walk with your head held high. Do this even if you aren’t leaving the house. You’ll notice that, at the very least, you feel like there’s a little more pep in your step.
11. Relax your expectations. If you expect others to think and act the way you do, constant disappointment will consume you. Accept that your children, parents, spouse, friends and others are not on this Earth to live for you. Lighten up on them—and don’t forget to do the same for yourself.
12. Compare to yourself. If you must make comparisons, remember to only compare you to you. Ask yourself if you are succeeding at your goals, not the goals of others. Make sure you are happy and successful by your standards, not those of someone else. Your competition is with yourself, so concentrate on being the best you that you can be.
13. Tame your inner critic. The voice inside your head has more influence on the way you feel than nearly anything else. So, don’t get lost in negative self talk. Positive thinking, and positive self talk, will help you to get your inner critic under control and focus on possibilities rather than limitations.
14. Find your bliss. My favorite saying is, “follow your bliss;” but before you can follow it you must find it. Get to know yourself better and discover what it is that you’re passionate about. Find what brings you joy, inner peace and positivity. That’s your bliss! Find it and follow it faithfully.
15. Let go. You can change your life, but trying to change others is futile. Stop trying to control what is outside of your control and redirect that energy to your own self improvement efforts. The best way to have a positive effect on the world is to positively affect yourself.
You’ll have to step outside of your comfort zone if you want to get unstuck, but there are no limits when you’re willing to put forth the effort.
As you contemplate whether or not you are truly ready to change your life, remember this: The improvements in your life perfectly reflect the investments you make in yourself.
Jasenka Šabanović, Life & Business Transformation Coach
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