Small changes add up. To improve your life over the coming weeks, months and years, start today. Good habits will combine to make you feel happier, healthier and more successful and best of all – none of them cost a thing! Some may even save you money…
Stop smoking
There’s nothing good about smoking, but giving up, even after a long time as a smoker, will improve your health. It will certainly save you money and will improve the health of those around you – second hand smoke is damaging and unpleasant.
Improve your eating and exercise habits
Rather than seeing a change in eating and exercise as an act of deprivation, see it as an addition to your lifestyle. Add extra fruit and vegetables to each meal. Add more water to your liquid intake. Add raw, unprocessed foods. Add a few good walks. Even if you do nothing else, adding these things will improve your digestive health, circulation, sleep and your motivation.
Improve your relationships
Swallow your pride if you must. Apologise. Mend fences and encourage understanding. Wealth and happiness is easily measured in the people we have around us. Life really is too short to hold grudges. Imagine the weight off your shoulders if you resolved issues with those you love, or learned how to accept one another’s differences. Love is good. Foster it as much as you can!
Enjoy the outdoors
Wear sunscreen and get out into this beautiful world of ours. Never miss an opportunity to move, experience and interact with nature. It’s good for your body and soul.
Improve your financial habits
Being sensible with money removes other stresses. While having fun is important, avoid the temptation to over spend and put yourself under pressure. Small changes add up in your finances too. Save small amounts often and employ a ‘waste not, want not’ philosophy.
Keep setting goals
Even if your goals are small, they encourage motivation and self improvement. Learn something new, read something new, achieve something new. Motivation tends to compound, so the more you achieve, the more you will be inspired to achieve.
Pay attention to the signs
Toothache? A niggle somewhere in your body? A nagging feeling that something isn’t quite right? Check it out! You can be assured of two outcomes: either a diagnosis and course of action or your mind put to rest. Keep your head out of the sand!
Invest in memories, not things
This sums up all the points thus far. When you reflect on your life today – what makes you proud or worried or happy or content? Will you remember this year as one where you made changes and improvements, or another one where you simply existed. Challenge yourself to take constructive risks – be healthier, travel more, surround yourself with loving supportive people and take care of yourself.