No matter which stage of life you are in right now, there are things that just don’t seem to be going your way. And your mental toughness is constantly being tested. It can be a toxic friend or coworker, a dead-end job, a struggling business and the lists go on.
If you’re feeling stuck in life, if you ever feel life just isn’t going the way you want, then just pause. Listen closely and look deeply, it’s time to make a change.
I truly believe that everyone is in charge of his or her own destiny.
No matter what happens, no matter how you feel, you can always make the change and transform your life.
Here’s the thing: You don’t have to make ONE big gesture to improve the quality of your life.
Instead, focus on simple routines, practices and rituals that you can work consistently.
Highly successful people have contributed much of their successes to things that they’re doing every day.
Afterall, it’s the little things that make great things happen.
Here’re 10 daily challenges to improve your life. They have changed my life for the better, helping me to get closer to my goals and to overcome unforeseen obstacles that come along. Most importantly I learned a lot (and I’m still learning) about myself along the process.
Let’s get started. Start improving yourself today and experience x100 results in no time!
Related content:
- The 100 rules for being a maverick in life and business
- 10 Things Successful People Do in the Morning
- Why we love creating problems for ourselves (And You Should, Too)
- How to deal with Change
- How to win your mornings and win your life
How to Improve Yourself
1. Look at your poop
Yes, you heard that right. Your poop says a lot about your health!
Have you ever looked at your stools or toilet paper? Fret not yourself, many people will just close their eyes, wipe, rush and walk straight out of the bathroom.
Research shows that the nerves in our gut affect a big part of our mood and emotional well-being.
If you find yourself frequently feeling low in energy, tired, moody or migraine, probably your gut is unhappy.
Eat better, move more and sleep well, it will improve the quality of your life, health and energy level dramatically.
Action: Keep track of your stool is probably the first step to get to know better about your overall health.
One-minute hack to cleanse your body: Start your day with a cup 0f water on an empty stomach.
2. Exercise regularly
Well, everyone knows that exercise regularly is good for mind and body.
And the real question is “Do you exercise at least once a week?”
Having fun is the key, don’t force yourself to run 10km just to break a sweat. Soon you feel like it’s a chore and stop doing it altogether.
Start small with 30-minute exercise and gradually build up the momentum.
I’m a real nature lover. Instead of going to fitness or gym classes, I’d rather go hiking and sometimes jog by the lake garden.
If you find it hard to get moving, try this 5-minute plank workout one or two times a week.
Action: Pick a sport or activity that you enjoy doing. And set a time to exercise regularly at least once a week.
3. Jump-start your day with a morning ritual
How you start your day will affect your performance and determine the quality of your life.
If you want to improve your life, start with the first 10 minutes of your day!
And to quote Tony Robbin:
“if you don’t have 10 minutes for yourself, then you don’t have a life”
Instead of rushing to work, start your morning with a priming ritual, which can quickly change your physiology, boost your brainpower and prepare yourself for a productive day.
It can be doing simple things like making your bed, taking deep breaths, or having a cold shower.
I start my mornings with these 5 routines. It helps me to think clearer, feel more energized and ready to tackle the day.
Action: Create your own “win the day” morning routine, start small and do whatever that fits you best. Stick with the plan for 7 days and see how it works for you.
4. Keep improving 1 %
“Success is a few simple disciplines, practiced every day.
Failure is simply a few errors in judgment, practiced every day.”
~ Jim Rohn
Whether you want to lose weight, write a book, increase your income and any other aspect of life, simply focus on getting 1% better every day.
In one day, this tiny gain might seem insignificant. But this 1% improvement every day will quickly compound into 3800% in 365days!
No shortcuts and no secret formula. This is exactly how we build our 6-figure book publishing– little by little, inches by inches.
If you find someone promises great return without much hard work, watch out they’re trying to get rich off you.
Action: Find something that you love and worth working on, break it into small components and get better at it every day.
5. Take a Risk and try something new
Do you consider yourself a risk taker or a person who like to play it safe?
There’s no right or wrong answer. Life is about the choices we make.
I’m definitely not a good example of risk taker.
Quitting a well-paying job and work for myself is perhaps the biggest risk I’ve ever taken in my life. But that’s only after my side hustle earned 2x,5x,…10x more than my paycheck that I finally decided to resign.
I realized that it’s not much about the money. It’s the unknown- my deepest fear and insecurities that’s holding me back from taking the leap. It took me almost 3 years to face with my fears, switch my mindset from an employee to an entrepreneur.
So if you want to become a better person, don’t get too comfortable in life. Don’t fall trap to the brain default setting and live in the autonomous loop.
Overcome the fears that hold you back from doing what you’ve always wanted is the path to growth.
It can boost your self-confidence and make your life more fulfilling. Feel the adrenaline rush, heightened senses and rapid heartbeat, this is what makes you feel alive and take charge of your life.
Taking a chance, regardless of how scary it seems, perhaps is a great opportunity to better understand your fear and unleash your potential.
Action: From time to time, try something new in life like taking a new route to work, dine in a different restaurant and have an ad-hoc trip. If you’re unsure about a risk that can impact your life, educate yourself, plan, research and understand the pros and cons before turning down the opportunity.
6. Say Yes
If you feel unmotivated, lost or stuck, try saying yes to many things as possible for a week. Instead of feeding your emotions or constantly worrying about “what next”, saying yes more often will bring your focus back to the present moment- Now.
You’re giving yourself permission to explore, to connect and to have fun.
“Do you want to travel to Australia?” Yes. “Can you give a feedback on my app?” Yes. “Can you design a book cover for us?” Yes.
Saying yes to life helps me to gain new experience, perspective, and opportunity. I also learned what and when to say no to after a lot of Yesses (which brings to my next point).
Action: Next time you find yourself feeling stuck and unable to find a solution, say yes to people and things that make you feel good and see how life says yes back to you.
7. Say No
When you are started out in a new career or start improving, say yes as often as you can.
Every yes is a chance to learn to make better decisions.
Once you know what works and what doesn’t, saying “no” a lot allow you to really focus on things that are important. Things that truly energize, excite and empower you.
Action: Set your boundaries and be honest with yourself. If it’s not what you want, just say “no” without the need of giving any reason.
8. Spend less time on your social media
Break free from your social media addiction is a critical step in improving the quality of your life. Our minds, thoughts and feelings are significantly influenced by what we see on the social media.
Did you know that the average person spends over two hours every day on social media?
What do you do on your social media? Are they adding any values to your life?
I used to check on my Instagram first thing in the morning. Unknowingly, I was feeding my mind with negative thoughts.
I simply couldn’t stop comparing myself with what I saw on the gram.
I was stuck and hardly making any progress with my works.
I can’t totally eliminate social media from my life, as I need to manage Thinkmaverick on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.
Here’s how I do to reduce my time spent on social media: schedule auto posts to Pinterest with Tailwind, and Instagram with Later. So I can focus on engaging with other people instead of scroll through the feeds aimlessly.
Having huge followings, blue check marks, likes, and comments mean nothing if you’re unhappy and miserable.
The next time you get bored, you can try doing something to enrich your life such as read a book, volunteer, take classes, spend time with friends and family.
Action: Turn off activity notifications from social media, except for calls and sms.
9. Keep a journal
“Writing in a journal reminds you of your goals and of your learning in life.
It offers a place where you can hold a deliberate, thoughtful conversation with yourself.”
~Robin S. Sharma
Human mind is extremely noisy, constantly flooded with information, thoughts, and ideas. By creating a journaling routine can help to clear your mind, organize your thoughts, reduce stress and anxiety.
I don’t have a personal journal. But I like to use this blog as a creative outlet to get my thoughts out.
Penning down the thoughts allow you to reflect the past with today’s mind, analyze your progress and see where you’re still going. It’s a great way to increase your self-awareness and understand yourself on a deeper level.
You should at least try it, writing can do wonders to your mind and soul.
Action: Sit down regularly to jot down your feelings, thoughts and emotions.
If you find it hard to write a journal on a daily basis, you can start with once a week or whenever you feel comfortable.
10. Learn to respond, not react
When things don’t go as planned, you can either react spontaneously with extreme emotions straight from your head. Or you can take your time to think consciously and respond logically.
Simply react out of emotion will cause anger, tension and negativism. On the other hand, responding out of understanding and conscious thoughts will breed harmony, opportunity and creativity that lead to action.
How you react or respond can have a huge impact on your life.
As the famous saying goes, “Life is 10% what happens and 90% of how you react to it.”
It took me quite some time to learn how to respond and not react to people and situations.
When you make mistakes on the daily task, it may seem that you’ll never achieve your goal.
Don’t fall trap to the emotion trap by beating yourself up if you fail.
Instead, take a step back, get some feedbacks and adapt to change and keep growing.
Don’t react to happening, work hard on achieving your goal.
Action: I learned this from my mentor- Take a deep breath. When someone says or does something you don’t like, take a deep breath before responding. Put it into practice and you will get better at it.
Conclusion
In the life game, goal is set not to achieve but for you to become who you are.
Every setback, every challenge is created to make you stronger, grow deeper inside.
Are you ready to set a challenge to grow, improve and be the best version of yourself?
Nothing will happen unless you do.
The sooner you start, the more you practice, the better you become.
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