There’s a lot of pressure to be perfect. Everywhere that you look there are images, TV shows, and articles that tell you how you should be living your life. The problem is that many of the situations just don’t match your life and certainly don’t represent your reality. Yes, you would love to be planning your Caribbean vacation, but your budget just does not stretch that far. Yes, you would be wearing that dress for work, but it’s not practical for a winter commute. However, there are some things that you can do in your life to edge it towards perfection. Here are 3 realistic ways that you can improve your life and edge towards satisfaction.
- Accept what you can’t change
There are some things in life that you just can’t change and exhausting your energy levels trying to can only lead to unhappiness and dissatisfaction with the life that you have. Accepting what you can’t change is not resigning to yourself to the facts, rather it is about learning how to deal with it.
- Let go of the past
- Learn new ways to cope
- Recognize what you have learned from the situation
- Reduce your expectations of others
Throughout your life, you will have experienced many situations that you would rather have not, so instead of focusing on what was beyond your control and the injustice of it, focus on the aspects that you could have controlled. Take responsibility for your responses and recognize what you could have done differently, so that next time you are in a similar predicament, you know how you should respond.
- Take control of your finances
Money certainly can’t buy you happiness, but it can certainly affect it! Taking control of your finances not only improves your credit score, but it improves your self-esteem. Being in debt and living from paycheck to paycheck causes stress.
So, to boost your sense of financial well-being, take the plunge and review your money situation. How & Where to Check Your REAL Credit Score (Some Free Options) is a great place to start and give you an insight into how the financial institutions consider your position.
Even if its not looking rosy, you now are able to be proactive in taking control of your finances. Look at your bank statements and identify where you are leaking money. Your social life may be taking a toll on your finances, so you’ll be able to see ways that you can rein it in to save money.
You won’t need to live like a hermit, you just need to adjust your habits. Instead of meeting up with friends for a meal, take turns to cook at home. Swap out branded groceries for store own brands, borrow books from the library rather than buying the next blockbuster. By taking control of your finances now, your future you will appreciate it!
- Learn to say no
Saying no to people is tricky. You don’t want to hurt their feelings, and you certainly don’t want to miss out on anything; however, learning to say no is an essential skill that you need to learn how to do.
Saying yes to extra hours at work, a night out with friends or helping a friend out with childcare can make you feel valued and important, but it can also lead to feelings of being overwhelmed and stressed.
Think about when you have asked someone to do something, and they have said no. How do you feel? You don’t think that they are rejecting you, you think that they are busy. By saying no, you are prioritizing your needs over somebody else’s and that is something that sometimes you need to do.
Saying no is about respecting yourself and understanding your own limits. You can craft boundaries that are beneficial to you, without being in the situation of being a people pleaser.
Improving your life-view is all down to you. You are responsible for your own happiness, others are not; yes, they can influence it, but they do not own it. By accepting that you can’t control all aspects of your life can free you to focus your energies on positively changing the parts of your life that you do have control of: your career, your relationships and your money. Take time to recognize what you want from your life, and prioritize your time to help you reach your goals no matter what they are: that Caribbean vacation or even that favorite dress.
