Each person was born with an inherent mentality to live a straightforward life. Walk, run, eat until you feel full, interact with those around you, find answers to nagging questions, only use what you need, cry when hurt, laugh or smile when cheerful, express fear in the face of adversity, and so on. As toddlers, that’s how we all behaved. That’s our inborn consciousness.
But our environment tends to remind us as we grow older. How people think, act, and speak begin to alter our behavior, and soon, we lose track of who we originally were. We learn new habits, sometimes good, sometimes bad, and sometimes utterly irrelevant to our advancement.
But the good thing is, just as you were able to be remolded by what you see, hear, and read, you can also choose to particularly learn new habits that can make your life better.
So if that’s your desire, here are ten simple lifestyle changes that potentially make your life much easier and happier.
10 simple lifestyle changes you can make today
1. Be more intentional about your choices
More often than not, we make choices because of external influence. You buy the latest designs only because others purchase it — because it’s trending. We make decisions based on what we feel will be more generally accepted. Career choices, what to wear, what to say, name it.
Basing your choices on people’s acceptance will not ideally make you happier. It only helps you put on a show. And more often than not, you tend to regret it later. It would be best to make every decision based on what the thing in question serves in your life.
Choose a career because it’s what you have passion or skills for, not because people will exalt you more highly; only wear what you’d be comfortable in; buy functional things that solve a problem, rather than go into debts for trendy items.
2. Increase your comfort level
We are naturally happier when we feel more comfortable. The first place you want to bring comfort in is your home. If your house is in a mess, declutter and organize it, make items easily accessible.
As for outfits, the best dress is one you’re comfortable in. If it looks fine but isn’t comfortable, it’s best to let it be. And always have convenient storage for things. If you’re an on-the-go person, you want to have something like a lightweight linen bag that you can put a lot of stuff into and still feel comfortable on your shoulder as you move about.
Linen bags are also excellent for grocery shopping and packing your items when heading to the beach. Sometimes, a fanciful luxury item doesn’t always offer you that much flexibility.
3. Reduce social media and screen time
Today, everybody is on their phone, scrolling through various social media platforms. And therein, we often get to see a lot of reasons to feel we’re not doing as well as our counterparts. Such things can negatively impact your mood.
Rather than spend too much time on social media, interact more physically with those around you. Human interaction offers more mental stimuli and makes you feel a greater sense of belonging.
4. Practice self-love
Self-love isn’t pride or self-centeredness. Self-love is appreciating yourself despite your flaws and acknowledging that you deserve to care for yourself and attend to your basic needs. And notably, accepting oneself is essential to one’s mental health.
Self-love goes beyond rest; care for your skin, hair, nails, and everything that concerns your physical appearance. Look good because you know you’re an incredible being.
Related Posts
5. Give more often
Selfless acts such as giving have been proven to make us happy. When you give, you have an influx of “feel good” hormones, putting you in a state known as the “helper’s high.” But the secret is that you have to give willingly, not out of compulsion. You can give away $5 million, but if it didn’t come from your heart, you don’t reap the benefits of giving.
6. Forgive more
Forgiveness is a critical part of our happiness. You don’t forgive an offender only to ease the person’s sense of guilt and make them feel better again; you do it for the peace it brings to your mind. Letting go of a grudge is like letting off a heavy rock that’s been on your shoulders for too long. You immediately feel a sense of ease rushing in. Anger and grudges fill up valuable space in your heart that should be geared into more productive thoughts.
7. Don’t pay too much attention to what others think
Of course, people must think something of you. It’s either they think bad or good. But don’t let it get to you. Do what you feel is best. Be the master of your own life. According to Lewis Carroll, “When you limit your actions in life to things that nobody can possibly find fault with, you will not do much.
8. Create more time for the things you love
The heart knows what it wants, and when it gets it, there is utter satisfaction. Although our work and commitments often deny us the pleasure of doing whatever we like, taking some time off for some self-indulgence is imperative to your happiness.
Watch sports or movies if that’s what you enjoy, grab your favorite snack once in a while, go hiking, walk in nature, and contact the people that matter in your life. Never be too busy for that.
9. Don’t just eat less; eat right
We often hear about how calories are bad for our health. It’s true. And the best way to deal with it is by cutting down on carbs and exercising. But you shouldn’t deprive yourself of food so much just because you’re cutting down on calories.
Starving yourself means you’re also depriving yourself of other essential nutrients, like potassium, protein, fatty acids, etc. Don’t just reduce how much you eat. Instead, eat the right healthy foods.
10. Mind your business
Everybody has their way of doing things, and everyone’s got something to do at each point in time. The less time you worry about other people’s actions, the more time you create for yourself to get better at yours. Invest time in yourself, improve on your skills, character, and communication, rather than ponder what’s going on in somebody else’s life.
Bottom Line
There are so many things that are seemingly trivial yet highly critical to our happiness in life. The lifestyle changes in this article are not exhaustive, but you can start consciously acting on them and see how much positivity they bring to your life.
