By Kimberly Hayes:
If you feel you aren’t living life to its fullest potential, upon self-reflection you may find certain behaviors and attributes holding you back from achieving your goals. These could be habits you have formed over time and feel comfortable partaking in or a concrete mindset toward life that prevents you from making changes. However, to succeed and improve your standard of living, learning to accept change is vital.
Making changes requires effort and commitment, but the positive impact it will bring to your life is what makes it worth it. Here, Flapper Press explores three simple changes you should make to realize your true potential.
Stop Putting Others Over Yourself
While you may think there are only two extremes—being selfless or selfish, there is a huge gray area in between that you need to learn to navigate. You don’t need to help your colleagues with every problem, you don’t need to help your spouse with all house chores, and you don’t need to be on call each time a friend needs you. Just like everyone else, you have your own needs and problems to cater to.
While you may think saying no is rude, it’s actually a positive step toward self-growth. To integrate this change into your life, follow these tips:
Make a list of activities of goals you want to pursue. These could be starting a blog, making time for leisure, or even returning to school online to get the degree you’ve always wanted. As you jot down these items, you'll realize all the things you are sacrificing that can make you feel happier and fulfilled.
Talk to your friends, family, and colleagues about your decision to dedicate time to yourself. This could be an hour daily or a day in the week where you won’t be available. This is especially important when it comes to your job; striking a good work-life balance requires you to pay attention to what’s important at the time. So, if you need time for yourself, make sure you’re fitting that into your schedule.
At times when you face doubt, list the advantages your decision will have on others. Exercising will make you healthier, allowing you to take better care of your family. Similarly, reading books improves your knowledge, leading to better advice you can give to colleagues.
Stop Ignoring Dental Health
According to the Oral Health Foundation, good dental health can improve self-esteem, develop a positive mindset, and lead to better mental and physical health. However, misaligned teeth can increase the likelihood of plaque, bad breath, cavities, gum diseases, and make you self-conscious. Plaque is a sticky type of bacteria that consists of food particles and sugar that erode teeth enamel. Having crooked teeth makes it difficult to remove plaque effectively through brushing and flossing. By using an aligner, you can improve your teeth alignment, making it easier to tackle plaque and giving you the confidence to smile and socialize.
Stop Being Lazy
Lack of discipline is one of the prime causes for being lazy. There’s nothing wrong with having a relaxing weekend where you lie on your couch and binge-watch movies. However, consistently being inactive can lead to weight gain, increased risk of heart diseases, reduce motivation, and deplete self-confidence.
According to research, it takes around 66 days to form a habit. However, instead of focusing on the long term, set small daily or weekly goals that involve outdoor activities. These can include jogging or cycling at parks and planning weekend getaways for adventure activities such as swimming, camping, trekking, and more.
Engaging in outdoor activities helps alleviate stress and makes you feel happier in the presence of nature. Additionally, engaging in physical activities will lead to a change in your mindset, providing you the motivation to overcome laziness, become fitter, and lead a healthier lifestyle.
Focus on taking things one day at a time. Being consistent and committed toward these changes will translate to you achieving your goals in the long term.
This article is brought to you by Flapper Press, which offers authentic expression, useful tips, and a platform that promotes wild imagination, daring leaps of creativity, and the compassionate, mindful "giving back" that we think is necessary for a peaceful, productive, meaningful life. For more information, please visit our website or contact us today!
Kimberly Hayes enjoys writing about health and wellness and created PublicHealthAlert.info to help keep the public informed about the latest developments in popular health issues and concerns.
