Making changes is one of the biggest tasks we will ever undergo in life. We must remember that when we make changes to our lives, it’s always for a positive outcome. That’s why if we look at our lives and find something is not quite right, we owe it to ourselves to get the wheels in motion. The biggest problem is that for most of us, we keep going, and we don’t recognize that we need to stop and take stock until it’s too late. So, please step back and start thinking about areas of life to improve to make the most of it.
Three areas of life to improve: Make change happen
If you feel like you’re in that position, focus on the right areas to make you feel whole again. Whether it’s making time for loved ones or deciding that you don’t want to play the game anymore, here are a few ways to start making more time for the things that matter.
1. Career
It’s important to preface this with the caveat that, for most people, changing careers will not change your life. Many people think everything else will fall into place as soon as they find the right job, but the truth is that you’ve got to make the fixes outside of your career before you start addressing what sort of career will make all the difference.
But many people give too much to their careers. For those who feel like there is something they need to give in a professional sense but aren’t in the headspace to deal with something so intense, it’s important to make peace with the fact that while you could be earning less, you will be happier.
There are websites for companies that hire casual relief teachers and many other part-time roles that can help you achieve a healthy balance in life. We can easily place too much priority on chasing a career, but what happens when we’ve got that career? We subconsciously move those goalposts further afield, and it seems that the old-fashioned notion of working hard and you will succeed doesn’t necessarily work anymore.
Is it hardly surprising that most parents are confused about what to teach their children? AI is taking over roles that could be defunct in a few years. If we spent years studying for something that doesn’t become our career or fall out of love with it, perhaps it’s time to make peace that as long as you’re working enough to be comfortable, this might be all that matters.
2. Social calendar
If you are reading this and working constantly, do you have time for the people you love? You might not have time for friends.
While many friends will understand that playing the game of life is very time-consuming, having a life outside work is important. Making time for the people who matter cannot be emphasized enough.
There might be people in your life who immediately bring you joy just by being there, but if you haven’t seen them in months (or longer), those people can’t impact you the same way as they once did.
These special folks are like gold dust. Since the pandemic, we’ve learned the importance of social connections, so keep supportive friends close. They are incredible for our well-being.
Spending time with the people who make you laugh until it hurts is good for the soul. So, start prioritizing this; it can be as good as having a counsellor, for some people.
Of course, this relationship must go both ways. If they feed off our energy and don’t give us positivity in return, they might not be worth the precious time we have here. Remember to count heartbeats.
Let’s give our best selves to those who deserve it. They are worth our and the ones to hold onto dearly.
3. Your outlook
This one is easier said than done. Changing your outlook can take a long time, but it is worthwhile. When trying to carve out time to be with the people we care about, either because we’re too busy or feel like there is too much going on in our lives, focus on quality instead of quantity.
Prioritize relationships with the people who matter, and give what you can with energy and positivity in those relationships. Give yourself the same love too!
And when you make mistakes, learn from the. Go easy on yourself and recognize you’ll try to do better next time.
We can feel preoccupied about making more of an impact in this world or feel like we could have done x, y, and z, but life is not a race. It’s important that we go at our own pace.
Many people work their entire lives, and as soon as they’ve paid off their mortgage, this is when health problems like dementia or cancer show up. Is it worth our while to focus on everything that is supposedly important? Instead, try to get a balanced life, which requires changing our outlook and remember not to give ourselves a hard time about a supposed lack of achievements in comparison to others.
Stop comparing! The lesson is simple: you do you.
These three areas of life to improve
Do you want to make changes in your life? Do you want to focus on what truly matters? If so, modifying these three areas is a good starting point.
What areas of life do you want to improve? Is this something you think about too?
It’s so easy to fall down on any one of these three. Making time for those you love is so important; the work stuff is just the work stuff unless it is a driving passion, and I think we as a society spend too much time working and thinking about work when we are not there.
Yes, Dorothy! And even when we have a job we love, we still need balance (aka healthy time away!). xx