5 Reasons To Change Your Life – Get Off Your Butt Now!

Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you. ~ Thomas Jefferson (Tweet this)

When was the last time something great happened to you? You can say, ‘today,’ because little things matter, but that is not what we mean. For many out there, nothing really important has been going on in their life for months—nothing amazing, life-changing, or absolutely incredible. Instead, they find themselves in a continuous loop: work, sleep, work, sleep, work, sleep.

Is that rewarding? Is that what you really want for your own life?

NO!!! Not usually, anyway. You need to get off your butt and do something, now!!!

5 reasons to change your life

A year from now you will wish you had started today. ~ Karen Lamb (Tweet this)

As you can see from its title, this article is meant to open your eyes and make you see just how amazing you are and what life you deserve. And you deserve a fabulous life! Whatever the reasons are that you’re not living it right now, you have to look over them to what’s in the distance—your dreams—waiting to become a reality.

So let’s begin then. The first thing we’ll do is remind you why it’s worth it to fight for what you’ve always wanted.

1. You know you can live a lot better

There is a big difference between living a good life and living an awesome life. Here is how the usual “not so special at all” day passes by:

Getting up in the morning with no passion at all
Going to work with no or little motivation
Thinking all day long how bad you feel at your job, what arrogant people you are surrounded by
Coming home with little to no joy
Watching TV (there’s nothing better to do)
Falling asleep … and the day is over.

Not that fulfilling, right? Is your day as mediocre as the one described above? Is your entire week a dull monotonous series of such days?

Let’s compare it to what your day could be! Let’s turn it all around, here is how the usual good day runs:

Getting up in the morning with inspiration, being impatient for your day to start
Going to work that you love
Constantly being aware of how good you are at what you’re doing
Coming home to get some time for yourself and/or enjoy time with family or friends
Going to the gym to tone up for new adventures
Meeting friends for dinner or going home for a bite
Reading an inspirational book
Falling asleep, happy and ready for tomorrow

It sounds better, doesn’t it? You want the same to happen to you? Start by changing your perception of all events and situations you are involved in during the day!

Here is an example: When someone is angry, they are not necessarily angry at you. Everyone has their own problems, just start with being compassionate instead of feeling threatened.

Happiness comes from the inside and it is easier to achieve when you just change the way you perceive things and the way you react to situations.

Flaming enthusiasm, backed up by horse sense and persistence, is the quality that most frequently makes for success. ~ Dale Carnegie (Tweet this)

2. You’ve lost your enthusiasm

You are quite overwhelmed with work and problems. You no longer smile. You are having a series of low energy days. Every little thing goes wrong. No matter how hard you try to focus on the positive aspect of life, you cannot bring your inspiration back. Truly not something to be enthusiastic about. But when you come to think of it: There is no rainbow without rain.

The good thing here is that even if you are not jolly, you haven’t lost your passion. You just let yourself have some downtime. That’s how life goes, we have downs, so we can fully appreciate and enjoy the ups. Remember that without rain, there will be no rainbows. The natural balance of life goes this way—if you lose something, you’ll find something else. If you’re having a bad day, the good times are coming.

3. Anything you try to achieve happens really slowly

I know, frustrating, right? But…

The harder it is, the more it’s worth it! Have patience. Accept that the life-changing process is longish, but it is worth it. It is quite intimidating at first. If get-fit-fast and get-rich-now schemes really worked, this would be a fairyland. Change takes time. It’s not easy. But there is a silver lining: the hardest things in life are the greatest things.

Here is an example, one of my favorite ones: losing weight. What a big thing to achieve, right?

It takes time to get used to the new healthy lifestyle, to take control over your calorie intake and to master the workout routine. It is very exhausting in the beginning and during the first weeks you feel like you’re working harder than most people, but to no result. This is because you have the wrong focus, you want to see the final result: a slim sexy body.

But just take a good look at the small things you have been ignoring all the way. Working out makes you feel better about yourself—it’s healthy, it’s relaxing, it’s your achievement for the day. This is the result you should focus on, daily. Feel good about the way you treated your body today, and soon your body will pay it back—you’ll get that dream silhouette. Because the harder it is at the start, the greater the accomplishment at the end.

Trying to lose weight may take you 10 years—especially when it comes to women and the female ever-changing body shapes—but do you question whether it is possible? I bet you know it can happen, as you have seen others do it, but it may require serious dedication, enthusiasm, and motivation. The same applies to all aspects of life. The success of others is a proof that we can do it, too, if we want. And when a good example to follow is set. It is even easier.

Everyone has a breaking point. Deny it, and you’ll blind yourself to know when you’ve reached yours. ~ Dorothy McFalls, The Huntress (Tweet this)

You have reached the breaking point—change has just started.

All the frustration that you may be exposed to, is actually your inner “super you” reacting against the misfortunes happening. All this rebellion inside you escalates day by day until the reaction becomes a stimulus to counteract. When the simple decision turns into action, you’ve reached the breaking point—the moment of positive change. It is not just karma, believe me, it is you actually doing what you need to do.

Procrastination is like a credit card: it’s a lot of fun until you get the bill. ~ Christopher Parker (Tweet this)

4. You waste your valuable time—No more!

Life is too short to get stuck doing things just because you “have to” or don’t feel comfortable doing something of greater value. Do you know how much time you have left? Buddha is right—“The trouble is you think you have time.”

What is more, it has been scientifically calculated that a person lives 75 years on average—that’s some 900 months. You see, you have limited time to be the happiest person alive. You do have your own purpose and goal in life even if you haven’t found it yet.

It is true that work is now taking a substantial part of your time. And, surprisingly, we know approximately how much time. An average person works for about 11 years in a lifetime simply to make a living.

But let’s calculate the time you spend watching TV—some 10 years. So what all that should mean, you may ask? We waste our valuable time, doing whatever else, instead of doing what we should, namely being happy. We do what others usually do, or what we are told.

If you now work as hard as you can to help some people you barely know—your bosses for example—succeed in making their dreams come true, imagine it the other way around? What if you could spend the next 10 years making your own dreams come true?

5. You tend to procrastinate

This is even worse than you thought. You do anything but not what’s really important, don’t you? We all know what procrastination is—the total opposite of productivity. But it has severe consequences: the chronic procrastinators blame themselves for being lazy or lacking the ability to concentrate. Soon all that rush (to do what you don’t actually get done) turns into stress.

Finishing anything later, usually at the last moment, often undermines the quality. This is called under-performance. This is a harmful bad habit.

And the silly part of it is that procrastination leaves you with the false impression that you are saving time, but actually you are using more. Procrastination removes some natural brain powers, thus limiting its normal capacity. Just remember how learning for an exam the night before it, was mainly trying to grasp an enormous amount of information that seemed to disappear from our heads. But it is a technical problem, not a moral one, and it can be overcome with action.

The cure for procrastination is a painful one: you need to start your work or day with the most-dreaded, highest-priority or time-consuming task—the most important one, that procrastinators put off until the last possible moment. The relief that you have finished the most important thing first, allows you to now spend your time in the way you want.

Example: You have to prepare the monthly sales report. It will take you 4-5 hours to complete. You dread to start because it takes more time than the usual daily report and there are more calculations and analysis included. But instead of thinking how you don’t want to do it, just start it. It can eventually take less than 3.5 hours and you will be proud of yourself that you have accomplished the big thing for the day.

Do you need any more convincing? People have already changed their lives for the better, it is your turn now.

Find someone who has a life that you want and figure out how they got it. Read books, pick your role models wisely. Find out what they did and do it. ~ Lana Del Rey (Tweet this)

A dose of inspiration….

Here are some great examples to inspire and awaken the greatness in you … You can achieve everything with nothing but hard work, an entrepreneurial spirit, and good ideas put into action.

Madonna

Started from a conservative catholic family and became a world sensation through hard work.

Madonna had a hard life to begin with. Her mother died when she was a teenager and her stepmother made the little girl feel like ”a quintessential Cinderella.”

But all that didn’t stop her from being a straight-A student and a dancer. Her hard work and dedication earned her a full dance scholarship at the University of Michigan, and then another scholarship to study with a New York City dance theater.

Madonna moved to New York and paid her rent doing various odd jobs. She was determined to succeed and soon her passion for singing and performing led to her being a lead singer in several bands. In 1981 Madonna felt ready for a solo career and hired a manager to help her start. Just a year later, in 1982, her first single “Everybody” was No.1 on US dance charts. The rest is history.

A lot of people are afraid to even say what they want. That’s why they don’t get what they want. ~ Madonna (Tweet this)

Richard Branson

A high school drop-out with dyslexia is now the billionaire who owns Virgin Group thanks to his entrepreneurial spirit.

Richard Branson, originally from Surrey, England, had a hard time at school and dropped out at the age of 16. Soon he invested his time in launching “Student”—a youth-culture magazine. The first copies were free editions, with $80,000 worth of advertising ads inside.

Branson lived in a London commune and there, surrounded by drugs and music, he had the idea to start a mail order record company. The idea was an attempt to get funds for his magazine, but soon he earned enough to open a record shop in Oxford street, London. The shop made Branson enough money to start a recording studio in Oxfordshire.

That’s how Virgin Records was born in 1972. Soon it became one of the top record companies in the world (the first artist on the Virgin Records Label was Mike Oldfield, later followed by the Sex Pistols, the Rolling Stones, and Genesis). Branson’s business success later expanded to other industries: Virgin Airlines, Virgin Radio, Virgin Megastores and the latest, Virgin Galactic.

You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over. ~ Richard Branson (Tweet this)

J.K Rowling

A single mother became the author of the best selling book series in history.

J.K Rowling, from Yate England, is of humble economic means. She graduated from the Exeter University and moved to Portugal to work as an English teacher there. She met her husband there and their daughter was born in 1993. The marriage was unfortunate and ended in divorce.

J.K Rowling had moved to Edinburgh to live with her younger sister. They struggled to support themselves and Rowling’s daughter while on welfare. Then the single mother started writing a book: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. The idea occurred to her while travelling on a train from Manchester to London.

It was hard at first to sell the book, but after many rejections she eventually managed it. In fact, the first 3 Harry Potter books earned about $480 million. After the release of the final seventh book, Rowling is now the world’s first billionaire author.

It is our choices … that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. ~ J. K. Rowling (Tweet this)

Marcela Sapone and Jessica Beck

Two Harvard students began a startup (launched while still at school) because their rooms were messy. You may not be familiar with Marcela Sapone and Jessica Beck, yet. But here is their success story. In addition to the mess, they also needed someone to take care of errands such as doing their laundry or buying groceries. They hired a housekeeper and split the cost. In 2014 they turned this into their own company—Alfred—a start up that hires employees to run weekly errands for customers. Marcela Sapone has already been featured in Forbes “30 before 30” for her success.

What you need to change your life?….Almost nothing!

Most of us don’t take that extra step to change our lives because we think it’s a daunting task. Well I have some good news. With just a few small tweaks, you can change your life for the better. Read on…

1. Resourcefulness

Tony Robbins says: “It’s not the lack of resources, it’s your lack of resourcefulness that stops you. The ultimate resource is resourcefulness.”

Not everyone is fortunate enough to be born with a silver spoon in their mouth. But how about finding a need filling it? Figuring out how you can help other people and do it? You need an idea and a dream to drive you forward.

Lack of resources is actually what feeds creativity. Resourcefulness is how to find resources from other sources and their alternatives.

The major excuse for not starting a venture or a business is “I don’t have the money, I don’t have the experience.” But you can actually have an idea that is worth even more, and all you need to do is find the “where from” or the “how you can get” the initial resources to support your idea. Now anyone can achieve anything, there is no need to already be “of wealth,” you can become “of wealth.”

2. Good time management

Time is the only resource we cannot borrow. So, how you spend your time is really important. Wasting time is irreversible. As you get older you get busier. The truth is, you may never have time for yourself or for what’s important, unless you choose to make time for such.

You can do better than using lack of time as an excuse. Just do it. Simply find the time to do what you should.

You have enough time to do the things that must get done. The problem is that you decide what must be done and what not. And most often, we tend to manage our time not in the best way. The key to effective time management is prioritizing.

You have the power to arrange your time in the best way that suits your personal and economical goals. Just prioritize what’s most important to you for the day, and do it first. Then for the week, and organize all your days around it. Make a promise to yourself, set a goal, write it down and track your progress daily.

Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work. ~ Stephen King (Tweet this)

3. A clear, relaxed mind

Do you work long hours? Do you often burn the midnight oil? Just because you want to do more than you are actually capable of, you should not exhaust your body or mind. The truth is that your productivity suffers by 25%. Relying too much on overtime can have serious health consequences such as chronic fatigue—you being physically and mentally tired and not performing at your best. Another fact is that the more time is available to you to complete a certain task, the lower your productivity.

Just relax. Give yourself a break. Relaxation today, is your energy for tomorrow. Give your brain and mind the required time to clear up, to recover from all the work load. You need a change of scenery—another activity different from your job—to be able to refresh.

4. Change your mind about the idea of changing

“I don’t want to change” is a lie. Staying true to your constantly-evolving self is the truth you should pursue.

“I am who I am; I’m not gonna change.” Ok, but let me tell you why most people say it: this is a manifestation of their general fear of change. They have a dark perception of their own future and have lost their true selves long ago.

“Staying true to yourself” doesn’t necessarily mean that you are never-ever gonna change. Actually, it means the exact opposite.

You evolve and improve over time as your mind is designed to keep all the good intact, and leave the bad (that holds you back) far behind. The bad things that corrupt your life are those that prevent you from achieving what you want. “Being yourself” should not be associated with misery, poverty and misfortunes, ever. So I dare you to change your mind about changing, now!

Success is simple. Do what’s right, the right way, at the right time. ~ Arnold H. Glasow (Tweet this)

5. Define success for you

All that determination and will power do not come out of nowhere. You need to build a strong character in order to succeed in the way you want to succeed.

Start with your basic fundamentals: what does it mean for your to be successful? It can be anything: getting married, getting the dream job, starting a business, getting a degree or certification. You need to choose one and stick to one only, until it’s achieved.

You can define it even further: how do you want people to see you? How would you like to make a difference? What is it that you want to leave behind (past, troubles, toxic relationships)? All these questions will help you have a clear picture of what success is for you.

6. Define happiness for you

What will make you happy? And it is not necessarily what will make your parents or friends happy. Happiness for you might be having a tarantula in an aquarium or starting a career in belly dancing. When you can say exactly what makes you (and only you) happy, then you can start considering how to make that a reality.

The starting point of great success and achievement has always been the same. It is for you to dream big dreams. There is nothing more important, and nothing that works faster, than for you to cast off your own limitations and begin dreaming and fantasizing about the wonderful things that you can become, have, and do. ~ Brian Tracy (Tweet this)

7. Set your first SMART goal

Once you know what success and happiness mean to you, it is time for goal setting. You need to come up with a combination of big and small goals. It is important that you constantly accomplish things so that you stay determined and motivated.

Take your goals step by step. Don’t focus too much on the big picture as you’ll not notice your small achievements. For example: if you want to write a book, your big goal is actually writing the book, but there are the smaller tasks: defining the plot, the characters, writing in separate parts, editing, finding the best way to publish it and many more.

Apart from that your goals should also be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound). You need to know what exactly you are striving to achieve, how to tell whether you have achieved it or not, is the goal realistic and suitable for you capabilities and of course, by when it should be achieved.

8. Positive thinking

Last but not least, positive thinking is an intrinsic part of your success in anything. Negative thinking is the biggest obstacle that you should overcome now. Positive thinking, on the other hand, will substantially ease your life-change. In order to win the fight against negativity you should start paying attention to your negative thoughts. They often have a pattern and are triggered in certain situations.

Turn the negative language into a positive one. Example: “I am so weak that I can’t do a plank.” This can be easily changed into: I want to be strong, so that I can plank.” Focus on the positive side of your thought. Thinking right has the biggest potential to help you change your life and achieve what you want.

And there you have it! The why and how to be motivated to be, do, and have more. And here’s one last kick for you: the time you spent reading this article will be time lost if you don’t do something now, this very second.

Do something—anything—that will get you closer to your dreams or there went 10 minutes that you will never get to live again. Do research for the business you want to create, or search for the job you want to do; come up with a title and a basic story line for the book you want to write, or look for lessons for the skill you want to learn.