Intro
Right now, we’re all on a journey, and that journey is life. Imagine you’re driving a car down a bumpy twisty road getting more lost with each bend. You can barely see what’s in front of you, only managing to avoid obstructions right at the last minute. The bumps in the road are causing you to temporarily lose control, and this whole ordeal is causing you great anxiety as you’re shit scared of crashing! That sounds horrible, doesn’t it? You wouldn’t drive your car like this, so why live your life this?
A lot of us (myself included) build lives for ourselves, like the car ride I’ve just explained. We live daily without a clear direction and tend to move further away from our aims and goals. Getting lost in what we really want. The shit we eat, drink, watch, and consume cloud our vision with a life full of instant gratification. We leave tasks like getting up in the morning right to the last minute barely giving us enough time to prepare for the day. Sometimes it feels like we’re not in control of our life as we’re running on autopilot. And the decisions we’re making fill us with anxiety as we’re shit scared of ruining our lives.
Start small and build from there!
But look, it ain’t all that bad. You can start by using small self-improvement tips that are going to make your lives a much easier journey. I’m going to share with you 3 EASY self-improvement tips you can use to help transform your life whilst reducing those anxiety levels. I’m not saying these 3 self-improvement tips will give you the life of your dreams, as they won’t. But, with each small improvement, huge results compound over time. And these are some fucking good stepping stones to get you started.
I do not suggest you try doing all these things at once. You want to set yourself up for success and the easiest way to do that is by focusing on one improvement at a time. From my experience, trying to change too much at once doesn’t have good results. It can take the pleasure out of life, making it more difficult to change as you’re not just focusing on one aspect of your life. So, my advice to you is to pick one self-improvement tip off the list and focus on it for 2-4 weeks. When you’re comfortable with it, pick something else from the list.
3 self-improvement tips to help transform your life:
1. Get in control of your finances
Money troubles are a huge cause of anxiety. A lot of us live pay cheque to pay cheque without any savings. We barely make it through the month with enough money, and if we do, it’s usually because our credit card bill has got even larger. And if you’re anything like I was, then you only pay the minimum credit card payment each month, allowing the money you owe to compound into huge numbers because of interest rates. Before you know it, you’ve got a huge amount of debt with fuck all in the bank account. You constantly count down the days until payday just to do the same again the next month. If this sounds anything like your current financial situation, PLEASE make note of the following steps and give them a try!
Simple steps to gain control of your finances:
- Write down how much money you make a month – Include your monthly wage & any benefits you might receive.
- Write down your monthly outgoings – Include things like rent, food, bills, subscriptions, and entertainment money.
- Deduct your monthly outgoings from your monthly income (Monthly income – monthly outgoings) to work out if you have a positive or negative cash flow – If you’re spending less than you make (positive cash flow) skip the next step.
- If you’re spending more than you make (negative cash flow), look for ways you can cut back on your spending, so you have a positive cash flow – Do you really need all those subscriptions? Or do you really need to go out every weekend to get drunk? Cut back where you can! Having negative cash flow only means you’re building more debt.
- Once you have a positive cash flow start building your rainy-day fund – Start by saving at least £50 a month that you will not spend unless it’s an emergency. I suggest you use a savings account for your rainy-day fund, don’t leave it in your normal account!
- Pay off your debts – Make a conscious effort to pay off your debts like credit cards or shop accounts. Pay off more than the minimum requirement. If needs be cut back on your lifestyle so you can pay them off more quickly!
My experience with this tip:
Personally, taking control of my finances was one of the best decisions I ever made! My anxiety over money disappeared and my quality of life improved massively. I also know if an unexpected cost appears I don’t need to worry about where the money will come from, as I’ve saved my rainy-day fund! Also getting debt-free felt like a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders and I felt a real sense of freedom. Give it a go and see the results for yourself!
2. Reduce your alcohol intake
I know, I know, this sounds boring as fuck. But trust me, doing it will hugely improve your life! How many days do you spend hugging the sofa nursing a hangover that only seems to get worse each time you drink? How often do you wake from a messy night with horrible anxiety, worrying about what you did the night before? If you’re anything like I was, then you’re doing both those things A LOT.
Now, you don’t need to stop drinking altogether (unless you think you have a problem, then please seek help). But what I am saying is to stop drinking every weekend to escape and stop drinking every time you have a tough day at work. Save it for special occasions like your birthday or catching up with friends you haven’t seen for ages. Alcohol is not a coping mechanism, and it should and can be enjoyed responsibly. Not only is alcohol a massive cause of anxiety, but it rinses money too. We’ve all woken up from a night out, checked our bank account, and thought FUCK, how did I spend so much! Reducing your alcohol intake is an excellent way to improve your life and become healthier.
Tips on how to reduce your alcohol intake:
Like everything, you can do it gradually. If you have a beer every night, try every other night. If you get drunk every weekend, try every other weekend. And continue reducing from there. If you want more tips on how to reduce your alcohol intake, then check out this link.
My Experience with this tip:
This is one of the best self-improvement tips I’ve used. Cutting down on alcohol not only saved me a shit load of money, but it also massively improved my mental health too. As I started reducing my alcohol levels, I felt less stressed and improved my night’s sleep. My anxiety levels decreased as I wasn’t waking up hungover shit scared, I’d made an idiot of myself the night before. I also have improved energy levels which allows me to get more productive shit done throughout the day. Don’t get me wrong I still have a drink from time to time, but nowadays I save it for special occasions. I enjoy this a lot more as I’m not using it to escape my reality.
3. Drink more water
I know it sounds like some basic advice but are you getting enough water? Water is our body’s main chemical component and makes up around 70% of our body weight. Basically, we need that shit to survive. Water gets rid of waste through our pee, helps keep our temperature normal, and lubricates our joints. We tend to know when we haven’t got enough in our body as we can get nasty side effects like headaches, fatigue, and weird coloured wee.
It’s crazy that the earth produces this amazing substance with loads of benefits, but we still don’t drink enough! If you’re worried you’re not drinking enough, here are 3 tips to help you drink more.
3 tips to drink more water:
- Take a bottle of water to bed with you, when you wake up start drinking it before your coffee.
- Take at least a 2L bottle to work with you and set hourly reminders on your phone telling yourself to have some water.
- Buy a water bottle with time markings on it and drink it throughout the day.
This step is probably the easiest on the list and provides you with the quickest results. Give it a go and see how much more energy you have throughout the day! It’s crazy that such a simple change can have such amazing benefits. If you’d like to understand more about water and how much you should be drinking, check this link out.
My experience with this tip:
I’ve discovered for myself that not drinking enough water throughout the day increases my anxiety levels. I feel it lubricates my mind and improves my concentration levels. Not only do I feel more energetic, I also get less fatigue towards the end of my work day.
Conclusion
As I said at the start, these are 3 self-improvement tips you can start using to improve the comfort on your journey of life. These aren’t necessarily quick fixes so please don’t give up before you’ve seen the results. Sorting out your finances can take time and it’s not something you should rush. Reducing your alcohol levels can be difficult. So please don’t be hard on yourself and be proud of any progress you make. Remember, we’re doing these things to improve our lives, not to make us miserable. So, take it one step at a time and don’t try to change everything at once. With each small improvement huge results compound over TIME. Use these 3 things as a catalyst to spark real change and growth in your life.
If you’d like to read more about self-improvement tips, check out the 4 things I’ve done this year to improve my life.