Sometimes it can seem like improving your life is an uphill battle, or like digging your way out of a hole in the sand – lots of actions, but things seem to be working more against your favor than in your favor. You may be thinking too big.

There are actually a number of fairly small things that you can do to change your outlook, improve your health and make your life better. This article lists only five of a myriad of actions. Granted some of them take some commitment, but try out a few of these actions and see if that uphill battle doesn’t get a little easier.

1. Joining A Social Group

This could be a club, a sports team, or just a group of palls that goes out for drinks once a month. The important thing is having friends.
Having friends improves our self-confidence, it gives us a network to help us deal with things like stress, or grief, and it even improves the immune system. All of these things also have secondary benefits. Probably because of the potential for lowering stress, people with strong and healthy social networks are more likely to maintain a healthy bodyweight and to live longer than those that don’t.

2. Finding Faith

For quite a while now, many experts have understood that following a religious faith genuinely helps people in a number of ways. It gives us a sense of purpose. It makes us feel like we’re part of something larger than just ourselves. It encourages us to be understanding, forgiving and generous. It makes our lives better and it makes us better people.
While the religious can and probably will argue that their religion is the best, most religions have very similar basic philosophies. It sounds crazy, but think about it:

• Which religion says that we shouldn’t help the poor?
• Which religion says that we shouldn’t be kind and forgiving?

The name of the deity may or may not change, but what that deity asks of us is more or less identical from one religion to the next. So find one that you like and stick with it.

However, a personal warning: some religions are being used to brainwash people and lure them into financial struggles, extremist views and violence against others. Others may have interesting exit clauses. Be careful about those. These – in our opinion – are not religions in the originally intended sense of teaching and living in a kind, loving and helpful manner.

3. Learn A New Language

Learning a “Modern Language” like English, Spanish, French, German, or Chinese, can be practical in a business setting, or just while you’re walking around town. Learning any additional language, however, comes with a number of benefits, including helping you to learn and remember other things, and helping you to see things from new perspectives.
Some universities may let you audit classes on foreign languages, community centers may have classes in foreign language that are open to the public, you may be able to find books on learning new languages at book stores or thrift stores near you, or you could download any number of free or cheap apps to learn another language on your mobile phone, tablet, or computer.

4. Change Jobs

If you hate your job and your company, you can read this as “quit your job and start over,” but you don’t have to. If you worked hard to get where you are and you like the work that you do, consider a lateral job change in your own company.
See if you can work in a new department for a bit, even if it’s just filling a position while someone is on vacation or while management is looking for someone to fill a spot permanently. Changes jobs provides a nice change of pace, it helps you to understand your own abilities and versatility, and it helps you to understand what the world looks like from someone else’s office.

5. Go To College

Even if you’ve already been there, or even if you can’t or don’t want to stay for a four-year degree. College is a unique experience where you get to meet new people in an institution specifically dedicated to learning and looking at new ideas.
Even if you’ve already been to college, many find that the experience is quite different when they return later in life, even if it’s just to audit a class.

In Summary

Some of the things listed in this article are pretty big commitment. And as mentioned above, these action list is way incomplete. There are many more actions you could take to make your life better. Apart from those with a pretty big commitment, other things on the list, are things that you could do pretty quickly and with little or no financial burden. Give them a try, and hopefully you’ll notice yourself feeling better before too long.

Your Next Steps

Contact us to discuss if a Leadership program and Emotional Mastery program is right for you.

Our new series of Work-Life Balance seminars and workshops are starting soon. Please refer to our events page to find our seminars and workshops.

We also will hold a 1 day seminar in Germany, and in German language(!), on 24 May 2019 in Wiesbaden. Please find more details on Eventbrite.

Contact us to find out where one of our next live seminars will take place.