If you passed away today and a movie of your life came out, how good would this movie be? Does this movie deserve an Oscar or a low rating on Rotten Tomatoes?
The ultimate goal is to live a worthy and fulfilling life, but most people are unsuspectingly living the opposite. Instead of moving forward, they’re moving backward. They are trapped in a cycle of bad habits that hinder their growth and keep them from reaching their full potential.
If this person is you, let there not be shame. We’ve all been there, where we’d much rather live in our comfort zone than step outside and experience growth. If you’re still reading, I’m very proud of you. While most people would leave and continue to waste their lives, your sticking around says a lot. The first step in self-transformation is acknowledging that you aren’t where you want to be, and it looks like you just did that.
Today, we discuss eight things you can do to transform into a better version of yourself. If you do these things for thirty days straight, I promise you will notice a tremendous difference in how you feel.
1. Work out and eat a healthy diet
Self-improvement emphasizes your physical health transformation because of its mental and health impact. Being in shape gives you more energy, which you should not underestimate. This energy is contagious and seeps into other areas of our lives, including work, school, and personal endeavors.
Are you interested in starting to build muscles? Here’s a free gym guide to help you on your first day.
It doesn’t matter what exercise you do, but the main objective is to get your body moving. Whether you decide to run, walk, or hike, you’re doing something your previous self would never think about doing. Additionally, consuming a healthier diet is crucial, as it’s another element to improve your well-being.
There are so many benefits from exercise that range outside of health, which you can find here.
2. Incorporate a grooming routine
As humans, we must make the effort to look our best every time we step outside of our homes. It’s a nasty truth, but all humans have a natural tendency to judge. To combat this, the best thing we can do is tighten up our appearance by grooming regularly.
Grooming regularly will help us feel better about ourselves because we know we made the effort to look our best. Though we can’t change our genetics, we can at least make ourselves look neater by forming a grooming habit. Not only does this generate a better first impression, but we’ll also feel confident in our bodies.
3. Upgrade your style
You might not have the budget at the moment to afford nicer clothing, and that’s okay. Instead of purchasing clothes with flashy brand names, focus on clothes that fit you best. When you look at the most successful people in the world, such as Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk, a pattern they have in common is that they abstain from wearing expensive designer clothing.
Becoming a better version of yourself also means generating a better first impression. When you put on good-looking clothes that best fit you, you’ll make yourself look more presentable and will naturally feel more confident.
4. Fix your posture
In our overly phone-addicted society today, it’s not uncommon to see that most people suffer from poor posture. Like all habits, building the habit of sitting and standing up straight requires patience and consistency.
Jenna Jonaitis from Healthline found, “Not only can good posture boost your energy levels and reduce your pain, it can also increase your self-esteem.”
Whenever you’re walking, try to keep your head and spine in line with each other. Avoid looking down or curving your spine when you walk. By building the habit of moving around with a straight posture, you become a better version of yourself because of the way you carry yourself.
5. Get off the phone
Our phones are one of the biggest distractions we have today. Not only does spending too much time on it reflect poor time management, but it also makes us overly dependent on our phones for happiness.
When you minimize your screen time, you can now maximize your time to become a better version of yourself. The time you waste scrolling on social media can now be replaced with time working out or working on personal ambitions.
6. Incorporate meditation
One of our biggest sources of power doesn’t come from wealth or fame, but rather from what we can do with our minds. Every decision you make starts with your mind. If you make poor decisions, such as drinking and smoking for the 3rd time in a row, this reflects poor willpower and discipline.
The mind is like a muscle; the more you exercise it, the more stronger it gets. The best exercise you can do to sharpen your mind is meditation. There are many variations of meditation but the most basic is to set a timer for 5-10 minutes and try to focus entirely on your breath. Whenever you catch your mind wandering off, remember to return to the breath.
Within 30 days of daily meditation, you should be able to notice a slight improvement. You’ll notice yourself becoming more calm, thinking clearly, and having control over your emotions.
Here’s a free step-by-step meditation guide for beginners.
7. Talk to more people
The Covid pandemic made us comfortable at home, living in our world, with little social interaction. Then, when it was time to reintegrate back into society, many of us forgot how to have an in-person conversation because we were more used to virtual interactions. As a result, many of us left the pandemic suffering from social anxiety.
Although you can’t control your genetics, you can control how you act, behave, and talk in a social setting. If you could carry a conversation and naturally express your personality, more people would want to be around you.
The best way to become more social is to step outside of your comfort zone and talk to more people. It can be anyone from someone in your class or someone you come across in an elevator. The talk you have with this person doesn’t have to be a full conversation. You can start small by expressing a quick “Good morning” or “How are you?” The idea is to get yourself comfortable moving your mouth as much as you can.
8. Find something you like doing and get better at it
The biggest similarity we all have in common is that we all are good at something. Whether it’s cooking, playing sports, or making music, there’s something we enjoy doing because we are good at. Rather than let that talent go to waste, I want you to dedicate the next 30 days to growing within that passion. If you believe you don’t have anything you’re good at, spend time learning a new skill you find enjoyable.
Set aside at least 30 minutes of your day to get better, whether it’s learning and/or practicing your hobby. The better you get at something, the more value you have which you can share with other people. You can then turn your hobby into a side hustle by offering courses, becoming a freelancer, etc. It’s a win-win situation because you’re establishing another source of income while doing something you love.
Conclusion
Everything in life requires time. There’s no such thing as a one-day miracle.
Becoming the person you want to be all starts with you and your habits. By implementing these habits consistently, you won’t see immediate results, but a tremendous difference in how you feel will be noticeable over time.
Out of all eight habits, which one do you find the most valuable?
