Don’t Waste Your Life
I had a brutal realization a few years ago.
I was wasting my life.
It was so clear to me that I was on the wrong path. I was desperately unhappy at my job and I knew something needed to change.
Even though I knew I needed a change I still felt stuck.
What was I supposed to do?
What was I supposed to change?
The good news is this story has a happy ending. I was able to become a fulltime blogger and create a career and life that I really LOVE. It wasn’t an easy journey but I learned a lot of lessons and I wanted to write this blog post so you don’t waste your life.
Find Inspiration
One of the best things I ever did for my life was to start consuming inspirational and personal development content. Every morning I go for a walk and listen to a podcast or audiobook to help my mindset. I don’t think I would have been able to find the courage to make such big changes to my life if I hadn’t listened to and consumed a ton of positive content. When you’re wasting your life it’s so easy to let your thoughts become overwhelmingly negative and it starts to feel impossible to change anything.
I also intentionally filled my Instagram feed with people who were living the kind of life I wanted to live. Seeing other people living really epic lives helped me believe it was possible for me too. I know a lot of people struggle with comparison on social media but I suggest looking at other peoples lives as an example of what life could be like. It can be hard to create a new vision for your life when your friends, job and home are uninspiring.
There are tons of places to find inspiration on the internet. I also started creating Pinterest boards for my new life and watching YouTube videos of people who were able to spend most of their lives traveling.
Micro Changes
When I was depressed and unhappy I felt like I would have to make HUGE changes to my life in order to start feeling better. It felt too overwhelming to think about quitting my job, moving or making new friends so I stayed stuck and for a long time, I did nothing. When I started making small changes it started giving me momentum to make bigger and bigger changes. The small habits and changes I’ve made have really added up and added so much to my happiness and well being.
If you hate your life try brainstorming some micro-changes you could make. When I worked me 9-5 I started taking an hour lunch break and eating outside. I made a commitment to packing my lunch and using that money to buy the courses I needed to start my own business. I had always been passionate about writing so I started keeping a journal and writing tons of blog posts. I joined a really nice gym and committed to going at least twice a week.
These changes weren’t huge but they really helped me start my new life. It’s totally fine if you don’t want to make big changes to your life right now. In fact, I try not to make giant life decisions when I’m feeling low. Ask yourself what habits the future version of yourself would love for you to start now.
Be Authentic
I ended up living a life I hated because I was following what I saw other people doing. Some of my friends got salaried 9-5 jobs and they really seemed to love it. I thought since that brought them happiness it would make me happy too. However, I’m a very creative and independent person. I grew more and more unhappy as time continued to pass and it was clear to me I was on the wrong path.
If I had really been listening to what I wanted and what I wanted out of life I would have never started a 9-5 and I would have launched my business much sooner. When you hate your life it’s easy to look around and think if you do what other people are doing you will find happiness. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really work that way.
When I started to really become the most authentic version of myself my life started to improve. I committed to showing up as the purest version of me and I worked through a lot of shame and fear of being rejected with my therapist. I started to show up as myself and let go of the fear of other people judging me. The less I worry about what other people think the happier I am in life. If you don’t want to waste your life commit to showing up and being who you truly are.
If you want to hear more about authenticity check out the podcast episode below.
Take Action
The hardest part of any journey is getting started. Once you start trying to take action to change your life you’ll start to find clarity around where you want to go so you don’t waste your life. I wasted months of my life “researching” how to be a blogger instead of just launching one and figuring out what I needed to learn. The internet can be an amazing resource but it’s also very easy to waste time and procrastinate.
Finding a goal setting system that works for you can help you get started. I’ve been setting 90-day goals and that has been working great for me. A year is just too long of a timeframe for me and I end up spending a lot of time procrastinating and wasting time. Giving myself a shorter timeframe to reach my goals gives me a feeling of urgency that helps me stay motivated. If your year-long resolutions are usually a big flop try setting a goal for the week or the month instead. No matter what goal setting process you use you’re going to need some kind of plan of action. The important thing isn’t what system or planner you use but just that you get started and make progress towards changing your life.
Get Introspective
The hardest part about changing my life was trying to figure out what the heck to do. I knew that I was unhappy at my 9-5 but I didn’t know what I actually wanted to do. I spent a lot of time during this time journaling and looking inward. If you’re struggling to figure out what you want to do I suggest paying attention to what gives you energy and what takes your energy away. Start noticing when you feel happy and what activities make you feel heavy.
Tapping into your feelings and emotions can help give you clues for what you would really like to do with your life. I always thought my calling would eventually be really obvious to me but it came to me through a lot of subtle observations. Make a list of what brings you joy and then start figuring out how you can add more of that into your life. Here are some of the journal prompts I use to get clarity around my purpose and what I want out of life.
- Describe in detail your perfect day
- If you could get paid for anything what would it be?
- What excites you and brings you joy?
- If you could trade lives with anyone who would it be?
Want to remember these tips so you don’t waste your life? Save this article to your favorite Pinterest board!
