Are you feeling like life isn’t going the way you want? Would you like to learn how to live your best life?
If your answer is YES, then it’s time to start making a change for the better.
Now is the time to start challenging yourself, taking care of yourself, changing your mindset, and start living the best life possible.
However, many people are scared to make any real changes.
But, why stay stuck in a job you hate, in a bad relationship, or living with what feels like neverending financial stress?
These kinds of situations can cause you to feel scared, depressed, like you can never get ahead, and more.
No one should feel like that when you have the power to change your life.
Regardless of how life is currently going for you, I believe that we are all in control of our own life. Even when things don’t go as planned, we get to decide how we handle those setbacks. Just a simple thing like changing your mindset can have a huge impact on your life.
And, even when it feels like you are completely powerless because your situation feels so overwhelming, you are still in control. It can feel really scary, but that’s completely normal.
Changing your life takes doing things you’ve never tried, working outside of your comfort zone, and challenging yourself. It may feel like it’s too hard, but I believe that learning how to live your best life is possible for anyone.
Now, everyone is going to have a different version of how to live the best life. For some it might mean being debt free, while others might just want to gain the confidence to try something new from time to time.
Everyone has different things that make them happy, and that’s one of the best parts of learning how to live your best life — you get to choose what makes you happy!
And, it’s never too late to start making a change for the better. So, are you ready to learn how to live your best life now?
Here’s how to live your best life in 2020:
1. Do things that make you uncomfortable.
Many of the best things in life are probably going to make you feel uncomfortable. Staying in your box all the time, while it seems easy, can hold you back in some situations.
I’m a big believer that growth comes from trying things that make you feel uncomfortable!
This may mean going on stage to do public speaking, climbing a mountain, selling your home to travel full-time, exercising, making new friends, learning a new skill, and so on.
By doing things that make you uncomfortable, you may learn new things about yourself, find something that you love doing, and so on.
One of the best things you can do to learn how to live your best life is to welcome the unknown.
Some people never get out of their comfort zone and explore the unknown because they are afraid of it. However, you’ll never know what your future holds unless you try new things and welcome different experiences.
2. Be grateful for what you already have.
The next time something negative is clogging your mind, I recommend trying to remember all of the good things that you already have going on in your life.
You already live a great life, and to learn how to live your best life, you simply need to remember that.
This is the power of positive thinking at its best.
You can be thankful for your family, friends, your job, a past experience, opportunities, and more.
Thinking about all of the good you already have in your life can make something negative seem very trivial. You may even laugh at yourself for being so negative!
3. Be more confident.
Confidence can go a long way for you. It can lead to getting the job you want, making more money, reaching your dreams, networking, traveling the world, and more.
However, learning to be confident can be hard. It probably seems like some people are naturally confident while you struggle with it.
And, unfortunately, a lack of confidence may:
Prevent you from believing in yourself.
Lead to being too shy to do what you want or need.
Force you to do things you hate.
Cause you to ruin a meeting, a job possibility, and so on.
Lead to unhappiness.
If you would like to gain confidence so you can learn how to live your best life, start by thinking about the things you are good at. You can also remind yourself of the people who care about you and how much you mean to them.
Read more at Be More Confident And Get What You Want In Life.
4. Create a bucket list.
If you don’t have a bucket list, I recommend creating one in 2020!
A bucket list is where you list all of the major goals you want to meet, places you want to visit, and things you want to do in your life.
Creating a bucket list can give you the motivation you need to work harder towards your dreams, it can give you a sense of direction, and a great feeling of fulfillment as you cross things off of your list.
5. Start investing.
Investing is important so you can:
Retire one day.
Prepare for unexpected events in the future.
Allow your money to grow over time.
If you want to learn how to live your best life in the future, investing is a great way to do so. And, you can even start investing with little money.
If you haven’t started investing yet, I want you to start investing this year. You can learn how to get started at The 6 Steps To Take To Invest Your First Dollar – Yes, It’s Really This Easy!
6. Be kind to others.
Being kind to others is something you should always do, and it will help more than just you live a great life. Being kind can open your mind to new people and experiences, it can help you stop dwelling on negative things, it can brighten someone’s day, and more.
You can be kind to others by doing things such as:
Say hello to every person you walk by today.
Open doors for others.
Smile at strangers.
Help someone with their groceries.
Volunteer somewhere.
Related post: 50+ Random Acts of Kindness.
7. Look for new ways to save more money.
Looking for ways to save more money may allow you to pay off your debt faster, improve your financial habits, help you reach your dream sooner, and more. And, all of those things will help you learn how to live your best life because you won’t be stressed out by your finances.
Plus, there are many, many different ways to save money. You don’t need to sacrifice your favorite things or live an unhappy life in order to save money.
It’s all about being realistic and finding a good balance between saving and spending.
Read more at 30+ Ways To Save Money Each Month.
One of the hardest parts about saving money is staying motivated.
Even though I love saving money, I sometimes just want to spend money on any and everything.
The frugal life can be great, but it’s not always easy. To stay motivated about saving more and spending less, you need to remember what it can help you do. For some it means paying off large amounts of debt, and for others, it might be saving for a dream vacation.
Finding financial motivators will help you continue to work hard towards your goal, even when it seems impossible. Without motivation, you might give up on a financial goal quite easily. This is why it’s so important to learn how to stay motivated to save money so that you can learn how to live your best life.
8. If you want to learn how to live your best life, take a risk.
This is something that I am trying to get much better at because I realize that fear has prevented me from learning how to live my best life in the past.
Now is the time to get over our fears and take more risks!
Doing something risky every so often gets your heart beating and your adrenaline rushing. You will be surprised at how alive and in charge of your life you feel when you take a chance on something that scares you.
9. Recognize that you may fail.
If you’re taking risks or trying new things, there is a chance that you may fail.
The thing about failing is that it’s completely okay!
You often learn a lot about yourself when you fail — even more than when you succeed. That’s because to overcome your failures, you’ll have to assess where you went wrong and how you can make it better.
You won’t know if something will work or not unless you try it, and sometimes failure is just a part of the learning process.
Part of learning how to live your best life is failing every now and then. Accept that fate now and you’ll be better prepared when it happens.
10. Exercise more in 2020.
Exercising is a great way to live your best life because it’s healthy for both your body and your mind. You will feel more confident, your mind will be clearer, you will be able to better cope with stress, and more.
Whenever I’m feeling a little stressed out or tired, I make time for a short workout. I know that even a small workout is better than none, and it usually makes me feel so much better!
11. Say yes.
If you have gotten stuck in your comfort zone or are avoiding new things and people, then you may want to try saying yes a little more often.
Saying yes can open you up to new situations, help you grow as a person, and help you learn how to live your best life.
12. Say no.
Sometimes saying yes to everything can make you feel like you are being walked on or spread too thin, and neither one of those feelings are good.
If saying yes to everything is making you want out pull your hair out, then try saying no every once in a while.
Saying no may allow you to have more time to focus on you and what you truly want from life.
13. Laugh and smile more.
Smiling is contagious and laughing can help everyone.
Studies have even proven that smiling can improve your mood, even if it’s a fake smile.
Smile at the next person you pass, smile when you’re talking on the phone, smile when your loved one comes home, smile in an interview, and more.
14. Stop thinking about what others think of you.
Worrying about what others think about you is a hard thing to stop, but the only person who gets to tell you what kind of life to live is you.
I used to really care about what other people thought of me, but I’ve been able to let go of that and now I couldn’t be happier.
You shouldn’t let the opinions of others affect you, drag you down, control you, and so on. Like I always say, “Who cares what others think!?”
15. Build yourself a budget.
I have heard many people say that budgets are for boring people, but budgets can help you take control of your finances. That can help you reduce stress, allow you to reach your dreams, and start to live life to the fullest.
However, not many people have a budget.
I find this sad because the average family carries a lot of financial stress. Most people have student loans, credit card debt, a mortgage, car loans, and possibly other forms of debt.
A budget will show you exactly where to cut spending, when you need to start earning more money, and how much money you need to save to reach your goals.
Having a budget is crucial if you want to learn how to live your best life.
16. Spend less time watching TV.
Cutting back on TV is something I talk about a lot because the average person spends too much time watching television, 35 hours in fact!
35 HOURS! Can you imagine what you could accomplish in half of those every week!?
Watching too much TV can prevent you from learning how to live your best life because it’s such a time waster.
Instead of turning on the TV the next time you are bored or looking for something to do, you may want to do something more worthwhile, such as working out, spending time with friends and family, reading a book, and so on.
We currently only have a digital antenna for TV, and we haven’t watched any TV since this past summer. We’ve been more productive, have spent more time exploring, and more!
17. Enjoy the little things.
Sometimes we have to force ourselves to slow down and appreciate what’s happening around us so that we don’t let our life pass us by.
Focus on living in the moment rather than thinking things like, “Oh, in 10 years life will be so much better because of such and such.” You’ll end up just letting your life go by without ever thinking about the present.
Don’t wait 5, 10, or 20 years to start living your life, do it now! And, that doesn’t mean you have to spend all of your money doing so either.
You can live in the moment by simply being present and focusing on the amazing things that are happening right now.
18. Appreciate your time with loved ones.
You should enjoy the time you have with those you love.
This may mean making time to see your family and friends, talk to them on the phone, tell them you love them, and let them know that you are there for them.
Our loved ones offer us some of the most amazing moments we have, and you just never know what may happen to you or them.
This will help you to learn how to live your best life, as time with those that you love can be great.
19. Set goals for yourself.
Before you throw out the idea of goal setting, please keep this quote from Statistic Brain in mind:
“People who explicitly make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don’t explicitly make resolutions.”
This is why I believe that setting goals and making a plan to reach them is so important.
To reach your goals, you’ll want to:
Review the goals you set for the previous year and think about how you achieved them or why you weren’t able to.
Make sure your goal is SMART.
Write down your goals and objectives.
Create a plan to reach your life goals.
Break your goal apart into smaller goals.
Keep track of your goal setting progress and make changes (if needed).
Find small ways to stick to your goal.
Find ways to motivate yourself when setting goals.
Make reaching your goal a friendly competition.
Read further at The Best Way To Set Goals And Reach Success.
20. Practice self care.
Self care means that you are doing things to protect your own well-being or happiness. In fact, a lot of the things in this post are forms of self care. It’s all about putting yourself first so you can learn how to live your best life.
There are lots of small things you can do, like going for a walk, taking a warm bath, reading a book, taking a nap, etc.
21. Finally get rid of your debt.
Have you ever thought about how your debt may be holding you back?
If you’re like many people out there, then your debt is probably preventing you from doing a lot of the things you would love to do.
Paying off your debt can lessen your stress levels, allow you to save more for retirement or an emergency fund, you’ll stop paying interest fees, and more.
The reason debt prevents you from seeing how to live your best life is that you may decide not to travel, not to apply for your dream job, and so on.
Read more at How To Eliminate Your Debt.
22. Don’t try to keep up with the Joneses.
Everyone has experienced the feeling of wanting something just because someone else has it. Maybe you were five years old and wanted the new toy everyone is playing with or 50 and feeling the need to upgrade your house or car because you see others around doing those things.
The problem with this is that keeping up with the Joneses can actually make you broke and never getting what you truly want from your life.
When trying to keep up with others, you might spend money you do not have. You might put expenses on credit cards to (in a pretend world) “afford” things. You might buy things that you do not care about. The problems can go on and on.
This can lead to an excessive amount of debt and potentially set you back years with your financial goals, if not decades.
23. Stop letting money control you.
If you want to gain control of your life, then you need to gain control of your money.
This means you need to stop worrying about all of the things that are holding you back, many of which are included in this blog post.
24. Do what YOU want to do.
What makes you happy, excited, joyful, and motivated? That’s what you should be doing with your life (as long as it’s legal)!
Go for that job you’ve always wanted, finally start a family, and make a plan to take that adventure you’ve been dreaming of. Whatever it is, just go for it!
Stop thinking about what other people want you to do and start listening to your heart. Who cares about what others think? If you spend all your time thinking about others, you will just be wasting a ton of time!
Now, I will tell you that to learn how to live your best life, then make sure that you’re doing what you want to do on a budget!
25. Read as much as you can.
I am definitely not good in this area, but it’s something I am trying to change.
Books are one of the best ways to learn more and explore the world around you. Spending a little time each day with a book is great for many reasons, because reading:
Provides knowledge.
Improves your memory.
Opens your mind.
Brings out your creative side.
Is affordable entertainment.
And more!
26. Have more positive thoughts.
Being positive is one of the best ways you can learn how to live your best life because it can change your outlook on everything.
Being positive can help motivate you, it can help you waste less time on regret, and more.
27. Don’t waste your valuable time on being negative.
You are wasting your time when you are being negative.
Instead of wasting your energy on things like dwelling on regret and/or gossiping, you will live a much better life if you use your time on things that actually matter.
So when a negative situation happens, try to find something good in it.
Even though it can be hard to think about the positive when you are experiencing something negative, finding a small amount of positivity will help you live a much happier life overall.
Through the power of positive thinking, you can use a bad experience to learn something new about yourself, to realize you made a mistake, to come up with a new plan you never thought of before, and more.
Taking the negative and turning it into a learning experience can help prevent a negative situation from happening again. Or, maybe next time you’ll be more prepared!
28. Realize that no one is perfect.
Social media has made it really easy to compare yourself to other people whose lives look amazing, beautiful, and even perfect. The truth is that what you see online isn’t always what it seems.
Everyone has struggles, regrets, bad experiences, and more. The sooner you realize that, the sooner you can learn how to live your best life.
29. Seek out free fun.
If you find that you are spending hundreds of dollars a month on entertainment, you should know that there are many ways to have fun for cheap or even free.
There is no reason to go into debt or add more debt to have fun. There are parks to explore, friends to visit, and more!
There are many ways to have fun for cheap. Check out How To Have Frugal Fun for some of my ideas.
30. Get enough sleep each night.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, the average person needs around 7.5 hours of sleep in order to “function at their best.” However, the average person actually only sleeps around 6.5 hours.
Lack of sleep, according to HealthLine, can lead to issues such as:
Impaired brain activity
Memory problems
Moodiness
Depression
Cold and Flu
Type 2 Diabetes
Weight gain
High blood pressure
Heart disease
Due to this, you should aim for 7-8 hours of sleep every night. It will help you be more productive, become healthier, and live life to the fullest.
31. Travel to new places.
There are many wonderful places in the world, and I wish I had the chance to explore them all. Traveling to new places can help improve your confidence, open you up to new experiences, and may even make you a little uncomfortable, which is okay!
Plus, doing something different will take you out of your comfort zone so you can live life to the fullest.
32. Open your mind.
Being open minded is a great quality. There are billions of people in this world and everyone is different, so instead of judging others and expecting things to go one way, we should be more open minded.
And, everyone can stand to be a little more open minded.
Being open minded can help you accept changes, love others, be optimistic, learn from others, and most of all, it’s relaxing. Instead of worrying about what everyone else is doing, you can relax, have less stress, and just accept those around you.
33. Consume more water to live a healthier life.
According to Lifehacker, the average person should drink around 9 to 13 cups of water per day. This is just a baseline, though, as if you exercise or are in hot weather, then you should consume more.
However, not many people get anywhere near this amount of water.
Drinking water can help you lose weight, perform better, be happier, prevent headaches, help your skin, and is a must for your body to survive.
To drink more water, you can start by carrying around a reusable water bottle, and you will be surprised by how great drinking water will make you feel.
34. Make more money.
Here on Making Sense of Cents, I spend a lot of time discussing extra income, side hustles, side income, and how to make money online. I believe that earning extra income can completely change your life in a positive way. You can stop living paycheck to paycheck, pay off your debt, learn how to live your best life, and more.
In fact, because of earning extra income from my blog, I was able to pay off $38,000 in student loans within 7 months, I was able to leave my day job in order to pursue my passion, travel full-time, and more!
Related blog posts:
35. Write down your thoughts in a journal.
While I don’t have a journal, I do have this blog, which acts as a journal in a way. Keeping a journal can help you reflect on your past, and it also allows you to see the progress you are making towards your goals and dreams.
Plus, spilling your heart out every so often is great for your mind and soul.
Related tip: If you’re looking for a life planner, I highly recommend checking out Erin Condren to see their selection of great life and monthly planners. This can be a great way to stay motivated so that you can reach your dream life!
36. Spend less time on social media.
The average person spends many, many hours on social media each week, and it can lead to wasting lots of time, feeling negative thoughts about yourself, and more.
Between Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and many others, it can be quite easy to waste your entire day on something that does very little to improve your life.
If you find that you are spending too much time on social media, you may want to shut down the social media accounts that you are spending too much time on. You can even create a time block so you can’t access your accounts during certain periods of the day, and so on.
37. Be proud of your successes.
When some people become successful and reach their goals, they may sometimes start to feel guilty.
Yes, I know, this might seem weird. However, I understand this.
I sometimes really dislike telling my friends and family how great life is and how much I love my business. I often feel guilty because I see how stressed out others are with their jobs, their debt, and more. But, I just need to remember that a mixture of luck and hard work led me to where I am. Everyone has their down points, and I have them as well.
Instead of being ashamed, you should be proud of your accomplishments and success.
38. Learn something new.
Learning new things has many positive effects — you can work outside of your comfort zone, challenge yourself, gain confidence, find that you are capable of things you never realized, and more.
The most recent thing I’ve learned how to do is to sail. It was terrifying at first, but now I am living my best life because of it.
There are so many different things to learn in this world. You can learn a new language, how to do a craft, to cook, to build something, and so much more! Learning new skills has gotten easier than ever with YouTube, blogs, online courses, free books from the library, etc.
39. Start an emergency fund.
An emergency fund is something that I believe everyone should have. However, according to a report by Bankrate.com, 26% of Americans have no emergency fund whatsoever.
This same report stated that only 40% of families have enough in savings to cover three months of expenses, with an even lower percentage having the recommended six months worth of savings.
This is frightening to me, as having an emergency fund can really help you get through tough parts of your life.
An emergency fund can help you if you lose your job, if your hours are cut back, if you have an unexpected expense, and so on.
Read more at Everything You Need To Know About Emergency Funds.
40. Don’t be afraid of your past self.
Just because you may have failed at something in the past, this should not prevent you from aiming for your goals. I know people who have completely given up with reaching for hard goals because they weren’t successful in the past.
However, that can rob you of the opportunity to live your best life.
If you have failed in the past, then you should use those mistakes as learning tools for the future.
Do you want to learn how to live your best life? What are you doing to improve your life right now?
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