It’s a myth that important life changes take a long time to make.
Usually, the more time spent working on something the better the outcome, but this common sense has no place in the strange and weird world of change and motivation where everything works in unusual and unfamiliar ways. Sometimes the biggest changes we make in our lives are made in a few moments. Time has no bearing on making changes, and therefore you really can change your life in five minutes, or as long as it takes you to read this.
Here are five things that really will help you improve and change your life in five minutes, or less if you’re really speedy!
Stop Doing Things That Get You Down
Us humans are a funny lot. As we trundle through life we tend to acquire a whole lot of stuff that we feel compelled to do. We don’t necessarily enjoy doing any of this stuff but we do it anyway; ironing shirts, cleaning, washing up, walking the dog, shopping, visiting certain people…the list is endless. In the end we kind of get used to it and it just becomes part of our routine. I used to hate going to the supermarket on a Friday after work and doing the weekly shop. It was only when I stopped doing it that I realised how much it got me down and made me feel depressed.
Make a list of all the things you do that get you down and find ways to eliminate each one. Just stop doing them. Minimise things that make you feel depressed.
A Picture of Success
In this increasingly challenging world it’s not too hard for our self esteem and confidence to take a few knocks. It’s easy to forget how successful we have been, especially when things are stressful and difficult. We can easily have the stuffing knocked out of us without really realising it. On my fridge door there is a faded photo of me on the day I passed my driving test. In the picture I’m standing in a car park in South East Essex, next to an old metallic grey Ford Escort and I’m beaming a great big smile. Every time I see it makes me happy.
Print a picture of yourself during a moment of proud success and stick it on your fridge door.
Cut Out Negative People
Every one of us will have people in our lives who we find difficult and bring us down. It maybe certain friends or family, neighbours or enemies, we will all have people who get us down. Don’t put up with negative people in your life who make you feel down and stressed. Just don’t spend any time with them and concentrate on the people who you want to be with.
Make a list of people who make you feel down and avoid spending time with them.
Persue What Makes You Happy
I love gardening and pottering about outside. We all have things which make us feel better and happy, yet these are always the things which, somehow, we never have time to do. Whatever it is that you enjoy, whether it’s reading, fishing, rebuilding old cars, cooking…make sure you spend at least one hour every day persueing your own happiness.
Treat Yourself To The Best of The Best
When was the last time you bought yourself a gift, something really nice? It doesn’t have to be expensive or extravagant, but once in a while, we all need to feel that we are valuing ourselves and treating ourselves to the best, why shouldn’t we? Many of us will instinctively have an inbuilt mechanism which prevents us from treating ourselves, therefore we need to give ourselves permission. In Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and counselling, this is referred to as “permission giving beliefs.” We need to re-set our default beliefs to make it okay to occasionally buy ourselves something really nice, something that will make us feel happy. Yesterday I bought myself the most expensive bottle of Olive Oil. It’s the darkest green and tastes better than anything I’ve ever had before. It certainly didn’t break the bank but on a cold, rainy day in Essex really made me feel happy and was like a little ray of sunshine. I’m going to use it again in a minute to cook some tomatoes which I picked from the greenhouse while pottering about in the garden.
Thanks for reading and hope these simple ideas make a difference.
If you feel you need to get away and think about making some big changes in your life have a look at our Counselling Retreat in Essex in the UK, and also our Life Coaching holiday which we run in Thailand. We also specialise in Online Counselling and offer Couples Therapy Retreats and online counselling for couples.
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