Are you happy? Do you wake up feeling positive, and go to bed tired but pleased with how your day has been spent, achieving goals and surrounded by good people? If so, good job. If that doesn’t sound like you, and you spend your days stressed, over-worked and under-rested, then it’s time to for a change. Here are seven steps you can take to make your life a better place to be. 

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Surround Yourself with Good People

Every day is better when you have trustworthy family members and friends to support you, laugh with you and tackle problems with you. If you find you’re spending too much time with so-called ‘frenemies’, or co-workers with negative attitudes, it’s time to change it up. Make time for the people you feel better after seeing, not those who drain your energy, time and patience.

Early to Bed, Early to Rise

A good night’s sleep is one of the most important tricks in your beauty arsenal, but much more than that – it’s vital for continued health. Your body needs that time to heal and repair after the day. Avoid carbohydrates or sugar after 6pm, take some gentle exercise every night, and ban televisions, computers and phones from the bedroom. Spend the hour before bed doing something that relaxes you, and take yourself down a gear from the day. One week of sleeping well and you’ll be a changed woman.   

Set Yourself Goals

If you’re stuck in the same routine day in day out and feel a general sense of boredom in your life, it’s time to set yourself a new challenge. Whether it’s perfecting a new skill, prepping yourself for a potential promotion or enrolling in further education, having something to work hard for helps us get out of bed in the mornings. Chart your progress, and reward yourself when goals are reached.

Live In The Moment

If you find yourself struck by The Fear, and not after a night on the tiles, it’s time to let go of the past. You made mistakes in your past… so what? Newsflash – so did everyone else. If you continually beat yourself up about past failings, you’re not making the most of the moment you’re in, and that truly is something to regret. Learn from your past, but don’t let it cast a shadow over your future. Onwards and upwards.

Affirmative Action

It’s silly to expect anyone else to believe in you if you don’t believe in yourself. Step two in moving on from the past is to boost your self-belief. Take some simple affirmations and say them to yourself daily. If you repeat something to yourself often enough, you believe it. You already know this to be true about negative statements, so make the change to positive and you’re another step closer to being the best version of you.

Stretch it Out

We can’t all be gym bunnies, and the thought of pounding a treadmill in skin tight Lycra is enough to make many of us break out in a cold sweat. That said, exercise is hugely important for both body and mind. You just have to find the style that suits. A simple walk is often enough to ward off the blues, while a dance class is a high-energy and fun experience, and yoga works to tone your body and relax your mind. Try everything, then stick with the one that leaves you feeling good.

Let it Go

Stress is a killer. Our current plugged-in, always-on lifestyles unfortunately leave us feeling agitated and itchy, with a permanent to-do list etched into our brains and a regular feeling of falling behind and failing. That anxiety is so regular that it becomes almost an accepted reality of life, but it’s not normal and it’s not healthy. Write down everything that you’re worried about. If there’s something you can do to change it, do so. If you can’t – there’s your answer. There’s nothing you can do. Accept it, embrace it, let it go. Tomorrow is another day.