Look in the mirror. You see that there are areas of your life that need improvement.
Here are 50 ways to leave your old self behind:
1. Establish firm goals – Create a target and focus your energies to reaching the goal.
2. Aim high – If you aim low, you will achieve the minimum.
3. Be practical – No one can do everything, so set your goals parallel to your greatest strengths.
4. Know where you are going – Mental wandering will keep you going in circles.
5. Prepare yourself – Most achievements are accomplished by a through understanding of where you want to be.
6. Prepare yourself, again – Take inventory of the tools you need, whether physical or mental, and if you do not have them, get them.
7. Guard your health – Working hard to achieving your goals is pointless if your health is too poor to enjoy your success.
8. Eat right – Plan to eat nutritious meals at regular times every day.
9. Become organized – Create a mental roadmap where you want to go and the steps you need to achieve the goal.
10. Believe in yourself – Stop depending on outside approval for your accomplishments
11. Know your own strengths – Everyone has special talents and abilities, and it is up to you to discover what they are.
12. Know your own weaknesses – Everyone has weaknesses, so know what your own are and work to improve on them.
13. Pick your battles – You cannot fight every battle every time, so choose which battles are the ones worth fighting for.
14. Become accountable to you – When you fail, admit is and understand your mistake instead of looking for someone or something to blame.
15. Understand “work in progress” – Rome wasn’t built in a day, so be patient with yourself on your way to achieving your goals.
16. Limit fear – It is natural to be afraid at times but how you choose to deal with fear when it comes will determine the amount of your personal freedom.
17. Accept your mistakes – Not every problem has a solution, and ignoring the reality of an unsolvable major mistake will hinder your growth.
18. Listen to your body – Your body is the best diagnostic tool you have, so pay attention to what is normal, and then you will know when something is wrong.
19. Admit when you need help – This is better to be thought of as choosing to get help rather than continue down the road of frustration and failure.
20. Acknowledge the past – Learn from the past but don’t live in the past
21. Gain an edge - Be suspicious enough to be cautious but optimistic enough to seize an opportunity
22. Understand money – Grow to understand that money is a tool that gives you more options and not an end in itself.
23. Develop a passion – Passion goes beyond merely doing something you like but transforms a want-to-do into a must-do and adds layers of knowledge and experience to what you like to do.
24. Choose to be happy – Happiness is not something that is possible all the time, but many times we can be but choose not to be. Life is easier when your perspective of the world is upbeat.
25. Choose reason over force – While it can be challenging, choosing to reason a situation through instead of trying to force a solution broadens your perspective and minimizes the chance for conflict.
26. Impress yourself – place recognized achievements such as a college degree or certification in a room where you will see them daily.
27. Hear the voice of experience – You don’t need to repeat the mistakes other people made. Heed those who have been there before you.
28. Water is essential – Drinking the proper amounts of water will flush out toxins in your system and is required to convert food into energy.
29. Choose friends selectively – Make sure your inner circle consists of people who will both support and constructively criticize you.
30. Cry when necessary – Crying is a great stress reliever and afterward will give you a different perspective.
31. Avoid overusing alcohol – Drinking is fine, but the evidence is overdoing it usually has negative consequences, sometimes life changing.
32. Learn from the best when possible – The number of people who strive for excellence is far smaller than those who settle for anything.
33. Learn by teaching – You don’t have to be an expert or guru to teach someone what you know, and the questions that will be asked will help you learn.
34. Eat breakfast – Your body needs energy to get you through the day, and breaking the nighttime fast builds a foundation for the rest of the day.
35. Take advantage of technology – Technology was designed to make your life easier and simpler so you have more time to do the important things.
36. Build in a 5 second pause – Before speaking, take a few seconds to consider what you will say, especially in times of high stress or pressure.
37. Schedule fun – Playtime is an essential part of being happy. More than a few people think work is play but the idea is to give yourself some physical and mental downtime.
38. Create beauty – Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but its creation always begins in the hands of the creator.
39. Silence is golden – Sometimes the best thing to say is nothing.
40. Acknowledge the wisdom of older people – This is not about life experience as much as it is the wisdom acquired through those experiences.
41. Take care of your feet – Stop and think how many things you could do if your feet were not in great health.
42. Localize your social network – Social media is good but personal connections are much more intimate and beneficial when meeting face-to-face.
43. Be proactive – Rather than waiting for something to happen and reacting to it, find the problem and discover a solution for it.
44. Become an international – Traveling to other countries opens the door to expanding your perspective of the real world and different cultures.
45. Read more – The best thing about reading is you can choose your own topic, reading level, and schedule the time to do it at your own convenience.
46. Take a break from tradition – We are all limited by our experiences, and much of that comes from following familiar family patterns. Step away from what you know and explore new types of music, art, and entertainment.
47. Listen to instrumental music – Whatever type you choose, instrumental music has the advantage of allowing you to create your own harmonious message instead of one being sent to you.
48. Become spontaneous – While many events need to be planned, some of the best moments in romance, art, and life are those that come directly from the heart.
49. Avoid the crowds – Crowds crowd you in and limit your freedom of thought, movement and discovery.
50. Back up your data – If this sounds silly, ask yourself how many people you know that talk about losing valuable information because they didn’t back it up. Backing up data is a simple process that develops good habits, responsible behavior, and dependability.