Spring is in the air, and summer is close around the corner. What does this mean? Well, we all like to take some time to do spring cleaning of our homes, so why not do the same for our body and mind? Hear me out. We all have things in life we can work on personally, to grow into the best version of ourselves. So here are 5 things you need to hear today, that will level up your life. Sometimes all it takes is a gentle reminder to check in with yourself, and make small changes everyday that will build into larger impacts on your life.
It may sound cliche, but setting boundaries, protecting your peace and understanding where you can improve in life, will only better you. If you’re looking to level up your life and go through the second half of the year with a stronger sense of self and contentment, keep on reading to learn the 5 things you need to hear today, to level up your life.
Nothing changes if nothing changes
It’s as straight forward as it sounds. If YOU aren’t willing to put in the work to make the changes you want to see in life, nothing will change. People can complain all they want, say they want to get outside more, eat healthier, make some new friends, get that new job… But if you don’t put in the work to make the changes to get to where you want, it ain’t going to happen. Unfortunately Meg and I have both seen this many times in people we know. Friends or family come to you and say they want to make a change, explain their frustrations and vow to make a difference in their life, but then what happens? They keep repeating the same behaviours and in the long run, nothing really changes.
Now how do we change this? Say you want to drop 5 pounds by summer. I only use this example as I can give clear examples of an action plan. What do you need to do? Well, you can start by making a meal plan. Plan out your meals at the start of every week, go grocery shopping and avoid the junk food. Sure we can treat ourselves, but if you want to make actual steps towards your goal, you have to be disciplined. Incorporate movement into your day, make a schedule. Make a commitment to eat out less, cook at home more. You could even swap that daily sugary coffee with something a bit more simple. You’d be surprised how little changes really can add up!
Change takes time and change can be uncomfortable for many people. Knowing that growth comes from change, should be the driving factor when making adjustments to your lifestyle. It’s not going to be easy, but in the long run, you’ll be grateful that you disciplined yourself enough to get to where you want to be.
Grow through what you go through
Have you ever heard the saying, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger? This statement couldn’t be more true. We’ve all experienced it, the moments in life that change you often are the instances when we’ve had to go through something more challenging. Say it’s a breakup, or a death in your life, being fired from a job, a friendship ending. Something that tests your limits, that hurts your heart or challenges you to work really hard. These pivotal moments in life shape who we become, how do you grow through what you’re going through to become the person you most want to be?
Protect your peace, establish boundaries
Establishing healthy boundaries can be hard! If you’re someone who sticks up for themselves and finds it easy to protect your peace, honestly good on you. Establishing boundaries and not always just saying “yes” to everything, has actually been a challenge for me in life. I am a pretty typical people pleaser. Over the years, I’ve definitely grown stronger and have stood up for myself where need be, and I’m proud of that! But there’s still more work to be done.
We all have people in our lives who try to push boundaries, who maybe don’t understand when you say no to something, really means no. People who judge you for wanting to stay in and rest, when all of your friends are going out drinking. This can be hard, especially when you don’t want to let people down. But if you know what’s best for you, listen to that little voice inside of yourself and trust it. You’ll be thankful in the long run that you protected your peace. A helpful tip for setting boundaries and looking after yourself is; think about your future self, what would they want? How would they like to feel? Always keep that in mind and stay true to yourself.
Self love isn’t selfish, it’s important
Self love is very different than being selfish or self involved. Don’t get them mixed up! Genuinely caring for yourself and listening to your needs, is actually a great gift you can give to yourself. Of course being there for others and showing up for the people you care about is incredibly important, but if you can’t be there for yourself, how will you be there for others? It’s important to take care of our health, wellness and overall well-being, before taking on things for others. When we cultivate a deep love within and we respect ourselves enough to show up as the best version of us, everyone around you will feel it.
Here is an example. If you’re feeling exhausted from a big week and your friends all want to do something Friday night, and you know that you would rather just stay in, what do you do? They’re all going to bug you to go and probably won’t listen to you saying that you’d rather just stay home. But you know that on Saturday you want to get up for that 8am workout class and have a productive day. That is self love, taking care of yourself. This doesn’t mean you don’t care for your friends or wouldn’t be there any other day, you just know how you feel best, and sometimes we need to prioritize our health over other people’s social needs. This is self love, looking out for your future self. If your friends care about you, they will understand and will catch you another time.
You’re allowed to make a big deal about things that are important to you
Has anyone ever told you, “Why are you making a big deal about this? Calm down.” Isn’t that the most ANNOYING thing to hear?! If you feel that something is a big deal to you, listen to your inner voice and honour that. I’m not saying make a big deal about everything that frustrates you, we don’t need to be drama queens! 😅 But if something truly matters to you and it effects your mental health if it’s not talked about, speak up. Often times, we keep quiet because we don’t want to disturb the peace.
Confrontation is not a bad thing! We don’t need to be starting fights over things, but a healthy dialogue with people about our wants and needs, is never a bad thing. In fact, it often builds stronger relationships. So speak up and say what’s on your mind in a constructive way, be true to yourself and your feelings.
If you’re looking to level up your life and build a stronger sense of self and contentment, tell us if you found these 5 tips to to level up your life, helpful!
So that sums up the 5 things you need to hear today, to level up your life. What do you think? Did you gain any new insight from what we’ve talked about? What’s your take on these 5 words of wisdom? We are big believers in small changes adding up to big impacts on your life. And even if you just take one thing from this week’s blog post, we love that for you. Comment down below, what else would you add to this list?
If you enjoy discussing and learning more about personal growth, check out our list of 10 podcasts that will change your life, linked here. We really enjoy these shows when we’re looking to find some more inspiration in our lives. Trust us, you’ll be sure to take lots of helpful life tidbits away with these hosts.
