37 Ways to Improve Your Life Right Now!

by Jonathan on October 15, 2009

Loving life

Have you ever wondered: What can I do to improve my life right now? Sometimes a few small changes can have a profound effect on the way we experience life. With that in mind, I invite you to consider the following:
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1) Make the choice to be happy. The biggest part of being happy is to simply make up your mind to be a happy person. It’s not about circumstances, it’s about choice.
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2) Count your blessings every day. We all have blessings in our lives. Take the time each and everyday to appreciate yours, and your view of life will be one of gratitude.
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3) Let go of negative thoughts. Don’t poison yourself by dwelling on negative thoughts. Your life reflects your dominate thought patterns, make yours positive.
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4) Let go of negative people. Like it or not, your attitude is susceptible to the dominate attitude of those around you. If they are negative, let them go and don’t look back.
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5) Be considerate of others. Showing consideration is a way of honoring others. Most people will respond in kind. When you honor others, you honor yourself.
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6) Get regular exercise. We all need to move and breath. Too much sitting robs you of the sense of being alive. Buy out time for exercise and you will feel better mentally, emotionally, and physically.
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7) Keep learning new things. Learning is what keeps us excited about life. Your mind has an almost infinite ability to take in knowledge. Feed your head.
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8) Smile at everyone. A smile can light up a single heart, or a whole room. It’s a wonderful free gift you can give to anyone who looks your way. Contribute to the bank of happiness, smile.
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9) Be polite. Manners create an atmosphere of mutual respect and goodwill. Rudeness reveals a complete lack of character. It’s right to be polite and crude to be rude.
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10) Practice listening. If we are really listening we will always hear more than words. Try to hear the meaning behind the words without presuming you already know. 
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11) Build others up. Life can be pretty hard at times and a little encouragement from you can help others feel more confident and capable. Help them out when you can.
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12) Find reasons to laugh. With the right attitude we can find humor almost everywhere. Laughter is powerful medicine, so laugh often.
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13) Be completely honest. Honesty comes from within. It takes humility and courage to be totally honest with ourselves and others. It’s also incredibly liberating.
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14) Be tactful. Being honest does not mean being brutal, even with yourself. Don’t needlessly offend others in the name of honesty, use tact and diplomacy.
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15) Look for way to practice giving. There are hundreds of ways to give, and ample opportunities for giving. Something as simple as a smile or kind word can change somebodies whole day, and their response can change your’s.
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16) Be creative. This would be a good place to add your own tip for improving your life right now. Go ahead, be creative!
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17) Watch for cause and effect. What you do and say has a huge impact on your life. It is in your best interest to become aware of the connection. Notice the effect of your words and actions so you can make any needed adjustments.
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18) View your mistakes as learning experiences. In new activities, it’s rare that we get it right the first time. Evaluating our results and adjusting our approach is how we learn. The better we get at this process the quicker we will produce our intended result.
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19) Challenge yourself with large and small goals. Goals give us something to focus on. They also provide a sense of purpose and direction. But remember, you can’t achieve a goal you haven’t set. So, set goals in every area of life.
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20) Stop comparing yourself to others. You are not them, so there is no basis for comparison. Strive to be the best possible version of yourself, and learn to celebrate your individuality.
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21) Stop judging others. We rarely have as much insight into another persons life as we think we do. If they do something you don’t approve of, judge the act, not the person.
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22) Eliminate time wasters from your life. We all want more time, and yet we all waste time on meaningless pursuits. Get rid of them and you will have the time you wished for.
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23) Don’t turn everything into a big deal. If you turn little issues into big issues it will rob you of your joy. Give yourself and everyone else a break, learn to let it go.
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24) Don’t take yourself too seriously. Learn to laugh at yourself, it’s liberating. When we take ourselves too seriously life becomes a struggle. Again, let it go.
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25) Avoid self-imposed limits. Strike limiting words from your vocabulary, and limiting thoughts from your mind. You can do almost anything you set your mind to, so don’t allow self-imposed limits to hold you back.
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26) Don’t try to control other people. Your example may influence others, but you cannot control them. They have the the same freedom of choice that you have. Respect that.
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27) Actively show appreciation. When someone does something nice for you, show them some appreciation. Acts of kindness, large and small, deserve recognition.
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28) Use applied focus sessions to get more done. Applied Focus Sessions – a simple strategy that can increase productivity and free time. Give it a try, it works.
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29) Take breaks to clear your mind. You will accomplish more, be more focused, and experience less stress if you give your brain periodic “clearing” breaks throughout the day.
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30) Don’t waste energy in pointless debates. Everyone has an opinion, so what? Debating opinions is a colossal waste of time and energy, and it’s pointless. It’s not always important to make your point. Let it go.
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31) Be optimistic. Optimism is a wonderful mindset. It focuses your energy on possibility. Your whole world looks brighter through the window of optimism.
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32) Set aside time for yourself. It’s great to be productive, but we are not machines. To function at optimal levels you must be well grounded. Make sure you make enough time in your life for you and your loved ones.
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33) Believe in yourself. You really are capable of amazing things. The only thing that can get between you and your dreams is self-doubt. Don’t let that happen! Believe in yourself, and surround yourself with others who believe in you.
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34) Be yourself and forget about impressing others. No matter what you do, some people will like you and some won’t. Why not just be yourself so that those who do like you, like you for who you really are. Really, being yourself is impressive enough.
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35) Accept responsibility for your life. This is the opposite of blaming others for your situation. When you accept responsibility, you assume complete control of your life and close the door on excuses. It’s a powerful state.
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36) Strive to create value. The more value you create, the more valuable you become to the world around you. Many people are only concerned about creating value for themselves, this is a selfish reality. Contribute the the abundance around you and you will experience real abundance in return.
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37) Be aware of your spiritual need. Whether you are willing to acknowledge it or not, we all have a spiritual need. Taking steps to fill that need will add a vital dimension to your life.
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Want to add something to the list?
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{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Karlil October 15, 2009 at 3:03 pm

Great list Jon. I particularly like #26. I find that if you expect less from others, you are far happier. By expecting less, of course you should realize that you can’t control the other person. We all have the freedom of choice, be it right or wrong.
Karlil´s last blog ..14 Ways To Improve Your Body Language Today My ComLuv Profile

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2 Jonathan - Advanced Life Skills October 16, 2009 at 10:47 am

Thanks Nik, good point about expectation. If you think about it, expectation is at the root of all disappointment. The less we expect from other people, the less disappointment we experience.
Twitter: mrjWells

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3 BunnygotBlog October 15, 2009 at 6:44 pm

Great list and the very first one is the most important.

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4 Jonathan - Advanced Life Skills October 16, 2009 at 10:49 am

I agree Bunny, in fact, if we make the choice to be happy most of the other points will fall into place almost automatically.
Twitter: mrjWells

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5 Nea | Self Improvement Saga October 15, 2009 at 7:01 pm

So many of these are helpful that I can’t even pick a favorite. It is truly a wonderful list. Great post!
Nea | Self Improvement Saga´s last blog ..What It Really Takes to Achieve the Impossible My ComLuv Profile
Twitter: NeaLOA

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6 Jonathan - Advanced Life Skills October 16, 2009 at 10:53 am

Thanks Nea, one way to approach these points is to really focus one just one per day. It’s difficult to try and think of too many things at once, but one per day is certainly doable.
Twitter: mrjWells

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7 sema October 15, 2009 at 10:14 pm

Great list! each one a gem of inspiration on its own!
Twitter: affirmart

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8 Jonathan - Advanced Life Skills October 16, 2009 at 11:19 am

Thanks Sema, I am genuinely pleased that you liked it. Thanks for joining the conversation.
Twitter: mrjWells

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9 Stephen - Rat Race Trap October 16, 2009 at 5:27 am

Hello Jonathan, this is a great list. I particularly like #1 and then #7 Keep learning new things. You can always pick up a book and learn something. Nice job!
Stephen – Rat Race Trap´s last blog ..Helping Others While Helping Yourself My ComLuv Profile

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10 Jonathan - Advanced Life Skills October 16, 2009 at 11:08 am

Hi Stephen, Jim Rohn says that we reach the top shelf in life by standing on the books we’ve read. In so many ways, learning is what life is all about.
Twitter: mrjWells

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11 Steven Aitchison October 16, 2009 at 9:40 am

This is great stuff Jonathan. #1, 5 and 11 will take you far in life.
Steven Aitchison´s last blog ..50 Ways To Build Your Optimism. My ComLuv Profile
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12 Jonathan - Advanced Life Skills October 16, 2009 at 10:56 am

Spoken like a genuine contributor Steve. Two of your three choices were about giving. Nicely done!
Twitter: mrjWells

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13 Vin - NaturalBias October 16, 2009 at 11:39 am

Great list, Jonathan! I think it would be complete with only #1! It’s amazing how much of a difference we can make by only changing our perception.
Vin – NaturalBias´s last blog ..12 Reasons Why Saturated Fat is Good for You My ComLuv Profile
Twitter: vinmiller

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14 Jonathan - Advanced Life Skills October 16, 2009 at 11:52 am

So right Vin, Making a choice to be happy sets up a domino effect and causes the rest to fall in line. Good observation!
Twitter: mrjWells

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15 Frank J October 16, 2009 at 1:42 pm

Jonathan,

Awesome list, but I may fall short in accomplish or practicing all 37.

:)
Frank J´s last blog ..Should I Do SEO for Bing? My ComLuv Profile
Twitter: techjaws

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16 Jonathan - Advanced Life Skills October 16, 2009 at 2:39 pm

Hey Frank, welcome to the club. We’re all a work in progress (as opposed to regress).
Twitter: mrjWells

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17 Zeenat{Positive Provocations} October 16, 2009 at 10:03 pm

Jonathan,
What an awesome list!!! I love it. Each and every point is so perfect and so thoughtful. This is going to be my new guide to happiness for sure. Whenever i am down..all i need is to read this and be reminded how beautiful and wonderful life is!!
Thanks.
Zeenat{Positive Provocations}´s last blog ..My New Beginnings My ComLuv Profile
Twitter: zeenatsyal

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18 Jonathan - Advanced Life Skills October 17, 2009 at 7:40 am

Hi Zenat, I am so pleased that you found these points useful. Isn’t it amazing how a simple list can help us focus in the right direction. Most of us know these points, but for some reason seeing them together in an abbreviated form makes it easy to assimilate.
Twitter: mrjWells

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19 Grampa Ken rants at Social Fix October 19, 2009 at 6:39 am

That’s a neat concise coverage of self-help tips.
You touch upon my favorite: 2) Count your blessings every day.

Henry Ward Beecher put it nicely, “No matter what looms ahead, if you can eat today, enjoy the sunlight today, mix good cheer with friends today, then enjoy it and bless God for it. Do not look back on happiness or dream of it in the future. You are only sure of today; do not let yourself be cheated of it.”
Grampa Ken rants at Social Fix´s last blog ..Greed to Maximize Profit My ComLuv Profile

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20 James October 28, 2009 at 11:24 pm

Check what you’re eating too. You’d be surprised how much an effect of what you eat determines how you feel both mentally and physically.

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