I could make a list of 50 steps to self-improvement, but I can only think of one that will flip your life around immediately. Most of my recommendations require slow and deliberate intention and action, but this one will deliver immediately. If you are anything like me, you strive to be better.
You always see room for improvement and think about how to be …
- healthier
- faster
- richer
- more productive
- more patient
- more creative
- (insert your wish here)
Or maybe you’ve been thinking about home improvements, vacations, financing college for your kids, your relationships, your diet, your debt, your job. With all of the information out there, it is easy to get caught up, and even slightly obsessed with self-improvement. If you’ve ever thought or said, “I can’t get out of my own head.” or “If I could just get to the next level or make this work.” or “I couldn’t sleep because I couldn’t stop thinking about my….job, life, health.” then you know how much time you spend thinking about yourself.
If you genuinely want more health and happiness, greater clarity, better sleep, lovelier relationships and to radically improve your life …
Think about someone else
There is someone in your life right now that is suffering. You might know them, you might not. They are sad. They are hungry. They are frustrated. They are stuck. They are sick. They are lost. You can help them and you don’t have to be self improved to do it. You don’t have to wait until you are the person you want to be to help someone right now.
This could be as simple as a phone call or email or bigger like rallying friends for a fundraiser. You can think about someone else in your own home, in your community or in the world. There are so many ways to think about someone else.
You can bring one of these ideas to your own community or create a new way to give back and think about someone else. When you do that, you will separate yourself from worry, lift your spirits and radically improve your life.
We are all a work in progress, but contentedness allows you to be happy exactly where you are in this moment. Be grateful for where you are and what you have, and know this: Even if you are broke, sad, weary, or worried, you are in the perfect place to think about and help someone.
