How to Make Life Easier (7 Tips That Work!)

Guest post by Disha at Stunning New Life

How can you make life easier when stress, burnout, and anxiety are so common nowadays? Almost all of us have experienced this at some point in our lives, some people experience these feelings nearly every day. 

Sometimes those feelings can be triggered by events such as your financial situation, an unexpected illness, or the work and family-related issues that we face on a regular basis. 

Stress and anxiety can take a toll on you in so many different ways. Here are some examples:

• You may feel anxious or nervousness more than usual 
• Feeling weak and tired
• Not wanting to do anything 
• Cluttered mind 
• Negative thoughts
• Your decision-making abilities
• Difficulty falling asleep at night

Believe it or not, your small habits can make a big difference. You not only can overcome anxiety and stress by trying these habits, but it will also help you make your life much easier or at least less stressful.

7 Ways to Make Life Easier

1. Decide What’s Really Important

The best way to make life easier for yourself is to stop worrying about the things that don’t truly matter.

Once you decide what’s important, you automatically stop thinking about things that aren’t. But, don’t decide your values based on your past experiences or other people’s opinions and expectations. 

A few things to stop caring about are:

• Societies beauty standards
• Impressing people
• The opinions of people who aren’t actually important
• Past failures
• The things you don’t have

Maybe you have grown up in a family where your parents expect you to prioritize things that aren’t actually helping you achieve your dream life and goals. 

For example, your parents want you to get a good grade and a job so you can live a secure life without having to worry about money, and there’s nothing wrong with it if that’s what you want.

But if you want to start your own business, which you are passionate about, you have to decide what YOU want from your life and take action towards it to achieve them.

2. Identify Your Sources of Stress & Create a Strategy to Reduce Them

You need to observe your thoughts and feelings, and then find the root cause of stress and burnout. Once you know what causes it, you can reduce it by making necessary changes in your life. 

For example, if social media negatively affects your mental health, take a break! I always try to avoid scrolling through Instagram endlessly, especially in the morning. It makes me anxious, and I start to compare myself with others. In your case, it could be Twitter, Tik Tok, or even Facebook.

If you find yourself constantly stressing out about things that the logical part of you knows doesn’t really matter, then you can choose a mantra or practice that helps you release that stress. Something like, “even though this is making me feel anxious, I’m safe and everything will be ok.” After repeating this 5-10 times you’ll feel the stress start to fade.

Maybe there are things you can’t avoid so easily, but you could add things to your life that counteract them like more self-care, meditation, breathing techniques, walks in nature, etc.

3. Set Boundaries and Learn to Say ‘NO’

How often have you said ‘YES’ when you really didn’t want to? Exactly!

So next time when someone asks for something that doesn’t feel right for you, be polite and say NO. You aren’t being rude. You are just setting healthy boundaries for yourself, which is necessary.

There’s nothing to apologize for when you are looking out for your well-being. 

Learn more about how to say no and how to set boundaries with toxic people.

4. Develop a Positive Inner Dialog

When you don’t have an inner critic that is constantly knocking down your dreams and ideas it makes everyday life easier and much more pleasant.

Practicing affirmation is one of the easiest ways to develop an inner dialog that automatically motivates and encourages you. Affirmations train your subconscious mind to start being a cheerleader instead of a mean girl.

Feel free to create your own positive affirmations but keep in mind these phrases are will take time to work, so be consistent with them and don’t give up.

Here are some examples:

• Today is a new opportunity for me to be better than yesterday.
• I am enough and beautiful as I am.
• I have all the resources to go after my dream and accomplish them.
• I will achieve my financial goals.
• I believe in myself and I will be successful.

Want more? Check out 65 affirmations for self love.

5. Stop Trying to Change Everything

When you stop trying to change things that aren’t in your control you can make life less difficult. Let things be as they are when you have no control over them.

Some examples of things that aren’t in your control:

• Other people’s thoughts, feeling, and actions
• The things that happen as a result of other people’s action
• What happened in the past
• What will happen in the future

The good news is that you do have control over how you respond to these outside forces. You may have to change certain responses that were habitual (like needing to ‘fix’ people who don’t want to change), but when you stop trying to change everything, your life will get easier in no time.

6. Learn to Manage Your Finances

Finances can be a huge struggle for many people, so last but not least, if you want to make your life easier learn how to manage your finances.

Ideally, this skill should be taught in schools and colleges so everyone can manage their finances without making TONS of stupid mistakes, but unfortunately, that’s not the case. 

There are many resources that can teach you the do’s and don’ts of money, so you will never have to stress over it again. 

Here are some money management tips one should follow:

• Read a finance book 
• Create a budget and stick to it
• Learn to invest (Acorns is a very simple way to invest without having to know anything about stocks or mutual funds)
• Track your income and expenses
• Find different ways to earn money

7. Practice Gratitude Everyday

Trust me; if you have food in your fridge, a roof over your head, and a well-paying job, you have more to be grateful for than you think. Studies have shown that gratitude is linked to happiness, and the more you thank the universe for everything you have, the more positive, happier, and satisfied you will be. 

Writing down things you are grateful for (even one thing) is a daily habit that will make your life feel easier. It also helps in reducing stress and building solid relationships.

How to Apply These Tips to Make Life Easier

Take Small Steps Towards Your Goals

When you start using these tips to make your life easier, make small and gradual changes.

If your goal is not sustainable in the long run you might feel too overwhelmed to start, and even if you do there is a big chance you will get frustrated and quit in a few days or a few weeks. When you suddenly go for a big change, your mind and body will resist and instead of adapting.

Let’s say you want to get fit, don’t make a goal of doing exercise for 2 hours every day because you’ll immediately feel overwhelmed and stressed out, and you will start looking for reasons to procrastinate.

Instead, a smaller goal of doing exercise for 10-20 mins each day in the morning or evening is sustainable and doable. And you can always increase it over time. Here are some ways to get into a productive mindset.

Maybe the state of your house stresses you out, so a tiny goal to work on is making your bed as soon as you get out of it each morning. Your room will instantly look more organized, and after a few weeks you’ll have this small win that gives you confidence to work on other goals.

Focus On One Change at a Time

Studies show that multitasking actually makes us less productive, and when you try to overhaul your life in a day you feel so overwhelmed that you can’t start at all.

So when you begin integrating these changes pick one or two to work on for a few weeks, then when you feel like you’ve made progress weave in another change. The quality of your life will improve much fast than if you try to take on too much and just quit.

When we decide we want a change in our lives, we want it right now. But, these kinds of changes that bring more ease into our lives don’t often happen in a day or week. So be patient and consistent.

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