Life & Spirituality Success & Goal Achievement

How To Change Your Life in 2023… Starting Today

Sometimes we feel that we need a little change to reach a big goal. Follow these 13 steps on how to change your life to reach those new achievements.

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“That’s just the way it is.” 

It’s the biggest lie we tell ourselves – that the way things are right now is the way they will always be. 

The truth is, no matter who you are or what you’re currently dealing with, you have the power to change your life for the better. And this change can happen in an instant! 

All it takes is the ability to think different thoughts and understand that change is possible – and start taking persistent action toward making that change a reality.

However, just because changing your life can be simple, that doesn’t mean it’s always easy. Without self-confidence, a positive attitude, and a roadmap that shows a clear path forward, you can easily get sidetracked or discouraged.

The good news is, there are proven steps you can take that make the journey so much easier.

Today I’d like to teach you 13 proven steps that will help you change your life forever – by setting goals that are aligned with your purpose and passions and finding the confidence to move beyond your comfort zone so you can keep making progress in the face of obstacles and create a life you love!

13 Steps to Change Your Life

 

Contrary to popular belief, 13 can be a lucky number! Follow these proven steps to discover how to change your life and make your biggest dreams come true.  

Step 1: Identify Your Purpose in Life

The best way to create positive lasting change in your life is to start with what your purpose is.

What were you put on this planet to do? How can you use your unique skills and experiences to make lives better and create the kind of world you live in? 

The clearer you are on your purpose, the easier it will be for you to ensure that any changes you make to your life will lead to the happiness and fulfillment you desire.

So before you take action and start making any significant changes that will impact your entire life, do some careful thinking about the kind of world you most want to live in and ask yourself: 

How can I best use my unique gifts to make this reality possible? 

What obstacles are standing in the way of me doing this? 

And what changes can I make in my life to eliminate these obstacles and bring my actions into greater alignment with the world I most desire to experience?

I guarantee you that your future self will thank you for it!

Step 2: Overcome Your Fears 

When you dig into the obstacles that are holding you back from fully living your purpose, you’ll likely find fear at the heart of all of them.

It could be fear of failure stopping you from taking action on your dreams. Maybe you’re afraid of asking for help and being rejected, or you’re worried about putting yourself “out there” where you can be criticized by negative people.

Maybe you’re scared of leaving your comfort zone and embarking on a career path that will require you to gain new skills and experiences.

No matter what your personal fears are, it’s important to acknowledge them and have positive mindset work that will allow you to release limiting thoughts and embrace the idea that you can accomplish anything you put the time and effort into it.   

Learn to Create a Powerful Vision Board for Yourself.

Get My Free Vision Board Checklist.

Step 3: Create a Vision Board

A powerful tool that can help you change your life is a carefully considered vision board that makes it easier for you to keep your goals top of mind and take action every day to make them a reality! 

A vision board is a collage of inspiring images that represent your ideal life and the goals you will need to achieve to make it a reality. 

By creating a visual reminder of the reality you want to create and putting it somewhere you can see every day, you’ll find it much easier to remember what’s most important and take meaningful action toward your dreams.

Plus, it’s a fun and creative activity that allows you to consider your big “life purpose” questions in a more artistic and visual medium, which can provide fresh insight into what you want most in life.

Step 4: Set Your Goals 

Once you’re clear on your ideal vision and you’re ready to take action and change your life for the better, it’s time to unleash the power of goal-setting

Visualize the big goals you hope to accomplish in your own life and ask yourself, “What will it take for me to get there?”

Be sure to chunk down the big goals you identify into smaller, achievable S.M.A.R.T. goals that you can accomplish within a specific timeframe. Then commit to them! 

Each small win is a big step toward your dreams. The positive boost you gain as you cross each smaller goal off your list will give you the momentum you need to keep going even in the face of unexpected roadblocks.

Step 5: Control Your Thoughts

To change your life, you need to change your thoughts! 

This means eliminating any bad habits in your way of thinking that are preventing you from making better decisions in the present moment and getting positive outcomes that make it easier to achieve your dreams. 

The most effective way to do this is to start daily meditation practice that allows you to become more aware of your thoughts and their effect on you. This will help you to release the thoughts that don’t serve you and replace them with more positive thoughts that empower you to go after your goals.

It’s also important to realize that what you focus on determines what you attract into your life. So if you’re always thinking about what you DON’T want as opposed to what you DO want, you run the risk of attracting more obstacles and setbacks than opportunities into your life.

An effective way to counteract this tendency and stop worrying is to practice positive daily affirmations that keep your thoughts focused on your end goals rather than your fears. 

Reading success stories to remind you of what’s possible is another great way to replace a negative thought habit with more positive thoughts.

Step 6: Believe in Yourself

Only you can change your life. That’s because the key to achieving your goals and finding happiness in life is believing that change is possible.

Most successful people have faith in themselves and believe that they have the inner potential to do whatever it takes to achieve their goals, no matter what their life happens to look like at the moment.

So if you’re serious about your desire to change your life, you have to start believing in yourself and cultivate more confidence in your ability to get the results you want in life.

Depending on your childhood and past experiences, this may be easier said than done – especially if you have the voice of a family member in your head telling you that you can’t do it or don’t deserve to achieve success in life.

That’s why a daily affirmations and mindset practice can be so powerful. It helps replace those negative voices in your head with more positive, self-affirming beliefs that encourage you to take risks and discover what you are truly capable of achieving.

Step 7: Understand WHY You Want to Change Your Life

Change for change’s sake alone isn’t enough to guarantee a fresh start that leads to a life you love. There’s no point in pursuing a new job or trying to make more money if it doesn’t bring you more happiness and fulfillment in life!

You need to make sure your efforts in pursuit of change will help make your life better in a real and meaningful way. One way to do that is to consider what you DON’T want in your life.

By making a list of all the factors that are making your life more difficult and less enjoyable or fulfilling, you will gain fresh insight on what you DO want – as well as the changes you’ll need to make and the new habits you’ll need to adopt to create a life that makes you truly happy.

Breaking bad habits

Step 8: Define the Changes You Want to Make

Once you’re clear on what you want and DON’T want in your life, you’ll have a clear understanding of how to change your life to create your ideal experience.

These changes might include big leaps, such as starting a new business, making more money, or moving somewhere with more opportunities.

Or they may be as simple as starting a new hobby, getting enough sleep, making new friends, switching up your daily routine or taking a different route to and from work that encourages you to get more exercise.

Whatever changes you identify as necessary, be sure to commit to them and take whatever action is necessary to incorporate them into your daily life.

Also be aware that as you work to change your life, there may be a voice in your head that tells you all the reasons why your idea is “unrealistic,” or “will never work.”

Don’t listen to it! 

That voice belongs to your inner child, who is afraid of change. It may be trying to protect you, but ultimately it will only end up holding you back from creating the life you most desire.

Step 9: Take Action to Change Your Life

As the saying goes, a goal without action remains only a dream. If you want to get results, you have to take action. Move beyond the planning stage and into the “doing” stage if you want to change your life for the better.

The good news is, now is the ideal time to take action! When you understand what you want your life to look like, you can start taking meaningful action and achieving better outcomes right away.

Step 10: Lean into Your Path

The best way to achieve big change is to start small and take tiny steps that move you in the right direction. So if your goals are ambitious enough to scare you, don’t let that stop you!

You don’t have to create massive change in a single day! Real and lasting change takes time and you must be patient with yourself and with the results you get. 

Lean in gradually and take small but doable actions that move you closer to the life you want to live.

Remember: life is a journey, not a destination, and the best way to make the most of it is to continue learning and growing your knowledge and expertise. 

And the more you experience, the more confident you will be in your own abilities and judgment—and the better the results you’ll get in everything you do.

Step 11: Share Your Journey with Accountability Partners

Success is not a solo journey — you’ll be able to change your life and accomplish your goals faster if you enlist the help of others.

This can be your family, friends, coworkers, or colleagues, who offer support and encouragement as you work to achieve your goals. 

It can also be your mentors, accountability partners, or members of a mastermind group who will hold you accountable and offer valuable insight and advice whenever you run into roadblocks. 

Step 12: Keep Pushing Yourself to Learn & Grow

If you want to know how to make positive changes in your life, take consistent action every day toward your goals. Action will inspire change and transformation.

I know it may seem scary to take that first big step toward your dreams, but I promise you, the next step will be easier. And the results will be worth it.

There will be times when you work to make changes in your life but you experience setbacks. 

You will face rejection and failure. This is inevitable. But that’s how you will change your life for the better—learn from your setbacks and refuse to let them stop you!  

Step 13: Live in the Moment

Too many well-intentioned people embark on the journey to create change in their lives but end up getting sidetracked or abandoning their efforts altogether because they feel the sacrifices required to create that change simply aren’t worth it.

But the fact is, creating change shouldn’t require so much sacrifice that it makes your life miserable. 

The point of changing your life for the better isn’t to suffer in the hope that one day your life will be better. You must learn how to enjoy your life in every moment, even when times are tough and you’re working hard to make things better.

Because the truth is, success isn’t going to bring you happiness. Money won’t bring you happiness. 

I’ve met some very wealthy and successful people who aren’t happy because they never learned how to live in the present moment and be grateful for what they have.

The motivation to change your life comes from the desire to be happy. 

Don’t let yourself become so busy focusing on your pursuit of happiness that you miss the joy of actually living in the moment and experiencing the boundless abundance that life has to offer.

change your life

Life-Changing Questions to Ask Yourself

Wondering the best way to move forward in your life? Ask yourself the following life-changing questions to gain the clarity and motivation you need to know exactly how to change your life: 

Where will I be in 5 years if I keep heading in this direction?

Am I who I want to be?

Am I happy with my career choice?

Should I ask my boss for a raise?

Am I living a physically/mentally/spiritually healthy lifestyle?

Am I living with a positive outlook and passion for life?

Are the people in my social circle a positive influence on my life?

Do I take time to stop and enjoy the simple things around me?

Am I spending enough time with the people I value the most?

Have I accomplished the dreams and goals I’ve set for myself?

How do I start changing my life?

Why is it important to change my life?

Once you are clear on your answers, you’ll be ready to chart your journey from where you are now to where you want to be! 

It’s Time to Change Your Life

Now is the time to take action and positively change your life—don’t let your fears hold you back! 

Your life will start to change for the better the instant you make the decision to strive for your dreams. 

And to make it easier, here’s a gift to get you started – my free Vision Board Checklist with all the tips you need to create a powerful vision board for yourself.

Have lots of fun with it – and don’t forget: nothing will change for the better until YOU do! 

 

Learn to Create a Powerful Vision Board for Yourself.

Get My Free Vision Board Checklist.

 

Meet Jack Canfield

For over 40 years, he has been teaching entrepreneurs, educators, corporate leaders, and people from all walks of life how to create the life they desire.

As the beloved originator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul(r) series, he's taught millions of individuals his modernized formulas for success, and has trained and certified over 2,700 students to teach his content and methodology in 107 countries around the world.