Do you want to know how to change your life in 30 days? Here are 5 absolutely foolproof ways you can make a meaningful change in as little as a month, no matter what your goals may be.
Let’s be honest, we’ve all read the blogs about how to change your life in 30 days if you commit yourself to reading 10 pages a night, doing 30 push-ups a day, and drinking a gallon of water with every meal. And while yes, doing those things is all beneficial, will they actually lead to long-term changes? Honestly, probably not!
I am here to break it down for you and dive deep into 5 fairly simple things you can do daily that will change your perspective, and lead to actual, attainable changes. No matter what your goals might be. Trust me, if you put in the work, you will see results.
Personally, I don’t believe that 30 day challenges where you force yourself to hit certain daily goals are anything revolutionary. Sure, they may force you to get a little more fit and a little more hydrated, but they don’t lead to long-term changes. That is if you can even keep it up for the whole duration of the month (maybe you can consider me lazy, but I have yet to complete a full 30 days of one of those challenges).
Changing your inner dialog and your perspective is the fundamental principal which constitutes the biggest changes to your life, and helps you attain your personal goals.
This post is all about the realistic approach on how to change your life in 30 days.
How To Change Your Life In 30 Days - Step-By-Step
1. Find Your 'Why'!
This is LITERALLY the foundation to making any real changes to your life!
What does it mean to find your ‘why’? It means getting down to the core of the exact reasoning behind why you want to make any changes in the first place. It requires a strong fundamental knowledge of the reasons you want to improve yourself or attain a certain goal.
Without a strong understanding of why it is you want to make changes, it’s so easy to fall back on old habits and routines that you are trying to escape from to begin with. Without it, it’s basically a guarantee that unless you have exceptional self-control, you will not succeed in your goals long term.
Do you want to go to the gym more? Or learn the piano? Or open up your own business?
Why?
It’s so simple to say, oh, I want to look and feel better, or I want to learn an instrument, or I want to make more money. But you really need to go deeper than that. In order to make any long-lasting changes, you need to understand what is at the core of those desires and find the true purpose to why you are working towards making your life change.
As difficult as it might be, taking a few hours to sit down with a notebook and writing down your true reasons is pretty crucial to this step. The more raw and real you get with yourself, the better.
Basically just keep asking yourself why you want to make a change until you feel like you have gotten to the very core of the question. Its basically a little self therapy sesh, and can honestly be pretty eye opening and motivating!
Once you know your ‘why’, I promise it will be nearly impossible to quit working on your goals! Even if you have small setbacks in life, or periods where you lack motivation, you will always have a little voice in the back of your mind reminding you that you want more out of life. It truly is life changing, and a fundamental key to how to change your life in 30 days!
Check out this video if you want to learn a bit more about the importance of finding your ‘Why’. It’s only 6 minutes long, and worth the watch!
2. Get A Journal. Take 5 Minutes to Write Down What You're Grateful for Daily.
Now I know, this is such a basic tip! But hear me out, it truly does change your perspective!
And I promise, it only takes max 5 minutes to do!
There really is a reason every self-development blog preaches the idea of writing down what you’re grateful for each day, it’s because it works!
Stepping outside of your inner self, and taking the time to appreciate the things around you makes such a big mental difference. It really shifts your focus, improves your mood, and just makes you appreciate all of the little things, as cliche as that may sound.
So try it out, and write 3 things daily that you are grateful for.
Try to switch it up too, they don’t have to be big monumental things either. In fact, the smaller, the better! The issue most people have is that they stick to writing the same big things over again, like “I’m grateful for my family”. Of course you’re grateful for your family, that’s kind of a given for most of us (unfortunately of course not all, but you know what I mean).
So make it micro, find little things every day. To expand on the family example, try something like “Im grateful to hear my sisters laugh when I accidentally sneezed mid drink and squirted water out my nose yesterday”. Or a different example “Im grateful for it being cloudy today so I don’t get as sweaty during my run later”. You get the picture!
Little appreciations can really shift your focus on life and soon you’ll find yourself being grateful in the moment as well. This is such a game changer, and can make a massive shift in your mood and overall appreciation for life.
Now, not to stray from the focus of this topic, but if you have time, make it a habit to also quickly write down your “why” and your goals. This will keep you reminded daily of where you want to go, so you can stay on the right track.
Pick a notebook you love, and set it next to your desk, by your bed, or literally anywhere you know you will see it every morning. Then take 5 minutes of your morning (I do it during my morning coffee) to write down your gratitude list.
Pick a cute notebook you love and it will be 100 times more fun! This one is from Amazon. But there are so many cute ones you can get basically anywhere! (Or repurpose an old one you already have. I have a dozen unused ones laying around, but maybe i’m just a notebook hoarder haha?)
3. Niche Down On the Information You Consume for the Month
This one might be kind of hard, but so important when you are trying to make a change in your life. Between the news, social media, and all of the new TV shows Netflix puts out, it’s so easy to feel like you have information overload!
There is literally always a new podcast to listen to, a new blog to read, or a new fad to try out, and what’s worse is that more often than not all of the information contradicts each other.
That’s why during the next 30 days that you are trying to change things up, try to pick only a handful of trusted sources you will be consuming information from. Find a few meaningful accounts and people to follow that align with the changes you want to be making. And stick with them!
I will be the first to say that I find myself bouncing around from information source to information source, trying out different methods, or looking up all of the different ways something can be done. And unfortunately, that method usually leads to nothing getting done and nothing meaningful learned!
This is also a great time to go through your social media and unfollow all of the accounts that don’t align with your life vision anymore.
Helpful Tip! Create a second Instagram account and follow exclusively accounts that align with your goals. Whether it’s inspo pics, accounts that post motivational quotes, or healthy recipes, you can use this account as a sort of vision board. I use my second account all of the time when I want to take a short break from work but also want to take a second to do some mindless scrolling while not losing my motivation!
4. Take Walks to Reflect on Your Changes
I am convinced that walks are like mini self-therapy sessions! I swear that’s when all of your best ideas come to you. It’s a time to unplug from the “real world” and just take a second to be outside, breathe in some fresh air and get your body moving in a low impact way.
They are also a great time to check in with yourself on your progress and make sure you are on the right path.
Taking a daily walk has so many mental health benefits, not to mention physical benefits as well. You can take some time to fully unplug and just be in the moment, or listen to a motivating podcast. Either way, getting outside and taking some time to yourself is crucial to relax and reevaluate where you’re at.
If you can’t squeeze in a walk, try doing a few minutes of yoga or just stretching. Basically, any low-impact activity where you can move your body while doing some mental reassessing. You will find that moving your body while also being present and making sure you are aligning your day with your current goals is incredibly beneficial.
Not every walk needs to be some big, life changing reevaluation of your life though, sometimes its just great to put your headphones in while listening to a podcast, whether its motivational, or just for fun!
Either way, get outside, and get moving! Even if its just a quick 20 minute walk around the block.
Here are a few of my all-time favorite podcasts to listen to while taking a walk. Some are motivational, and some are just for fun!
- The Skinny Confidential – Lauryn Evarts & Michael Bosstick
- How I Built This – Guy Raz
- The Happiness Lab – Dr.Laurie Santos
- Business Made Simple – Donald Miller
- Mile Higher Podcast – Kendall & Josh
- The Sesh – Kendall & Janelle
Comment below your favorite podcast recommendations as well! I am literally always in the market for a new podcast!
5. Schedule A Blood Test
I am absolutely no doctor, but let me tell you, getting a blood test changed my life.
So often we just think, oh were young, everything is fine! But let me tell you, it’s so easy to have vitamin deficiencies or hormone imbalances that we are just not aware of. And getting it under control can have massive benefits!
For years I have been feeling tired and lethargic and I’ve just chalked it up to not getting enough sleep, or being busy. Turns out I had a pretty big vitamin deficiency I was just not aware of. Finally getting it under control has been revolutionary for me and how I feel. I have more energy, get better sleep, and don’t experience ‘brain fog’ like I used to. So now I literally preach to anyone who will listen to just go to the doctor and stop assuming you are just not getting enough sleep every night!
Blood tests are seriously important in evaluating your body’s overall health status and finding underlying health issues before they become serious complications. So often, especially in our 20’s we put this off. But trust me, just go do it.
For anyone who makes it a priority to schedule regular visits to their doctor (like you should be), this may all be a given. But you would be surprised at how many people put this off and only go when there is something glaringly wrong.
So in the next 30 days while you are trying to improve your life, schedule a doctor’s appointment and talk to them about any issues you might be experiencing!
