How I Changed My Life

I’ve changed. Last year around this time I was feeling unhappy. I work a full-time job and I was getting home from work and laying on my couch watching hours of TV until it was time for bed. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE me some Real Housewives, but what I did not love was feeling like I was laying around wasting my life. I knew I had to do something so I consciously made changes to my life to improve it. I decided that I wanted to start living my best life.

I didn’t change my life on my own either, I asked friends and family for advice and support and their help has been crucial as well. They help hold me accountable and cheer me on when they see me succeeding which is amazing.

Another thing that helps give me motivation, ideas, and strategies to improve my life are videos I find on YouTube. I follow some amazing women who give great tips on living a more healthy, happy, and organized life. I loved this video by one of my faves Brittany Vasseur:

Here’s a few of the changes I made in case you need some inspo:

1. I stopped waiting for people to be available and started doing things I couldn’t find someone to do with me alone.

This pushed me outside my comfort zone, helped me meet lots of new friends with similar interests who do actually want to go to things, and it made me more confident overall.

Going to Events

I find activities online that sound interesting (usually on Facebook groups, through Instagram, or on Eventbrite) and sign up for them. Then the hard part after you sign up is actually going. Just go. Just do it. Force it, fake it till you make it, etc. You will not regret it. Feeling comfortable talking to strangers takes practice and isn’t always easy, but you have to start somewhere!

The only thing I still haven’t done on my own is attend concerts, but now instead of trying to find someone to agree to go with me first, I buy 2 tickets and take a friend as a treat. I used to get the worst FOMO the day after a concert I had wanted to see but never got around to getting tickets for, and this has totally helped. I still LOVE going to the Hollywood Bowl which I talked about in my LA Guide – Hollywood blog post. It’s seriously one of the most beautiful outdoor venues EVER. I buy discounted tickets on Goldstar.

Building Confidence

I had watched this video a while ago which first sparked some of these ideas:

Another thing that has helped me build confidence is decluttering my house a la The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up , but that could seriously be it’s own post so I’m not going to go into detail about that here! I also have a lot of great information on building your confidence on my The Ultimate Breakup and Recovery Guide.

2. I practiced healthy habits more consistently.

Working Out

When I was attending my first event solo I met my friend Erin (@erinonthetown). It was a beauty event and I was wearing no makeup and was exhausted from work. Thank god Erin didn’t judge me and became a really good friend!

My sister’s wedding in Nicaragua was coming up so I knew I needed to get in better shape anyway.  Erin got me to join Classpass (check out my Workout Like the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills With ClassPass post for some faves). I went from working out semi-annually to at least 5x a month. Classpass is a monthly membership where I pay $60 a month for 5 workout classes.

I typically spend Sundays choosing my workout classes for the week, sign up and add them to my Google calendar (which syncs to my iCal). My favorite thing about Classpass is that if you cancel within 12 hours you have to pay a fee which is such great motivation to actually show up to classes!

I love this video especially when she talks about how “Motivation will get you started. Discipline will keep you going.” It really resonated with me how motivation will come and go and that’s why you must have discipline to continue with a healthier life.

Eating Healthy

I also improved my diet and I try to eat as plant based as possible. The documentary (available on Netflix) Fed Up really influenced me with this one and especially helped me cut out sugar. While my diet isn’t perfect now, it has definitely improved and continues to improve.

Working out and going to workout events helped me meet other girls who are super into fitness and eating healthy. Peer pressure is real, so when you surround yourself with healthy friends it helps keep you in check.

3. I started a monthly meditation night with some friends.

It got us meeting up regularly, cooking together, and having deeper conversations about our lives than we normally would.

Meditation

Meditation doesn’t have to be complicated, I usually just look up a guided mediation on YouTube or use the app Headspace.

Giving Back

We also used that time during our monthly meditation nights to give back by making hygiene kits for people experiencing homelessness. We donate the hygiene kits to People Assisting the Homeless aka PATH.

Self Help Books

Here’s some of my favorite self-help books. I love to listen to audiobooks on Audible when I drive, do the dishes, walk, or clean and some of these books I have listened to several times:

You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero 

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

Rising Strong by Brene Brown

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert

It’s a Process

One thing to keep in mind about changes are they are choices. This means that everyday we must wake up and choose to do these things- choose to eat healthy, choose to workout, choose to be positive and kind, etc. I’m not perfect and many days it’s easier to slip back into those old habits of laying on my couch in front of the TV. Taking some time to stop, reflect on your life, think about your goals and how you are going to achieve them is a great way to get yourself back on track. Becoming a better person is a life-long process. Start small now and build momentum! It’s never too late to break old patterns.

I’m very grateful to my talented sister @hannah_claire_photography for taking this photo!! 📷

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