You know those moments in life when you think, “Okay, enough is enough. I have to change.” Well, today is one of those days. Any weak excuse for this personal revolution over the holidays can no longer be made. That was a different time, and February is rapidly coming around the corner. I can no longer put off change because I’m still in the ‘holiday mood.’ I’m not usually one to subscribe to the ‘New Year, New You’ approach, but maybe all those billboards and social media posts have finally had some effect on me.
I think I am doing okay in life, but recently I have been considering the question; “What areas of my life need to be improved in order for me to become a better person?” This is what I came up with.
No more communication breakdown
I swear I have friends who have probably considered filing a missing person report, because I’m that bad at responding to messages. But not only that, I’m also terrible when it comes to sending messages first. A real lose-lose. Part of it is just me being forgetful or busy, but most of it is just me being downright lazy or stubborn. So this change involves me actually taking the initiative to message my friends and family first, as well as responding to texts as soon as I see them (when appropriate, of course).
Better quality sleep
I’m not necessarily looking for more sleep, just better sleep. I think there is definitely a difference. In terms of health, I feel like my diet is great, and I get plenty of exercise, but good sleep is something that has alluded me for most of my adult life. I get about six hours every night, but often wake up a lot and have a restless slumber.
I’ve tried things like herbal tea or yoga before bed, but it all seems a bit fruitless because of my mattress I think. It’s quite old, but I got it for free from a friend, so I never really felt like buying a new one. From the blogs I read, I often hear about memory foam mattresses being the new black. The mattress by Eve looks interesting, apparently it uses a new version of memory foam and they have a 100 night trial to test it out. Birthday present to myself? So that’s one way I believe I can get better sleep.
Less spending
The third change is to lessen the desire to constantly buy new things. I often hear that the pleasure you receive from purchasing material items fades quickly. It seems that ‘shopaholic’ isn’t just some marketing term, but something that really makes people want to always spend money on new things. I don’t think I’m so obsessed, but I definitely need to reduce the amount of clothing, accessories, furniture, etc. that I buy, as I feel like it’s not really going to improve me as a person.
I’m not sure how to fix it just yet, but perhaps something like for every dollar I spend on a new small item, I could contribute the same amount to a charity. This way, I can still treat myself to things I’d like, but also help out others instead of buying more items.
More exploration of my city
Sometimes I feel bad when tourists or visitors ask me to recommend places to go in my city, I’m stumped that I can only really suggest a handful of bars and restaurants as interesting things to see. To alter this, I would like to spend an afternoon wandering around a new neighborhood and discover places I’ve never seen. There are many online guides which tell you all the best things to check out, but sometimes they don’t know everything. It’s quite a thrill when you perhaps see wall art, a park, sculpture, or anything, that you never knew existed.
I know these changes won’t happen overnight, but with time, I believe they can make me become an overall better person, inside and out.