Five Ways to Change Your Life Forever.

Life not going the way you want it to? Is it boring? Want to find out how to manage your life better? Want to improve your lifestyle?

I think many of us have the feeling from time to time that life just isn't going the way we expected it to. I know that this feeling can often sneak up on you around the mid life point.

I guess it's just a natural place for us to stop, take a step back and think about what we've achieved and what we set out to achieve.

This is the time of life when we ask ourselves the difficult questions.I can't be the only person in the world to think that my life has somehow fallen short of expectations, can I?

I started out so full of hope for the future but as the future became the present I seem to have fallen out of step with my early hopes and promise, how did this happen?.

Like many people, I woke up this morning looked in the mirror and saw my mother looking back at me. Leading to even more difficult questions. When did I get to be so fat, so tired and so damn old? When did my life turn into one long round of looking after everyone but myself?

Don't just sit back and accept that this is your life from now on. You can change things for the better. You can take back control and get your life back on track. Start with these five things and see if you can change your life.

FIVE THINGS THAT REALLY NEED TO CHANGE.

1) Work. Do you hate your job? Is it boring, soul destroying, and pointless. Does it stretch you, do you leave at the end of the day feeling satisfied, feeling you have achieved something? Do you feel valued as an employee? Are you happy at work? Maybe more than any of the other questions, if you answered no to that last one it really is time to think about changing things.

Maybe you can change things for the better without handing in your notice and moving on. Are there opportunities available for more responsibility if that's what you want, or the chance to try a different role in the same company? Can you improve your existing working environment, maybe by simply getting to know some of your colleagues better things could change. Maybe what's needed is a complete change, so start looking around for something else. You might even have skills that can be used to start working for yourself, who knows what can happen when you decided to make a change.

2)Self. Do you feel that you've let yourself go? Are you carrying a little, or a lot, too much weight. Are you happy wearing the same sloppy, worn out around the house clothes when you go out? Do you look in the mirror and think - what happened to me? Take off your clothes, look in a full length mirror and take stock. Decide what can be changed and what you can learn to live with.

Overweight? Start a diet. Maybe a new hairstyle would make you look and feel better about yourself. Go through your wardrobe and throw away anything that is so old Noah’s wife probably had something similar hanging up in the Ark. Make a promise to yourself, say I am going to start changing today. I am going to get a haircut and maybe start wearing a bit of makeup again. I am going to make an effort.

Don't do this to please others, do it to please yourself. And if you are happy with what you see in the mirror, then skip this step and move on to another aspect of your life that does need to change.

3)Time. Do you never seem to get any time just for yourself to do the things you like to do? Are you constantly looking at the clock wondering where the time is going? Is life flashing by at an alarming rate, do you often collapse at the end of the day and wonder why you didn't get around to doing most of the things you set out to do in the morning? Try to change things for the better.

Try to set aside a little time every day just for yourself, even if you can only manage thirty minutes. Maybe all you want to do is sit down with a good book, maybe you want to allow some time for pampering yourself, lying back with a face pack on doing absolutely nothing. It's your life after all, do what you want, reclaim just a small slice of it every day. Take back some time for yourself.

4) Family. Do you spend enough time with your family, can you remember the last time you all sat down to eat together, to enjoy the simple pleasure of sharing a meal and catching up with each others news? Try to make one night a week family dinner night. Get everyone around the table, eat and talk to each other. Ban phones, if you can get away with that one! Good luck if you have teenagers! Maybe think of a family activity you can all get involved in, I'm not saying we should all turn into The Waltons, but a few little changes can really help.

5)Stress. Are you stressed? Do you get worked up about anything and everything? Do little things irritate you during the day? You can change this aspect of your life too. Try to get things in perspective and not let the little annoying things in life bother you too much. Easier said than done maybe, but worth a try. The big things in life are stressful enough without adding all the silly little things to the pile. Try counting to ten and taking a few deep breaths whenever you feel yourself getting all tense and see if you can lower your blood pressure a little.

Most important thing of all - make the decision to change your life today.

My personal journey towards change.

I gave up work to concentrate on my writing, I currently have two published novels on Amazon with two more nearing completion. I know that my books will never make me a millionaire but they have finally managed to replace the wage I gave up two years ago.

I have lost two stone in weight, it took time and a whole lot of effort but I have managed to lose it and keep it off - so far. I feel so much better and can now buy clothes that fit well and make me feel good.

Working for myself means that I have more free time, I can write anywhere so I have much more freedom now than I ever did before.

I spend a lot of my new found free time with my family, which is wonderful.

I do think that my new life is less stressful than my old one. I still have deadlines to meet but they are my own.

In conclusion, I can honestly say that it is possible to change your life for the better. I just wish I had done it years ago. If I can do it anyone can, change your life now it is never too late.