There are so many perspectives on how we can all choose to live our lives. There are amazing lifestyle “movements” around health and wellness, environmentalism, simplicity, style and decor, and so much more. The inspiration is endless, and it can also be extremely overwhelming at times too!
Once you’ve discovered something that resonates with you, it takes time to bring your current life into alignment with this new way of living. This was my experience beginning a minimalist lifestyle. I knew that it was going to be life changing in the best way possible. I also knew that it wouldn’t happen overnight since at that time I was a shopaholic in debt. This has also been my experience embarking upon living a life of zero waste. Here are three tips to making new lifestyle changes easier.
1. Keep Your Excitement To Yourself
One of the most difficult aspects of changing your lifestyle is not allowing others to discourage you during the beginning stages. It is in the beginning stages that we are usually the most vulnerable and insecure about making a change. This is why I believe it is crucial to keep your excitement to yourself while you are becoming more familiar with a new way of living. Despite how moved you are by what these new changes will bring to your life, allow others to witness your process versus speaking too much before you’ve even began the journey.
2. Do Your Research
Whatever new lifestyle change you are embarking upon, do your research. If living with less resonates, research decluttering and even read one of my favorites The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying by Marie Kondo. The more you can equip yourself with the mental perspective to clear out your clutter, the easier the process of downsizing will be. This is also true for living a more environmentally friendly life. Reading books such as Plastic Free by Beth Terry and Zero Waste Home by Bea Johnson have provided me with so much priceless insight and helpful tips.
If you desire to eat healthier, start using a nutritional website or app such as Cronometer and become your own nutritionist. Watch documentaries about nutrition to keep you motivated while eliminating sugar and processed foods. The same is true for becoming vegan or vegetarian. The more information that you have, the easier it will be to deal with naysayers.
3. Stay Positive & Don’t Give Up
I wish change was easy. It’s not, yet it isn’t impossible either. It simply takes a lot of motivation, and also positive self talk especially on those days when you just aren’t feeling it. No matter how much positivity is in my writing, or in the things that I say, there are so many days I want to throw in the towel, curl up, and disappear. I call this being human. Life is frustrating at times, and it gets extremely old having to pick yourself back up.
Just know that everyone goes through this. Even the ones we look up to are very human with their own struggles. The beauty that we see in those that motivate us are that they don’t give up. I’m sure they have their own drama and annoyances, but they keep pushing forward. If I were born a minimalist, I would have never had to declutter and change my perspective around possessions. If I was born only eating plant based foods, I would have never had to transition to a new way of eating while being aware of all of the processed foods everywhere. The same goes for choosing any lifestyle which benefits your health, finances, others, or the planet.
It’s A Journey
It’s the transition that makes the journey a true journey. It is easier to just keep things exactly the same, yet that often doesn’t bring joy or personal growth. If personal growth is something that you desire, you must go through the process. No one is exempt from this, and everyone will have their own unique experience along the way.
It’s this journey that creates character. I’m honestly not sure if today’s article was more for me or for you, but I do know I am beyond human all the time. I wish things could often appear smoother, yet I also know it is very much my perspective I am holding onto. Regardless I keep pushing.
One Love!
(Image by Dawn Michelle)
Ally S says
June 8, 2016 at 4:21 amNumber one is interesting – I often see the opposite advice, i.e. that you should tell as many people as you can (provided they’re going to support your journey), as that will give you additional accountability. The mere thought of someone checking in with a ‘hey, how’s it going with xxx – are you still working towards that?’ is a big incentive for most…
Dawn Michelle says
June 8, 2016 at 9:51 amHi Ally S,
Accountability is awesome! It just depends upon the situation and the people you choose to share your journey with then. I have found that with major life changes that are not the norm, you can sometimes get more doubt from others than support. This is not true for everyone, but being selective is important. Thanks so much for your comment!
Sandy says
June 10, 2016 at 6:52 pmNice post. I can relate to ” the journey.” The concept of evolution is so true about many things. Change happens and readiness mysteriously emerges at different stages in life.
Dawn Michelle says
June 11, 2016 at 2:07 pmThanks Sandy! Such wisdom. Thanks for your comment!
Catherine Holmes says
June 16, 2016 at 8:36 amGreat read.
I feel like some people know they need a lifestyle change but have no idea how to go about it.
chances are if you need it, there’s a good reason why!
Thanks for giving us some good tips to make it easier!
Dawn Michelle says
June 17, 2016 at 8:28 amHi Catherine Holmes,
Thank you for your comment and compliment. Lifestyle changes are definitely challenging and unique for each person. I think the best road map is usually your heart. Wishing you a beautiful day!
Stephanie L says
July 18, 2016 at 5:28 pmI actually agree with number one. After all if the goal is minimalism, the less comments from people the better. Unfortunately I learned this lesson the hard way in that sharing your excitement can afford a lot of negativity. But the positive is I learned to rely more on my inner voice, and that in turn has allowed me to ignore consumerist messaging/advertising as well.
Dawn Michelle says
July 19, 2016 at 10:08 amHi Stephanie L,
What an amazing lesson learned! Thanks so much for sharing this and taking the time to comment as well. Wishing you the very best!
Frances Lawrence says
August 4, 2016 at 9:30 amFirstly, my huge compliments on your blog – super work.
Second up, I really agree with your first point!! I find if I tell those around me what I’m doing, it somehow puts more pressure on me to ‘do it well’, rather than just ‘give it a go’, and I also think I’m seeking their approval that way? Never good. I also find myself thinking back to a book by Malcolm Gladwell called ‘Blink’ and a section in there he calls ‘The Storytelling Problem’. He references research done at Columbia University that found that if you force people to explain their choices or their actions, they are often incapable of accurately explaining why or how they are doing something – that information is locked in the subconscious. I think this can be the thing that leads to ‘unintentional discouragement or judgment from others – they can’t quite see your vision because you can’t quite explain it! If I am trying to make a lifestyle change simply because my instinct tells me it would be a good idea (rather than truly knowing why or if it will work or if I will like it etc.) better that I keep it to myself, in my head, and allow my subconscious to work out how it feels about it 🙂
Dawn Michelle says
August 4, 2016 at 1:56 pmHi Francis Lawrence,
Thank you so much for your comment and the compliment! You really can’t always explain instinct or following your heart. You literally just have to trust it! Sharing things with others who may be more in their head space versus their heart space could definitely cause unintentional discouragement. I also appreciate the book mention. I’ll have to check it out!