How to Drastically Change Your Life in 3 Months

This title probably drew you in because it promises such an amazing change in such a small amount of time.

I don’t want this post to overwhelm you, but you can literally change your life in 3 months or less.

I think that’s really exciting.

I’ve been on my personal development journey for quite some time. If you’re just starting out, you have SO much to look forward to and I honestly kind of envy you.

Experiencing positive change in your life, especially in the beginning, is amazing.

I was inspired to write this post for 2 reasons.

1. There are 3 months left in the year

Of course you may be reading this at a different time in the year, but there’s just something so refreshing about the final quarter.

2. I kind of want to radically change my life over the next 3 months too

I was thinking about the major things I could change in my life and I’m inspired to try to make them happen.

Like I said, you CAN radically change your life over the next couple of months, but please remember life is a journey and this is only a very tiny fraction of it.

Even if you just make an attempt to change/improve your life, you will. So don’t beat yourself up if you don’t stick to your plan. And honestly, don’t necessarily expect to drastically change your life either…that is up to you.

So here we go:

Get clear on what you want

You can find a million articles, videos, and books that share how to change your life. You’ll find tons of options.

However, I think the most important thing is to find what it is that YOU truly want. 

There are 2 activities that I find are best for this:

1. Current self vs. Future self

Divide a sheet of paper in two or use two separate sheets. Designate one to your current self and one to your future self. 

For your current self, write down all the FACTS about you and your life right now. The key word is facts. Only write down the things that are actually true. For example, this may include:

• I am a nurse
• I make $XXXXX a year
• I weigh X pounds

You don’t want to include your opinions here. For example, avoid:

• I have the worst job
• I don’t make enough money
• I’m fat

You can also include your current beliefs and your current habits.

For your future self, write down everything you ideally want to be/have in your life.

• What does your life look like?
• How much money do you have/make?
• Who is in your life?

I talk about this more in my Goal-setting/achieving course. Now is actually the perfect time to enroll if you want to start taking your goals seriously.

2. Dissatisfied list

Write a list of all the things you are dissatisfied with in your life right now. 

For example, I’m dissatisfied with:

• The amount of money I make each month
• The thoughts I think/believe about myself

From this list, determine the top 3-5 that bother you the most. 

Both of these activities will help you get clear on the largest problems of your life and will guide you in deciding where to start.

From here, you can set your goals and begin to align your day-to-day with your dreams.

Seek help/get therapy

Therapy is nothing to be ashamed of.

I’m glad that mental health has become more of a ‘norm’ these days, but I think many people still neglect their own.

When you speak with a professional about how you are feeling, they can help you determine your core issues. Those issues may stem from childhood, unrecognized trauma, or anxiety/depression.

They can help you get on a path to healing and understanding yourself.

It’s easy to underestimate the value of talking to someone, but this step may be the biggest game changer for a lot of people.

Change your environment (including the people in it)

Your environment, including your physical environment, the people around you, and the content you consume, have a significant impact on your personality.

To change your physical environment this may mean moving, cleaning up, decluttering, or making changes. If there is chaos around you, you probably reflect that in your mind as well.

The people you spend most of your time with are also something to consider. If your friends/family/significant other has bad habits and is complacent, then they’re probably not the best people to be around if you’re trying to change your life. 

Negative people can be very draining, but first you need to recognize that they are negatively impacting your life.

Another aspect of your environment are the things you watch, look at, and read. The news reporting on biased, negative information definitely doesn’t make my life any better. Nor does reading about it. On the other hand, if you start reading self-help books and watching informative content, you’ll emit more of that energy.

This leads me to my next point.

Decrease social media use

Social media can be an amazing tool to connect with others and grow a business. However, I’m going to assume that most users are highly addicted and abusing it.

Even for myself, whom I consider to be quite disciplined, I struggle to control my scrolling and desire to check in.

In 2019, I gave up most social media for over 6 months. Just recently, I decided to delete ALL social media once again.

It’s distracting, it’s time-consuming, I was losing my ability to focus, I felt bad, I was comparing myself to others, and so on.

Now that I’ve been off of it, I’ve already noticed a HUGE difference in my work and mental state even after just a week.

If you drastically want to change your life, I highly recommend you give up social media during this time. At the very least, set time constraints for all the apps and take longer breaks every week or so.

RELATED POST
Social Media, Over-Consumerism, and Digital Addiction

Focus on one of these top areas

1. Exercise/movement
2. Nutrition
3. Sleep
4. Your career
5. Finances

These 5 areas are going to have the largest impact on your life because they each can cause a ripple effect, negatively or positively. Creating change or developing habits in one or all of these areas can cause a full 180.

Exercise

I think exercise is the best place to start because it’s important and easy to implement. If you don’t have a habit of regular movement in your life (outside of your normal walking/moving) then you are making a big mistake.

Honestly, I think everyone should prioritize their health because without it, nothing else works or matters.

Exercise gets your blood flowing, prevents obesity and disease, provides energy, boosts your mood, and makes you feel good inside and out. 

This may mean you start taking long walks every day or you start a weight lifting program. Whatever it is, get moving.

RELATED POST:
How to Make Exercise a Habit

Nutrition

Nutrition is the second best place to start because the food you eat has a direct effect on your mind and body, even if you’re not aware of it. 

Sugar, processed foods, and sodas damage your body, including your gut. Inflammation in your gut then affects your brain health. Have you ever felt more anxious after eating a bunch of sugar/fried foods? I know I have.

It doesn’t feel good, yet so many people continue to consume junk because they have gotten used to feeling like trash.

Clean up your diet (I like to go the 80/20 route, maybe even 90/10) and you’ll feel a difference in your energy levels and state of mind.

RELATED POST:
How to Start a Healthy Diet

Sleep

Sleep is just as important as exercise and nutrition, but again it gets neglected.

If you’re watching TV before bed, drinking caffeine too late in the afternoon, or hitting the snooze button 20 times, you probably have room for improvement.

Our bodies need adequate sleep.

Start by choosing a reasonable time for you to wake up. Determine what time you need to be in bed to get a solid 6.5-9 hours of sleep. Then create a relaxing evening routine.

Your career

Most of us have to work. We need to make money in order to survive.

Work is a HUGE portion of our lives. Most of us spend 40+ hours working, basically ⅓ of our life. Do you really want to stay in that job that makes you miserable??

Money is important, but so are you and your mental-state. You may have a great paying, well-respected job, but how do you feel about it?

Are you stressed? Anxious? Depressed? Exhausted? Miserable?

You can start looking into changing jobs or even your career path, it’s not too late and you’re not stuck.

Sign up for free courses, network, and create a plan.

Finances

Money is one of the top causes of stress (in America especially). It’s also the top reason why couples get divorced.

Money is a part of our life and healthy financial habits alone have the ability to drastically change your life. You don’t even need to be a millionaire.

Getting debts paid down, building up a solid emergency fund, and regularly investing/saving a good portion of your income bring such peace of mind.

Inform the people around you

If you seriously want to change your life for the better, let the important people in your life know that. If they love you and want the best for you, they should support you and maybe even want to join you.

For example, I want to get back into weekly meetings and goal-setting to reflect on my progress. My boyfriend and I actually did this together for a bit so I asked if we could start doing it again and be dedicated to that.

You don’t have to tell anyone you want to completely change your life, but you could let them know which habits you’re trying to end or develop so that they can hold you accountable or even do it with you.

Take control of your time

Our greatest asset is time. And every second that passes is a second we can’t get back.

We don’t know when our time is up, but I know that I would like to make the most of it while I’m here. This is why it’s so important to learn time management.

If you want to start incorporating exercise, meditation, cooking, reading, or anything into your life…you have the time. It is about prioritizing what is important to you and getting disciplined.

You can get quite a lot done in a short amount of time if you focus. Then you still have time for rest and play.

I suggest you start by implementing the Pomodoro technique.

Set a timer for 25 minutes (or 30, 50, etc.) and FOCUS. No distractions. Once it goes off, take a 5 minute break (grab some water, walk around, stretch) and repeat.

It’s a very customizable technique which is why it’s a great place to start. You can do 1 or 10 sessions and optimize your work.

If you want to read more on time management, check out these articles:
Hard Truths About Time Management
How to Manage It All

You can be in a completely different place in 3 months.

By changing just one small thing, little by little, you’ll start to see things shift in your life.

So whether you’re at rock bottom or just eager to go a different route, every day is a new chance to start fresh.