If you feel like you’re being kept back from the life of your dreams, the good news is that you’re the only person holding yourself back! Sure, it takes some bravery and a willingness to step out of your comfort zone, but isn’t it exciting to think about discovering what you’re truly capable of?
Look out for the follows six signs that it’s time for you to take your life to the next level, and consider our tips for beginning your transformation.
To be joyful and motivated, we need to engage in continuous learning. Do your current surroundings offer this, or do you feel stagnant and bored? If the latter is true, you’re ready to grab hold of some new wisdom and broaden your horizons.
In addition, remember that deliberately engaging in some personal exploration is also a way of changing your surroundings. Every time you hold yourself back with thoughts like “I can’t do X” or “I’ll never get Y”, make a point of challenging yourself and asking why you think these things. Are your fears and negative assumptions the only things standing between you and the things you really want?
Do you feel a disconnect between what your life is like now and what you feel you’re capable of offering the world? You might sense this disconnection in your job, your love life, or even just in your daily routines. Perhaps you just have a nagging feeling that you have the knowledge and skills, but they are untapped or hidden. This a sign that you need to challenge yourself a whole lot more if you’re going to reach your full potential.
One productive way of figuring out how to take your life to the next level is to ask yourself what you’d do if you had unlimited money and time. When you have your answer, ask yourself why you haven’t yet been working to achieve this particular thing, and outline at least one concrete step you can take towards your dream.
Traveling, exploring and exposing your mind to new cultures and ideas provide amazing opportunities for growth. If that sounds really appealing to you and yet you’ve hardly even been outside your own state, you’re sure to undergo significant personal development if you choose to take greater steps into the unknown.
You can think of your life as analogous to a financial investment; the more you put into your own growth, the bigger the return you’ll get.
So, whenever you feel like your daily life just isn’t feeding your soul in the way you need, look for something that does, and start spending as much time on that as you can!
Stepping out of your comfort zone is a necessary component of challenging yourself, and a certain amount of anxiety is a simple consequence. So, if you just can’t understand the idea of getting anxious about something or struggle to remember the last time you felt anxious in the slightest, you’re ready to challenge yourself a whole lot more in order to take your life to the next level.
Remember that it’s completely normal to have a flutter of fear at the thought of failing when you try something new. In contrast, what’s not normal (and what will really inhibit your growth) is allowing that fear of failure to stop you from engaging with new challenges.
There’s a certain peace that can come with an easy life, but if this is the norm for you then you’ve likely fallen into an unproductive life that will hold you back from becoming your more fulfilled self.
Having a full and dynamic existence means experiencing both joyful and painful moments. So while living an easy life does protect you from some suffering, it also stops you from reaching the real heights that this world has to offer.
Plus, no one can have an easy life all of the time, so you’re shooting yourself in the foot if you’re not prepared for the challenges ahead. Devote some energy to getting physically and mentally fitter, and know that you have the strength to face anything that hits you.
Finally, if you basically do your job on automatic pilot, it’s obvious that your career isn’t challenging you in a way that will help you take your life to the next level. As mentioned above, it’s daunting to make major changes like shifting to a different career but small changes can make a big difference here.
You could sign up for a night class that prepares you for your new venture, commit to reading several essential books this month, or attend a networking event. These are all ways of starting to take your career, and thereby your life, to the next level.