Three Things That Changed My Life For The Better

Author: Team WH

Published On: 09-07-20

Last Updated on: 17-05-22

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

When you look back, you find a trail of moments that take center stage in the face of life-altering events. It is both, thrilling and equally terrifying to know that these events could occur in a heartbeat, completely transforming life as you know it.

While some of them may pinch us with regret, others change our lives for the best. In essence, all of these events weave ourselves into who we are. Due to a number of “life-quakes” in circa 2016, each plate of my life dismantled into pieces while the latter years bore the after-shocks.

All the fundamental building blocks of my worldview were hard-hit, while my life’s seismic shifts manifested in three, phenomenally freeing ways! The best part is, you don’t essentially have to undergo a personal seismic shift to experience the life-changing outcomes. All you have to do is, make some decisions and be proud of them!

The Beginning of Growing Wings

Over the years, I had set some far-fetched life goals for myself. I wanted to turn it 180 degrees and ooze with pitch-perfect confidence while killing it at a popular university. I mulled over self-help books about vibrations and positivity to incur lessons from life-coaches and “the experts.” Despite my best efforts, I got stuck while attempting to bring a change. This was because I simply did not know what to do or where to start. The only answer was, “Do something, anything!”

It took me time to realize that while I trod on my path to metamorphose my life, I only gave prominence to the external aspects. It was when I completely fathomed the principal key to transformation, that things began to change. At the crux, you can only begin navigating forward when you walk parallel to developing the way you perceive the world.

Through it all, it was my sister’s epigram that kept echoing in my head, “Successful people make room for powerful habits into their everyday routines. This is the stopgap that lays out the roadmap to permanent alterations in life.”

While she shared her experiences with me, I brimmed with a desire to find the true calling of my inner self. Hereon, I explored the three eye-opener things that have transformed my way of living life forever.

Beating Procrastination

Throughout my school years, I was the bright student who managed to bear the tag of an “all-rounder.” Unfortunately, as I moved towards high-school, my interest in everything slowly vanished. Be it studies, co-curricular activities, or doing what my peers were doing, I lacked the inner-voice that should have kept me going. I realized that though my procrastinating tendencies supplied short-lived happiness, in the end, they became my most vicious enemies.

I kept wondering, “What is wrong with me?” and as much as I hated living the mediocre life, I thought I would find no escape from it. It was in 2018 when I reached the newest chapter of my journey – college life. I wanted a monumental change that, luckily, walked at my doorsteps soon after I was loaded with work, responsibilities, and the obligation to live away from home.

I was able to recognize that procrastination was not something I was born with or something I could beat with a Pinterest hack. Procrastination was a habit that I could only end with consistency. Thus, if my professor gave me a task to complete, I would make it a point to bury my lackadaisical ways and get to it! Or, if I had a three-day deadline to deliver an internship article, I simply stopped waiting until the third day. And, let me tell you, the sheer happiness and fulfillment derived from this was unbeatable.

This change taught me that the motivation to stop an age-old habit does not arrive from any mystical corner of your heart! Ultimately, it is the action that is the outcome of motivation and its cause. You will be able to advocate between the right and the wrong, but only if you end procrastination!

Practicing Gratitude

Earlier, being happy, for me, was situational and conditional. It would often periodically show up after scoring well in an exam, splurging money on things, or achieving something. Soon, it occurred to me that I had reversed the order of life completely. The little moments began generating less satisfaction and happiness than the huge ones.

At worse, the rat-race of this idealized state of delight left me exhausted. Luckily, (looking at the brighter side), it also left me desirous of finding plausible alternatives, one of which was – practicing gratitude.

By sheer fate, right when I found myself at the nadir of unhappiness, I read a book, “The Gratitude Diaries,” by Janice Kaplan. It brought me immense joy to learn an integral dimension of happiness that was absent from my life for the past 19 years! By the end of that month, I found my ways gradually evolving.

One of the lessons I learned was that even though immense pride and satisfaction come out of achievement, true happiness does not. I took ample time to observe things I earlier walked past before. The graffiti wall of my campus, how the Sun shone differently in the morning, my friends laughing in synchrony. One good concept led to another. “Everything is so beautiful! My parents love me to the core! It fills me with so much hope!”

I began seeking six moments of gratitude every day. Like cycling on a proverbial bicycle was easy, it wasn’t that difficult to get the hang of gratitude either! From changing the lock screen wallpaper of my phone to preaching my dear ones – I started “breathing” gratitude.

Therefore, I understood – life will never be flawless. I will still stumble across news that bothers me. Some things are still maddening. But, a moment of gratitude changes everything.

Studying Literature

In my opinion, anybody who claims that education does not benefit has never heard of literature. As a student, I always felt baffled while science and math were associated with greater success, and someone who was more inclined towards liberal arts was destined to live a low-pay life. However, my decision to find my true calling and gravitate towards studying literature was, indeed, a life-altering event.

I inaugurated my college life by meeting professors who taught me new ways to perceive the world. Reading novels and authors’ life stories opened a gateway to learning about the past, and expanding my viewpoint for the future. From poetry to novels, literature yielded rewards beyond both – value and measure.

It was the stories that my professors told, and the way they told them. It was the belief that literature arose – no answer is a wrong answer; the world is a kaleidoscope of thoughts – that helped me move ahead. Literature equipped me with the ability to recognize my need for growth and the need for being conscious.

I began my journey as a student of literature in 2018. Fast forward to 2020 – I am working as a content writer at WrittenlyHub, implementing the vast ocean of knowledge that studying literature has offered. All I know is, this does not end here!

It’s a Long Way To Go

In the midst of all my obstacles, life off the wagon, and imperfections, the past two years have been one of the most fulfilling years of my life. This is because I listened to my own heart, and surrendered myself to a plethora of newness.

I can sincerely carve in stone that beating procrastination, being grateful, and studying literature has made me an equanimous individual. Of course, I have not mastered life completely. But, as I keep opening myself to fresh tendencies, the only way for me is forward!