10 Things I Stopped Doing That Drastically Improved My Life

#10 is my favorite

5 min readSep 16, 2022

We evolve with time, The definition of a better life in your twenties may not be the same as in your thirties or forties. A lot of things change, but the essence of evolution lies in continuously making ourselves better. Better than yesterday.

I always say your only competition is you. You must introspect and ask yourself am I better than yesterday? Am I happier than yesterday? and if the answer is No.

Then there is a dire need for you to sit and assess what can be done in order to move ahead in life. In order to have a happy and fulfilling life, you’ll have to give up on things, that are dragging you backward and hindering your growth process.

Here’s a list of 10 things I stopped doing

Stopped Pleasing Others —

We, humans, want to fit in, we want to get accepted and for that, we sometimes do whatever it takes to get there. I was never a person who wouldn’t deny anyone, I never raised my voice. And for this, I suffered a lot. I always took the extra step, I would place their needs above mine. But going too far to please others can lead you emotionally depleted, stressed, and anxious. be yourself and the right people will find you.

2. Stopped comparing myself to others —

You’re unique in your own way. We all have good and bad traits.

Everybody’s story is different. comparing yourself to others can lead to envy, negative emotions, and feelings of not having enough, you start feeling like a loser. No matter where you reach there will always be somebody ahead of you. There is no threshold as far as success is concerned. enjoy your uniqueness and focus on yourself, not others to get ahead in life.

3. Said a big no to watching television, news, and political gossip.

There was a time when I enjoyed heated debates on television, I had this mindset that If I watched the news and was up to date with what was happening around me I’m pretty smart.

It was in 2020 when I shifted my focus from controversial content and news to reading books. I felt so much better. why? because you become what you consume, whether it's the food you eat or information.

4. Stopped consuming sugar and sugary products

I stopped consuming sugar roughly 2 years back. which means I take my tea or coffee w/o sugar. I rarely snack on chocolates or such stuff. But yes there are days when I eat dessert and enjoy it completely. The fact is I generally enjoy it more than the people who consume sugar on daily basis. why? because I eat in moderation and Therefore when I consume it occasionally. It tastes far better. I love eating everything but in moderation. This way you don't put on the extra weight and your energy levels generally are way more consistent.

5. Stopped shopping compulsively

Like any other girl, I loved shopping like anything. I shop when I am sad when I am happy when I have nothing to do, or simply when I felt like doing so. The outcome was I still wore the same piece of clothes. A bunch of them that I truly liked and It was slowly becoming more like a compulsive disorder kind of thing.

I now buy things I genuinely need not otherwise. This way I save tons of time, effort, and money of course. There’s no end to greed. You need to an end to it.

6. Eliminated toxic people from my life

I’m glad I did so. People with toxic mindsets are like energy vampires. they leave no stone unturned to put you down. at one point you have to identify who is worth your time and who isn’t. setting boundaries protect your mental well-being.

7. Stopped taking relationships for granted

After losing a few intimate friends I started paying more attention to relationships and people around me- especially my parents, while we were growing up we do all sorts of nonsense w/o having an idea what our parents must be going through. we fail to realize they are humans first and parents later. My relationship with them has changed a lot over these years. I sit with them. Talk to them. listen to what they’re saying and try my best to help them when they need it.

8. Stopped My sedentary lifestyle

I had no sense of what being active meant, I imagined hitting the gym as the only way to achieve your fitness goal. I failed to understand that one can be fit w/o spending on gym memberships and expensive equipment. My personal favorite is taking a long walk. But the idea is just moving around using the damn stairs instead of the elevator. get up and bring yourself a glass of water if needed. ditch the car and prefer walking to a nearby store. Do some house cleaning. It’s that simple.

9. My relationship with money changed over time —

This happened in 2021. when I realized there is so much more we can do with the money instead of buying materials. It’s a tool you can use to make more money, money can buy freedom. I always looked at money as something I need to fulfill all my desires. Like it’s one solution to all my problems. But I was miserably wrong. In this one year, I learned about investing, and finance. I learned a lot about wealth creation.

10. I started taking charge of my time —

Time is like a flowing stream of a river, it’s moving no matter whether you think about it or not. The clock is ticking. each one of us is moving a little closer to our grave as time goes by. Therefore, it becomes so important to utilize your time judiciously. Let’s be honest, We’re here for a brief period.

Do what you always wanted to do. Don’t wait for retirement. Ask yourself what would I do today If this was my last day? You will easily be able to segregate everything that is not important and focus on what’s essential. each minute is a blessing. remind yourself that you’re alive. roughly 8 million people die each day. and you’re not one of them.