You don’t need us to tell you that life is hard. It can be difficult to stay on top of day-to-day plans and tasks, and thinking about the future is even more challenging. There are so many variables at play that it can often feel like we’re in a pretty vulnerable position. All it takes is a couple of bad moves, and we’d be in a precarious situation.
While there’s no way to completely secure your future, there are most definitely things you can do that’ll have you confident that the coming years will be just as good — or better — than what’s come before. In this post, we’ll look at some key areas to focus on that should make a big difference.
Take Charge of Your Health
Your health will be your best friend, but it has to be a mutually beneficial relationship. You can’t expect your health to look after you if you’re not helping it to be at its best. Undertaking a health and fitness journey doesn’t always sound too exciting, but once you’re in the swing of things you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it. Working up a sweat isn’t just about keeping your body healthy, either. It’ll also improve your mental health and give you more energy, both of which can help you feel more confident that you can take on anything that comes your way.
Work on Yourself
In theory, you’d be a good friend to yourself. In reality, we all know that sometimes we’re our own worst enemies. When we look at the person who’s holding us back from being our best selves, we usually discover that it’s ourselves. While no one is perfect, it is recommended to try to identify and handle your flaws, especially if you exhibit negative repeated behaviours. Even people who are successful and generally mentally well can benefit from undergoing therapy, so consider finding a therapist to work with. You might just discover an aspect of yourself that you didn’t know was there.
Invest in Relationships
There’s no such thing as a self-made person. We all rely on each other. It’s usually the hyper-individualistic people who end up wishing they’d made more friends when they get older. Your relationships are going to have a huge impact on your ability to enjoy life to the fullest, at all stages of your life. But your connections can’t run on autopilot. You need to put time into making sure they’re as solid as can be. It takes time and effort, but it pays off. As well as strengthening your existing relationships, consider making new ones — you never know what great journey you might go on just by making a new friend.
Get a Future-Proof Career
Unless you’re one of the lucky rich and famous, your happiness and enjoyment of life will be directly influenced by your ability to earn a living. It’s worth considering the future viability of your current job. A significant portion of jobs are due to be lost through automation and AI in the coming years, and if you suspect that yours may be one of them, then now’s the time to begin looking at other careers. There are plenty of jobs that will be in demand in the next decade and beyond, including psychologist roles and healthcare; in fact, eight of the top ten growing jobs are just different ways to say ‘nurse.’ Take an online nursing course today, and you’ll be putting yourself in a strong position to earn a good salary moving forward. If you’re not sure whether your existing job is at risk, then do some research; industry magazines usually give a pretty good indication of job prospects.
Save more Money
It’s nice to spend money, but it’s smart to save money. Having a rainy day fund is one of the best moves that anyone can make since it’ll allow them to absorb unexpected expenses without damaging their long-term financial standing. It’s best to have 3 – 6 months of living expenses in savings just in case. You’ll hope that you’ll never need that money, but you’ll be thankful to yourself if you do. In addition to emergency funding, it’s also recommended to begin saving for your retirement as early as possible. Even putting away small amounts of money each month can lead to a big pot of cash when multiplied over many decades.
Think of Future Problems
A good way to feel confident about the future is to anticipate what could be a problem, and then take steps to address them now. When you look at the situations that cause people trouble, you can usually see that all the warning signs were there — they just didn’t see them. So as a thought experiment, imagine what problems you might be dealing with five years down the line, and then see what you can do about them today. Aside from making your future life better, it’ll also bring peace of mind today, since you’ll know that you’ve done your bit to ensure a happy future.
Forget Nostalgic Thinking
It’s normal to fall into nostalgia from time to time, but it’s important to keep it in check. If you begin living in the past, and especially believing that your best days are behind you, then you’ll fail to take steps to improve your future. Keep in mind that the past probably wasn’t as good as you remember it, and also that the things you did then that brought you joy are still open to you now. We tend to think that some things are closed off to us once we reach a certain age, but that’s not true — you’re never too old to make a positive change.
Improve Your General Confidence
Finally, you can be more confident about your future by improving your general confidence. Confident people trust that they’ll be able to take anything in their stride. While some people are naturally more confident, it is one of those things that you can work on improving!
Leave a Reply