Five Ways to Be a Better Person in 2020

We often ask ourselves how we can improve, but we don’t always take the steps we must to see those changes take place. That is exactly where we should start.

1. Following up, whether with oneself, a friend, or a colleague, is one of the most effective ways to increase productivity and surprisingly, your self-esteem. That’s right, that weekend outing or workout that you so casually offered to make happen could be a catalyst for realizing more important changes in your life. So, go take that walk that you said you would take.

2. Another way to make these changes happen is to focus on the tasks and activities that interest you the most. This may seem like a no-brainer, but oftentimes we lose touch with what really matters in our lives and what truly makes us feel alive.

If you enjoy sports and working out, then get outside and go on a walk or run. Others may prefer activities like reading or listening to music, and these are also things that you can take outside. Be creative when reinventing your life. Again, in order to make this change happen, we have to make a commitment to ourselves, and that could come in the form of a short-term goal or a promise to commit to what truly matters in our day-to-day lives. This could also come in the form of reconnecting with old friends, family members, or roommates and being genuinely interested in the questions you ask and authentic in your responses to their questions.

3. Being thankful for the little things is just one more way to increase our daily satisfaction and well-being. This, in turn, will make it easier to follow up on commitments and activities that give us the motivation to continue improving and expanding as individuals.

Gratitude not only makes us feel more satisfied, but it improves the quality of our relationships and the experience of those who regularly spend time with us. It has the power to change our relationship to our self and to those around us. That being said, you don’t need to be around other people to practice gratitude. Far from it. Mindfulness and other meditative practices are great tools for incorporating gratitude into our daily routines and can boost our subjective level of well-being.

4. Another way to improve your experience, especially this year, is by being a critical consumer.

Since its conception, the internet has been growing. As it continues to grow, the amount of data in the web verse increases at an exponential rate every year.

So, why is this important to us as individuals and, frankly, as consumers in a data-rich environment? Well, the question begs the answer. With increasingly larger amounts of data available to us, we have to be equipped to not only understand the information coming at us, but savvy enough to make well-informed decisions in relatively short amounts of time based on that data. Despite the woes of previous generations, the prominence of the internet in everyday life is not something that will go away any time soon. That being said, here are some things you can do practically to control the amount of data you consume each day.

First, look at your list of subscriptions to websites, software and any other of the thousands of possible subscriptions you can make online. Decide which of those subscriptions are important in your life, which actually serve a purpose and have a positive influence on your life, and which ones do not.

Now, delete all of the accounts and subscriptions that are non-essential to your life. This may feel like cutting off a part of yourself, but it’s one of the best ways to limit the amount of useless information that comes into your inbox, and your mind. Do this for your emails as well, if you have lots.

Next, consider learning a bit about computer science, data science, or a related topic. After all, we use computers every day for many hours, so why not learn a bit about how they work. Of course, we don’t all have time to complete a course on data science, but we can all make an effort to master the devices we do use on a daily basis and make them work for us and not against us.

5. Be you. Don’t worry about why or how others judge you because that will always change. All we can do is decide how to act based on our own principles and treat others with respect when we disagree.

I hope that you’ve found some of these suggestions helpful and motivating. Be well and stay safe.

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