16 tips to succeed in making big changes in life

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Want to make big changes in your life fast? Changing your life in one fell swoop requires a certain mindset. Hopefully you’re willing to face plenty of uncertainty and chaos. And you’ll need to be a good planner. Find out if you have the right mindset to survive when changing fast.

Here are some tips to help you succeed in making big changes in your life.

1 Strong reasons for big changes

Firstly, you have strong reasons for wanting to change your life in so many areas at once.

Maybe you’re searching for new experiences, or a significant project to enhance your life. Or maybe you want to forge deeper connections with others.

Whatever your dream is, you’re desperate to find more fulfilment. And now you’re ready to put this new vision into action.

Having meaningful reasons to change will help you through both good and bad times.

2 A clear vision

You know exactly what you want to do, and have a clear idea of where you’re headed.

Your dream isn’t some idle notion that whizzed through your mind once or twice. You’ve refined your ideas into a workable outline.

3 Your vision and values align

Your vision is your own, not someone else’s. You’re not making big changes in life to impress others, or make them happy.

And crucially, your vision aligns with the values you want to live by.

If it doesn’t, you’ll be acting against what you believe in. Over time, you’ll lose your sense of integrity and internal sense of peace.

4 You’re flexible

Being able to make big changes in life means you embrace uncertainty and chaos.

Both your curiosity and openness to new experience help you adjust to the unexpected. Even if you’re unsure of what to do at first, you’re flexible enough to work around problems.

You’re also willing to change tactics if a strategy isn’t working. And you know you can still learn valuable insights from what seemed like the wrong path.

5 You’re a realist

You’re realistic about what you can and can’t manage.

Firstly, you know you’re not going to achieve everything in the next day, or even the next year. Secondly, you know that unforeseen events like illness may slow your progress.

Therefore you can quickly accept that that’s the way it is. You don’t allow yourself to wallow in frustration or disappointment for too long.

6 You’re a good planner

You’re definitely not a naïve optimist. You don’t blindly believe that everything will work out for you, without any input of your own.

Instead, you rely on your own judgment and problem-solving abilities to plan ahead.

And good planning helps you prevent or reduce potential problems.

7 You take action

Of course, thinking and planning isn’t enough when making big changes in life. You’re willing to take action, instead of waiting for your dreams to somehow come true.

Whatever happens, you organise your environment to support your vision.

8 You see things in perspective

Being a good planner also means you see both the big picture and smaller details of your project. You can easily switch between these perspectives as needed.

That ability helps you to transform the outline of your vision into goals.

9 You set SMART goals

You’re able to split each major end goal into smaller, more detailed SMART goals that will help in making big changes in your life.

Every goal is described in specific, measurable terms. No matter how big or small, each goal is realistic and achievable within a certain time frame.

Now you can follow your progress in each area.

10 You avoid timewasters

However, no one reaches their dreams unless they can focus on them.

Therefore, you avoid trivial activities, in order to use your precious time wisely. Mindless socialising with strangers, or playing video games for hours won’t help you achieve your goals.

You also know that procrastination can still be a problem for you. However, you’ve largely mastered this habit.

At the start of each day, you tackle the most important tasks you need to do. The sense of satisfaction when they’re completed is a reward in itself.

11 You commit to self-mastery

Making big changes in life means you’re committed to self-mastery.

You’ve worked hard to overcome any tendency to self-sabotage. Having a good grip on negative self-talk and wayward emotions helps stop self-defeating behaviours.

After the initial shock of a setback, you let anger and frustration fade before taking action. Dampening unhelpful thoughts and emotions gets you back on track more quickly, with less disruption. You’re less likely to get caught up in fear, blame, and self-doubt.

Stepping back also helps you tell if a problem is truly catastrophic, or just a minor annoyance.

12 You believe in life-long learning 

In addition, you’re keen to transcend your current knowledge and achievements.

You know you don’t have all the skills you need – and that’s OK. You’ll either be able to learn them, or find someone else who knows what you need.

Being achievement-oriented, you enjoy focussing on your goals for long periods of time.

13 You have a support network

You’re keen to find like-minded people who share your vision. They’ll act as a cheer squad and will share information and tips. You may also want an experienced coach or mentor to guide you. 

At times, you may realise your thinking is stuck in a rut. Gracefully accepting input from others can help you make better decisions. You’re mature enough to see criticism as useful information to consider.

14 You commit to self and others

Good self-care is a priority for you. You’re not about to sabotage your dreams by burning out. Maintaining your fitness, healthy eating and sleeping habits will keep you up to speed. In addition, regular rest breaks aid in both creativity and focus.

Relationships are also important to you. You fully engage with valued family and friends when you’re with them. To do this, you know how to put your own concerns to one side, and live in the moment.

In addition, you know how to get the important people in your life on-side with your vision. You’re aware it’s easy to alienate others, so make every attempt to be considerate of their feelings. If some people close to you resist you changing, you’re able to deal with this in a constructive way. 

15 You’re self-aware

Good self-awareness is vital when making big changes in your life. As mentioned, you know how to stop sabotaging yourself with self-defeating behaviours.

In addition, you understand your strengths and weaknesses.

You know that a strength can become a weakness if it’s overused. For example, a great work ethic becomes a weakness if you push yourself to the point of exhaustion.

You know how you react to pressure and stress. If you have some bad habits, you’re willing to learn new, more helpful ways of reacting.

16 You can self-reflect

Moreover, you see the benefit of setting aside regular times to reflect on your progress.

You’re willing to ask yourself what’s working and what isn’t. Whether you’re still committed to your goals, or feel you’re moving in the wrong direction.

Being keen to face reality, you analyse your progress and any problems that have arisen. That helps you work out if you need to revise your whole approach, or simply make a few tweaks.

You carry out this process of self-reflection monthly, or even weekly.

Will you succeed in making big changes?

So do you have what it takes to make big changes in your life? Will you be able to cope calmly with the chaos? Or does the dedication and total focus needed make you think twice?

It’s a special person who can deal with making big changes in their lives all at the same time. Perhaps they have more freedom to do what they want than the average person.

But for the rest of us, this approach may be too daunting. 

If so, you can choose to make changes in a more manageable way.