Are you asking yourself how to get your life back on track? You came to the right place.
We all lose focus of our goals from time to time. No matter what the reason is, you need and want to get your life back on track fast. Let’s be real here. You have been slacking on yourself. You can do better than this. So, let’s make that plan and get your life back on track.
Keeping your life on track all the time is NOT possible
Wouldn’t it be great if our lives will go smoothly all the time? No issues, no hard times, just smooth. Yeah, that is not possible now, is it?
Please don’t beat yourself up for needing to get back on track. I know it sucks. You were doing great and now it feels you have to start over again. I feel your pain.
Let me tell you a little bit about myself.
I am currently in a rehabilitation program. This means that I have to get my life back on track ALL the time, over and over again. And I know how frustrating it is. I really do. I told my doctor that I was tired of it. Always trying. Failing. Trying again. Just to fail again. It is demotivating to say the least.
She told me this. That’s life. That is just how it goes. You will be able to get back on track faster and faster. But it will always happen. You can’t control life and what happens. It is what it is.
Ouch, but it opened my eyes. I thought that when I was back on track it was some final destination where I had it all figured out. Nope. Not at all. You will fall again. And that is okay. I’m here to help you pick yourself up, and do it all again. And you too will be able to get back on track faster each time.
Don’t be so hard on yourself. It is normal and okay. Now let’s get to the steps of how you will get your life back on track
How to get your life back on track, 7 helpful tips
First, what caused you to go off track?
What happened that made you feel the way you do now? What is holding you back from keeping on track?
And be honest here. Do some self-reflection. Is it the same thing that always makes you go off track? Or did something new happen? Is it out of your control or do you have control over it if you really wanted to?
These questions are really important. Because they will give you insight into your situation. For me personally, it is usually the same stuff that gets me off track. So, I am working on those things. If I don’t work on changing those issues, I will forever be in the same cycle and that is not what I want.
Get to the main issue and write it all down for yourself. It is hard to take a close look at your own behavior, but this is the most important step, so don’t skip it.
Let me help you to get to that main issue of why you get off track. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Am I happy with my life? Why yes, and why no.
- Do I have strong boundaries and do people respect them?
- Is work stressing me out? Do I put my own needs first?
- Is my personal life stressing me out?
- Am I in a fight with someone?
- Is my relationship going well?
- Do I suffer from mental health issues?
- Can I say that I am a happy person?
- Am I feeling sad?
- Do I put my own needs first?
- Am I lonely?
- Can I talk to my loved ones?
- Do I speak up for myself?
- and keep asking yourself questions until you have a clear view of what is going on.
Look inside, be honest. How do you feel, how is your life going, how are the relationships with the people in your life? How happy are you with your life? Get to that main issue.
It may sound a bit silly for you to ask yourself these questions. But sometimes things bother us and hold us back when we don’t even realize it at the moment. It’s when you look back on a toxic relationship and be like “ah, no wonder I felt so drained all the time”. You just don’t see it when you are in it.
When you discovered what your main issue (or issues) is that keeps setting you back in your progress. You will have to work on this. If you don’t, you will keep repeating the same mistakes, over and over again. And you don’t want that, and I don’t want that for you either.
What gets me off track
For me, I tend to go off track when I get too much in my own head and start to overthink everything in my life. Overthinking leads to creating problems, and that’s all I can see at those times. Or when I have nothing going on in my life and I feel lonely. When life becomes something that I HAVE to do. I lose my ambition, my motivation, and my happiness.
It took me a while to notice this pattern. And even now, when I know my pattern, I still sometimes fall for it. They say old habits die hard, and it is true. But because you know your reason, you can handle it better. Get on track again faster and be more understanding to yourself. And most importantly, work on these issues.
What does “on track” for you mean?
Write down your goals. How would your life be if you were on track? Basically, describe your perfect life. Your perfect routine. Do you even have a routine? If not, check out this article I wrote about getting a morning routine to work on healthy habits.
A routine can be so helpful. A morning routine helps me to start my day right and we all know if you start your day right, it will help you throughout the rest of your day.
What are the things that you really want in your life? Remember that a perfect life does not excist, but for the fun of it, imagine that it could. Just to get your ideas and wishes starting. Write it all down.
What are your wishes? Your wants and needs. What would make you incredibly happy? How would you feel if you were on track and living that perfect life? What are your dreams? And do not be afraid to dream big.
And most importantly, how will you get there? Those dreams and goals are awesome. But you need a plan to actually achieve them too.
Use my example to make your goals more clear
- Goal (What do I want)
- Tasks (What tasks do I have to do to achieve this goal)
- Steps (What steps do I need to take for each task to achieve this goal)
- When (When will I do the tasks/steps needed to achieve this goal)
- Steps (What steps do I need to take for each task to achieve this goal)
- Tasks (What tasks do I have to do to achieve this goal)
So if one of your goals would be to improve your sleep (because when you sleep good, you will achieve so much more), it would look like this:
- Goal – I want to sleep 7 hours or more every night and be relaxed when I go to sleep
- Task 1 – I will go to bed at 10 pm on weekdays
The steps:- 1 – I will set my alarm 30 minutes before going to bed as a reminder
- 2 – Before going to bed, I drink a cup of hot milk
- 3 – To make sure I will sleep good, I will meditate for 5-10 minutes when I am in bed
- 4 – an hour before bed I will stop using my phone
- When – I start this goal tomorrow and do it every day
- Task 1 – I will go to bed at 10 pm on weekdays
Follow a routine and form healthy habits
I mentioned it earlier, follow a routine. That is so important to get your life back on track. You can do a morning routine, a workday routine, a nighttime routine. YouTube is full of examples. Like this morning routine from Sophie from Gainsbybrains a YouTuber and fellow Dutchie, but her videos are in English.
Of course, do not follow her exact morning routine, but use it as a source of inspiration. That is what I do too, and I find it so much fun to watch.
Why a routine? We all crave structure. Structure may sound boring, but it is what we all secretly want. Especially when you are off track, a routine helps you to get started and get more energy. It just makes you feel good.
So, write down what you want to achieve in the morning. Don’t set the bar too high. A few habits are enough. A few examples:
- Meditate
- Shower
- Eat breakfast
This can be enough, it all depends on how off track you are and how high your energy level is at this point. Don’t make it too hard on yourself, it is better to start small again and add a little each week. Build your way up. Take it easy.
Be very careful with not adding too much too soon to your to do list. You have been off track and your body and mind need time to adjust to the new routine. It will take some time and a lot of effort and patience from you.
When you feel confident about the habits you have been doing for a bit, add a few new ones. See how it goes. Is it too much? Don’t be afraid to scrap a few from the list again and add when you are ready. This is not a race, it is a marathon.
Add habits that have value to you
Also, be sure to add habits that have value to you and that you feel strongly about. If you absolutely hate to do yoga, but you want to do it because you heard it is good for you (sure it is, but so are many other things) then you will have a very hard time succeeding at this goal.
Same for wanting to drink a green smoothie every morning when you hate the taste of it. Just don’t.
There are so many options, so many different things to choose from, that are also still very good for you. I don’t say that some goals can’t be hard to do, they can be, and I believe they should be. But to ask the impossible of yourself, knowing you will fail, is a waste of your time and you can spend that so much better elsewhere.
Get in a good mood
An evening with your friends? Listening to music? Watch that new show on Netflix (tip: go watch The Bold Type,– love it). Whatever helps you to get in a good mood, do it.
Dance, sing along, drink some wine. Let it all out. Let go of negative feelings and dance like no one is watching. You need to destress. Stop worrying, even if it is just for a little bit. When you feel positive, everything looks so much better.
I am not saying you can’t have sad/tough feelings, sure you can. But not all the time. That is not healthy. You need some distraction from your own mind.
I have some songs for you that will definitely get you in a happy and confident mood.
- Bebe Rexha – Last Hurrah
- Eminem – Higher
- Britney Spears – Work Bitch
- Beyonce – 7/11 (homecoming LIVE)
- Shenseaa, Tyga – Blessed
- Miley Cyrus – Mother’s daughter
- Iggy Azalea, Alice Chater – Lola
- Beyonce – Formation (homecoming LIVE)
- Billie Eilish – You should see me in a crown
- Ariana Grande – 7 rings
- Meghan Trainor, Nicki Minaj – Nice to meet ya
Just a few ideas. Turn that volume up!
Take responsibility for your life
You know who the only person is who can change your life? It is very simple. It is….
You.
Ah man… really… nobody else is coming? Nobody else is fixing this shit for me? Damn. That sucks!
Yep, welcome to real life. You are responsible for your own actions and your own life. You can’t control everything in your life, but you have control over yourself. How you act and react, all in your control.
When I said to not be too hard on yourself, I meant it. But you can’t be too soft either. You need to push yourself in the beginning. You have to do what you don’t really want to do.
Do you think I want to get out of bed on days that I feel like a truck ran over me? No. I so do not. I want to lay in my bed all day and feel sad and eat chocolate and cry. And hell, if you really need a few days like this, DO IT. But, you can’t do this forever. Kick yourself out of the bed.
Force yourself a little. You will thank yourself later.
Ask help if you need to
There is no shame in reaching out to others. If you feel you are not doing good, please talk to someone.
Let them know how you feel and what you struggle with. You can even ask them to check in on you daily to see how you are doing with getting back on track. They can hold you accountable too. Tell them you want that from them. Someone that makes sure you are going after those big goals and dreams of yours.
Would you help a friend that reaches out to you for help? Yes, you would. Trust that your friends and family will do the same for you. Would you think it is weird if a friend reaches out? Nope. So don’t worry about any of that.
Focus on what you CAN DO and not on what you CAN’T DO to get your life back on track
Okay great, you are willing to put in the work and effort to get back on track. And you start strong but then something happens that messes up your schedule and you didn’t do all the things on your list. Frustration kicks in.
IT IS OKAY.
Don’t let it set you back. Like I said earlier in this post. You can’t control what happens in life, you can only control your own reaction to it.
If something happens that messes up your schedule, your work, your plans, your life. Don’t obsess over it. What happens, happens. You obsessing over it, will only make it worse. It will drain your energy.
Look, I am a perfectionist and this part is extremely hard for me, so I really understand the frustration when something or someone messes up everything you worked so hard for to achieve. But in the end, you are the one that is messing things up. I am the one that messes it up if I let it set me back.
But what should I do then when something happens that messes up the progress of getting my life back on track?
First you need to calm down. I am sure that whatever happened is causing you so much stress, so you need to become calm. Breathe, just breathe. Sit in a quiet place. Meditate if you like that. But if you don’t know how, just focus on your breath. Deep one in, deep one out. In through the nose, out through the mouth.
If it is not enough, tell yourself some positive affirmations. Say them out loud if that helps better. Get back into a confident and calm mindset.
Do whatever works for you and makes you feel relaxed and calm.
Now when you are calm, take a closer look at the situation. Make a new plan, adjust your schedule if you need to. I know it sucks to make a new plan, to adjust your life. But it just happens. We can’t control everything and we need to learn to adjust to those unexpected situations.
And you can. And you will.
Just do it, get your life back on track
I know, “just do it” sounds so easy, and you and me, we both know this is not easy at all.
Why do I say, just do it, then? Because we tend to make things extra complicated in our lives when it is not needed. All we have to do is get up.. and start. Even if it is something small.
One day at a time. Step by step. You will get there. I know it is not always about wanting, sometimes our bodies and minds just can’t. I am chronically ill, so I know. But even then, there are always things that you CAN do.
Keep fighting for yourself. Keep fighting for a better life.
You can do this, you got this, now stop reading and make that plan!
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