The more I think about it, the decision to start focusing on yourself more than others is often triggered by a great change in your life. And it can be a good or a bad change. Maybe you experienced a breakup or some form of rejection.

Maybe you graduated and are entering a newer, scarier stage of your life. Maybe you are overwhelmed with all the activity that is currently in your life. In any of these cases, and others unnamed, focusing on yourself is the best remedy.

Today, I’m sharing 3 ideas and advice about how to start focusing on yourself. I know everyone’s experiences and journeys will be different, but on my journey there were several activities I did that were encouraging and meaningful that helped me get to where I am now. If you’re interested in taking a breath and putting yourself first, stay here and read the rest of this post.

Think about what you want most in life

There are many methods to doing this that I’ve seen and tried. You could think about where you want to be in 3, 5, or 10 years. Or, write a journal entry about your dream life and lifestyle. Another is the ikigai concept to help you find your purpose. If you don’t fancy writing, then you might consider creating a vision board of images and words that relate to your dreams.

Whichever one(s) you choose, these activities help you gain a new perspective and transform your outlook on life. It is when you have this clear picture of your ideal future and self that you can begin focusing on yourself and on the path to achieving what you want in life. When you have this clear picture, you can create actionable, smaller, smarter goals that carry you farther to becoming what you want to be and what you want to have in life.

Set your priorities and your boundaries

When you start focusing on yourself and the picture of your dream life and self, it is so important to set your priorities for yourself. The best thing to do, to make a start is to choose 3 actionable goals. Such as professional, personal, and miscellaneous goals. Set them as your priorities to ensure you don’t become overwhelmed by trying to do everything at once.

These goals may be studying an online course for your desired career or side hustle (professional) or experimenting with fashion choices to find your favourite style (personal). Also, finding a good book to get back into a habit of reading (miscellaneous).

Another thing you should consider is setting your boundaries with the people in your life. This means saying “no” to some people, and it helps you focus on the priorities you’ve set for yourself. It means committing to your own plans and ensuring that the people around you are respectful of your decisions. If your closest friends and family are understanding and supportive of your goals, then they will not disturb or distract you from working on them.

be kinder and gentler with yourself

One of the best ways to be kind to yourself is to practise and prioritise self-care activities and self-love mindsets. And to put aside the idea that you, or others around you, may have that the act of self-care is selfish. There are many ways to practise self-care. Such as different physical, social, emotional, and spiritual activities.

When you focus on yourself and not others, for the sake of happiness and going after your aspirations, you want to do so with a lot of love and encouragement for yourself. You can do this by reframing the way you speak to yourself and by turning negative self-talk into positive thoughts and by being hopeful and excited for the future.

Celebrate all your accomplishments and also see what you can learn from any setbacks you experience. Understand that the road to achieving the life and lifestyle you want will take time, commitment, and work. But most of all, it will also take support and positivity, especially from yourself.

There you have it! These are 3 things you can do to focus on yourself and be happier. These are envisioning the life and lifestyle you want, creating realistic goals and plans, and remembering to be kinder to yourself along the way. I hope you found this post hopeful as you start your journey to focus more on yourself.