Change Your Life in Just 6 Months

It takes time to undo a lifetime of bad choices, but you’d be surprised how much you can accomplish in six months if you’re committed and take consistent action. 

You can make a huge change in your life in just half a year. This is enough time to make good progress without being overwhelmed by some huge goal like, “I want to be worth $50 million in five years.” Six months is manageable. 

Use these strategies to change your life in just six months: 

1. Set four goals. Set a goal in each of the following areas: Financial, Health, Career, and Other. Most of us could use a money, health, and career boost. That leaves one miscellaneous goal. 

• Financial. You might want to set a goal for your bank account balance, earnings, or pay off your debt. 
• Health. Need to lose a few pounds? Want to bench press 250 pounds? Follow a healthy diet for six months? 
• Career. Perhaps you want a promotion, to change companies, or to change fields. 
• Miscellaneous. You could set a goal to travel somewhere, master a song on the piano, get a jump on learning a language, or buy a new car. The possibilities are endless. 
• A good goal is something that you believe is possible but would be challenging. It should also be something that makes you excited when you think about achieving it. 

2. Measure your current situation. Understand where you’re starting. If you want to increase your savings account to $10,000, you’d best know your current balance. The same goes for your weight if you’re trying to lose weight. If you want to run a 5-minute mile, how fast can you run a mile right now? 

3. Create a plan. Based on where you are, and where you want to go, what is a logical plan to get there? Remember that you have six months and plan accordingly. 

4. Determine the habits you need to ensure success. If you want to lose weight, your exercise and diet habits are important. Savings and spending habits are often important for financial goals. Sending a certain number of resumes might be important for certain career goals. 

• Your habits have a tremendous impact on the results you achieve in life. Good habits yield good results. 

5. Set short-term goals. It’s hard to stay focused on a goal for six months, and it’s easy to procrastinate. Set short-term goals that lead to your long-term goals. Sixty days is about right for a short-term goal. 

• Set 60-day and 120-day goals for each of your 6-month goals. 

6. Take action. Even with the best plans in the world, nothing happens until you 2take action to reach your goals.

7. Keep a journal. Record your feelings, plans, ideas, results, and observations. 

You’ll get a kick out of looking back on your journal someday. 

8. Measure your progress. Regularly measure your progress. It’s important to know how you’re doing, so you can make any adjustments. How will you know if your diet and exercise plans are working if you never get on the scale? 

9. Be flexible in your approach. You’re probably not going to create the perfect plan right out of the gate. There will be a lot of fine tuning along the way. Stick to your goals but be willing to change how you accomplish them. 

10. Cross the finish line. Giving up is the only way to fail. Keep going, even when you feel like quitting. 

What can you accomplish in six months? Take a guess and see if you’re right! You can do a lot in six months. In fact, you can probably accomplish more in the next six months than you have in the last five years. 

It’s easy to fall into a routine that does little more than maintain your life. You can do much better! Set a few goals and work hard for just six months. You’ll be pleased with the results.