By David Joel Miller, MS, Licensed Therapist & Licensed Counselor.

10 Warning signs that it is time to change your life

Dedication and perseverance are important characteristics. Plenty has been written about the need to persevere when times get hard. It is equally important to know when there are things in your life that are holding you back and when it is time to stop doing things that are impeding your progress.

Here are some warning signs that things in your life need changing.

If you spend all your time looking back at the past you need some change.

Your past may have made you who you are but it does not need to define your future. If you spend more time looking back at the things in your past than looking forward to the future you are headed in the wrong direction.

Periodically you need to take another look at the past. What mistakes have you made and what can you learn from those mistakes. Keep these looks back as brief as possible. Develop a plan to move forward and get started. The sooner the better.

If you think that your happiness lies only in the future.

Do not wait for something or someone to begin being happy. Happiness occurs in the present. If you are not happy on the journey you will arrive at the future with nothing but regrets. Any unhappy now creates an unhappy future even if you reach the destination you are working towards.

Enjoy the trip for its own Sake and the result will take care of its self.

If you are full of anger you need to change.

Anger is a poison that destroys you from the inside out. Change what you can. Accept what you can’t and clear out those angry feelings as soon as possible. The heat of anger can burn you.

If you are full of anger, you need to change you. Demanding that someone or something else change will keep your stuck. Blame others and you avoid the only real solution, changing you.

You can’t remember being happy – life is no fun it is time to change.

If nothing makes you happy, if life is just no fun anymore, you need to change something. This may be a disease called Major Depressive Disorder. That disease needs professional treatment.

But if the case of your life of “no fun” is you, learn to lighten up. Let yourself have fun. Life was not designed to be all pain and drudgery. You have to go through some things but do not volunteer to be the victim. Work on creating the best possible situation in the place you find yourself.

Look for ways to make your life more fun. The little moments of joy add up to a happy life.

When you have to hide your real self from others you need change.

If you are hiding who you are, particularly if you do this because you need others to like you, this is a bad sign. If you are not who you want to be, work on changing that. If the problem is that others will never approve of you, then it is time to change friends, change jobs or change any other situations that are keeping you from being your fully authentic self.

When you feel you need to change others it is you that needs to change.

Trying to change others is a difficult proposition. You can create the right conditions to encourage others to grow but if you start to feel that your prime objective is to change others, take another look at yourself. Learn to accept others as they are or get as many of these people out of your life as you can and do it sooner not later.

Consistently feeling you need to change others in your life should tell you that you are living a conflicted life. Accept others or change your situation.

You protect others from themselves and the consequences of their actions.

If you are trying to protect others from themselves you are living someone else’s life. You need to stop doing that. Let others bear the consequences of their actions. Being over-involved in other’s lives is called codependency and this is a second-hand life. Let others solve their problems and you solve yours.

When nothing interests you anymore change is indicated.

Loss of pleasure, not being able to enjoy things you used to enjoy is a symptom of the depressive disorders. If nothing is fun anymore you need to change that.

Look at the things you used to like to do. Have you stopped enjoying them? Why? Is it you being the kind of person you would like or is it the people you are around?

Look for new interests, try to put the fun back in your life. Be open to new activities and new hobbies. Go places you have not been. Take a new route to work. Eat something new. Meet new friends.

If life is boring you need to make some changes.

When you live in constant emotional pain please change.

Pain circuits, especially the emotional ones, were not designed for constant pain. if you are never out of pain look for new positive solutions. Find new ways of looking at things. Let go of anything causing you pain.

Learn to be mindful and enjoy the positive things in your life. A good, mental attitude and learning to live mindfully and in the moment can reduce both physical and emotional pain.

You are settling for less of a life than you could have.

If you are settling for less of a life than you could have – why? Look for ways to improve your situation. Design a new happy life and move towards that joy-filled life. Life can get better if you just get willing to move out of the place where you are stuck and start living again.

Is now a time for you to change?

Staying connected with David Joel Miller

Seven David Joel Miller Books are available now!

My newest book is now available. It was my opportunity to try on a new genre. I’ve been working on this book for several years, but now seem like the right time to publish it.

Story Bureau.

Story Bureau is a thrilling Dystopian Post-Apocalyptic adventure in the Surviving the Apocalypse series.

Baldwin struggles to survive life in a post-apocalyptic world where the government controls everything.

As society collapses and his family gets plunged into poverty, Baldwin takes a job in the capital city, working for a government agency called the Story Bureau. He discovers the Story Bureau is not a benign news outlet but a sinister government plot to manipulate society.

Bumps on the Road of Life. Whether you struggle with anxiety, depression, low motivation, or addiction, you can recover. Bumps on the Road of Life is the story of how people get off track and how to get your life out of the ditch.

Dark Family Secrets: Doris wants to get her life back, but small-town prejudice could shatter her dreams.

Casino Robbery Arthur Mitchell escapes the trauma of watching his girlfriend die. But the killers know he’s a witness and want him dead.

Planned Accidents  The second Arthur Mitchell and Plutus mystery.

Letters from the Dead: The third in the Arthur Mitchell mystery series.

What would you do if you found a letter to a detective describing a crime and you knew the writer and detective were dead, and you could be next?

Sasquatch. Three things about us, you should know. One, we have seen the past. Two, we’re trapped there. Three, I don’t know if we’ll ever get back to our own time.

For these and my upcoming books; please visit my Author Page – David Joel Miller

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