20 Small Changes You Can Make Today That Will Make Your Life Feel Largely More Important

Forget the massive life overhauls and toss the idea that you need to “change everything” once and for all. The truth is that small changes can offer big rewards, and we’re going to show you 20 tweaks that will have you moving to the front of the line and leading the charge almost instantly.

Be warned: You’re about to find yourself much happier.

1. Put yourself out there as a mentor. There’s a good chance the skills, talent, wisdom and knowledge you’ve acquired and take for granted are exactly what a young college graduate is looking to learn more about. Pay it forward and help someone else find their way.

2. Toss out three items every single week. If the whole de-cluttering trend sounds great in theory but gives you anxiety in practice, break it down. In a year, you will have tossed or donated 156 items that were taking up space best utilized for something new, or nothing at all.

3. Drink a glass of water as soon as you wake up. And drink one every other hour. Within a week, your energy will be higher and your skin, hair and tummy will be much smoother. Beauty from the inside out.

4. Leave work at work. Have an issue with leaving your mind at the office? Write down your undone tasks at the end of the day and then add a line as to how you will complete them tomorrow. Studies have shown that adding that extra information enhances your work/life balance and can even help you make your working hours easier.

5. Crawl into and out of bed 20 minutes earlier. Spend that time emptying your mind into a journal, gently stretching, or reading a few pages of a really good book.

6. Approach every human exchange with a desire to learn something. We all have wisdom to share and lessons to pass along. Clear the filter and pay attention and you’ll walk away a bit more developed.

7. Keep your head in the clouds and your feet on the ground. The idea that “being real” means you need to be negative is wrong, and so is the notion that being “positive” means you need to border delusion with a smile plastered on your face.

8. Realize that there’s a difference between disbelief and doubt. Disbelief allows room for fact-finding, whereas doubt destroys anything it touches.

9. Protect your mind. Be careful what you ingest, be it thoughts, words, food, drink or drugs.

10. Pay close attention to what you’re putting out there. Your vibes work as a magnet: they attract and repel. If you walk around scared, you’ll attract people who want to perpetuate your fear either with their own anxiety or by controlling you. If you walk around owning your personal power, you’ll attract a following.

11. Investigate your limitations. Are they real or perceived? Often you can do the thing you think you cannot do, and you may even enjoy it.

12. Know how your life works and take control of it. Think of your life as a massive ship and “going with the flow” isn’t going to get you where it is you want to go. Grab the wheel and steer it in the direction of your dreams.

13. Take responsibility for your own decisions. The way others behave and live their life isn’t under your control, and you don’t need to walk around feeling bad about their choices.

14. Embrace moderation. It sounds limiting, but in reality a little bit of everything goes a long way.

15. Use Karma to your advantage. It’s not some mystical bus that runs you over; rather, it’s cause and effect. Do better and you’ll get better. It’s that simple.

16. Focus on great decision-making. When you’re making your choices, think beyond the moment. Think about your greatest goals and how this decision will bring you closer to them or push them further away. It takes a few extra seconds but you’ll screw yourself over a lot less.

17. Stop forcing things. Pushing things usually does more damage than just letting them be. Learn to surrender.

18. Don’t court rejection. If someone walks away, don’t take it as a sign you need to follow them.

19. Say “Please” and “Thank you.” Do it every single time you ask for something and when someone does something for you, even if just giving you a compliment. This will change your relationship with the world, guaranteed.

20. Love being alive. For all of the ups and downs, challenges and setbacks, there are amazing moments and gorgeous connections that make being here on this earth much more than the struggle we sometimes allow our fears, worries and pains to convince us it is.

This post originally appeared at YourTango.