Your life won’t always run smoothly. Maybe you want to travel the world, start a new business, or you might fall in and out of love. What I’m saying is, life happens, and it turns your whole entire world upside down.

Some of the time, you’re forced to reinvent yourself. Like me. I struggle with being too negative about every single situation in my life. Absolutely zero positivity. This is where I had to come in and do something about it. So ask yourself this: do you really want to change?

There are a few steps to changing. One, decide who you want to become. Two, get your mind right. Three, prioritize. Four, put in the work, and five, get rid of the people who would hold you back.

Personally, I think the first step to reinventing yourself starts with the mind. When your mind, body, and soul are in sync, everything will be so much easier. A lot of the time, we tend to do something we don’t want to do. For example, society tells us we should be going to college after high school. What about the people who don’t want to go? We think that that is what we want to do, we think that this is what we should do, but is it something we really want to do?

Prioritizing tasks is also important. I’m so hypocritical to write this paragraph, since I’m the laziest person that has ever existed, but I truly believe working hard on certain tasks will help you achieve to be the best you. For example, if you want to be a musician, make a to-do list, and make sure to practice everyday for a few hours. Whether it be singing or playing an instrument, take the time to actually prioritize this task. This takes dedication and patience –I would know because I’m so impatient, it’s ridiculous. You really have to be able to commit to the thing that you want to do and not slack off. It’s easy to practice for 15 minutes, then stop and say, “All right, I’m done for the day, I worked really hard.” I can guarantee you that someone out there who also wants to be a musician takes five extra minutes to practice, resulting in them being more hard-working and in the end, being more talented than you.

But none of this can actually help you unless you surround yourself with positive people. This includes all your friends. Who are you friends with right now? Are your friends a positive influence on you? Imagine a huge mosquito flying around in your room. Then imagine it bit you. And then imagine it bite you again and again and again. What would you do? Be honest. I would kill that fricking mosquito. This is an analogy for the people in your life. Why would you want to be around people who keep “biting” you? Who keep hurting you over and over? Get rid of the toxic people in your life.

According to Tiny Buddha, Melissa Kirk says, “Create a vision for your future. Sit quietly, close your eyes, and imagine the people, places, or situations that you need to leave behind. Now, imagine the future that you want, whether it’s simply a feeling, a group of people, or a situation such as a wonderful new job. Imagine how it will feel to be in that new place. Picture the sun coming up behind your future, the warm glow of the light on your face. Stand for a moment and silently voice your appreciation for everything that came before. Once you’ve thanked the past, turn toward the sun, and with compassion and gratitude, imagine yourself walking away from the past and into the future”.

I think these are some of the most important key points to becoming a better person. Of course, all these things don’t happen overnight. Becoming a better person takes hard work.