5 Simple Things to Dramatically Boost Your Life in 2022

Wise tips for more happiness, peace, and success.

Whew… 2021 has been an “interesting” year, to say the least.

While many things are still the same (thankfully), many things have changed tremendously. And for us to adapt, overcome, and thrive in 2022 and beyond, it’s critical to make a few tweaks to our life to navigate our new reality.

Fortunately, the solution is simple: Get back to basics. Revisit the simple, easy, and timeless strategies that work incredibly well but we tend to overlook because they seem boring compared to the bright, sexy, high-tech hacks that promise to magically improve our lives.

In this article, I’ll share 5 devilishly easy things you do in 2022 (and right now, for that matter) to massively upgrade your life. Happy New Year.

1. Slow Down

Phone calls, texts, notifications, emails, advertisements, COVID-19 news, TV shows, work, remote work, side hustles…

We live in a world where we’re going a million miles an hour. There’s constant speed, noise, and activity—at a level never seen before in human history—and there’s almost never a moment where you’re completely at rest.

On top of that, the “hustle culture” is in vogue now. We’re always trying to achieve, start new projects, and grow bigger, faster, and better (which has its pros and cons).

But when we’re constantly living life like a Formula 1 race, it creates a ton of underlying stress, tension, and anxiety. And once we finally get a moment to enjoy silence, stillness, and tranquility, we can’t — we’re so used to the frenzied pace of life and our dopamine hits of entertainment that we find the quiet uncomfortable.

Then, a few minutes later, we scurry off to the next thing.

To improve the quality of your life in 2022, slow down. It’s fine to do more sometimes, but it’s also important to know when to do less. Learn to quiet your mind. Learn to find peace. Learn to notice when you’re caught up in an internal dialogue so you can gently return to yourself.

“Quieting the mind means less thinking, calculating, judging, worrying, fearing, hoping, trying, regretting, controlling, jittering or distracting. The mind is still when it is totally here and now in perfect oneness with the action and the actor.”

— W. Timothy Gallwey

Take on fewer tasks so you can do better on the ones you already have. Disconnect for a little bit every day. Spend more time doing and thinking absolutely nothing. By finding a place of calm within you, you can carry it with you and navigate the frantic world much better.

2. Smile More

Every time there’s a threat of new lockdowns or a new COVID-19 variant, my stomach tightens and I say every swear word in the book. (And old-timey ones like “Consarn it!”)

Look, as much as I’ve tried to maintain positivity, it’s been hard as hell since early-2020. It’s like being in a bad relationship: Things are good for, like, 2 seconds—and then everything flies off the rails again.

And while life is better now than it was when this shit first started, 2022 will probably have many of the same issues.

So next year, find ways to smile more.

It’s not about repressing your emotions (which is bad); it’s about having more lightness in life. When we were kids, we would run around, laugh, smile, giggle, and enjoy the world with wide wonder.

But now that we’re adults? We tend to take things so damn seriously (and I’m just as guilty as anyone else). Our faces are cold and stoic (and it’s even harder if you have a “resting bitch face” like I do).

Yet there are actually many health benefits from smiling including less stress, better health, and spreading positive energy—so it definitely pays to grin.

Keep this simple. Watch funny shows. Listen to stand-up comedy. Read funny books. Tell silly jokes and add more humor to your life. Every little bit counts and I’m sure the people around you will appreciate it too.

3. Invest

Usually, investing focuses on building wealth. Whether it’s buying stocks, bonds, cryptocurrencies, real estate, fine art, cars, etc., you buy something so that you can make more money than you invested. (This kind of investing is vital for your financial success.)

But another part of “investing” is investing in yourself—it’s about spending money so that you gain far more long-term benefit than your initial cost.

Yet many people have a strange psychology: They excitedly buy the newest cryptocurrencies or chase whatever stock is in vogue, but if there’s something that can help them improve their life, they’ll say, “Why should I pay when I can do it myself for free?”

Don’t let this be you. Don’t be afraid to spend money on yourself. And it’s not just “self-help”—investing in yourself can also mean taking better care of your health, budgeting a little more for healthier foods, buying equipment so you can exercise at home, etc.

“By far, the best investment you can make is in yourself.”

— Warren Buffett

The best investment in the world is staring back at you in the mirror. Take good care of that person and they will pay you back exponentially for the rest of your life.

4. Be Honest

Recently, someone emailed me for help with their social life. I asked a few questions and, based on what they said, gave some suggestions.

Hilariously, they shot down each one. Suddenly, it was as if they didn’t have issues anymore and that my suggestions wouldn’t work for them because of random reasons.

So I was honest, and I said that they flip-flopped. I explained they had some cognitive dissonance because they said they wanted one thing, but they clearly did another. Then, I challenged them to look deeper and find what’s really holding them back from socializing.

I never heard back.

People… no amount of articles, courses, books, TED talks, coaching, masterminds, workshops, or therapy will do anything if you aren’t willing to see the truth about yourself, your struggles, your barriers, your problems, and more. And the best thing to do is to ask yourself just one question:

“Am I in denial?”

It’s all about living a life of congruence: How well do your words and your actions match? The more congruent you are, the better your life will become.

Nothing will change your life like becoming honest with yourself and admitting the things you don’t want to admit. Nothing will improve your life like finally uncovering all the tricks your mind plays on you to protect your ego from the harsh reality that you might be fucking up your life more than you thought—that you are the source of your problems, not others.

So ask yourself this question and thrive.

5. See

I’ve written about this before, but after traveling the world by myself for over 2.5 years, there’s only one time I feel lonely:

It’s when I’m walking around and I notice I’m the only person who’s in the “here and now.”

Everyone is somewhere else mentally. It’s so easy to tell: They walk and mindlessly drift side to side, utterly oblivious of everything (and everyone) around them. They have blank stares as they’re glued to their phones, listening to music, or lost in their thoughts while completely unaware of their surroundings.

Sometimes, I even whistle loudly so people don’t heedlessly collide with me on the street, but surprisingly, many people still don’t pay attention—and in their stupor, they still bump into me.

“If, then, I were asked for the most important advice I could give, that which I considered to be the most useful to the men of our century, I should simply say: in the name of God, stop a moment, cease your work, look around you.”

― Leo Tolstoy

If you truly want to enhance the quality of your life in 2022, my advice is simple:

Put… your… fucking… phone… down.

Turn your brain back “on.” Stop distracting yourself or tuning out the world. Start sensing your surroundings. Come back home to yourself and the world around you. After all, we’re animals, not machines (which sometimes gets lost in our self-help-driven world).

Many of us are so caught up thinking, stressing, and planning that we overlook what life really is. It’s what happening all around us right now. And for me, when I actually pay attention to what’s around me, I can finally see life itself.

“Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans.”

— Allen Saunders

Our post-COVID-19 world has made us more detached from other humans and more reliant on technology for work, entertainment, and support than ever before.

That’s why it’s critical that, in 2022, we reconnect to the senses and feelings that truly make us human. Watch and listen to the trees rustle. Gaze at the brilliant colors in the sky. Savor a delicious cup of coffee. Feel the buzz that comes from a heartwarming conversation.

Eventually, time will pass and everything we’ve ever worried about will end. So we might as well make the most of life right now and savor all the moments we do have.

CONTRIBUTED BY Anthony J. Yeung

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