What you think about, you become. What you think about, your life becomes. What you are exposed to, you think about.

So, if you aren’t the person you’d like to be, or if your life isn’t the life you want, then how do you go about changing it? The first step is to change what you think about. And how do you do that?

1. Clear your mind every morning.

Start your day everyday with a clear and open mind. Take a few deep cleansing breaths. Focus on your breathing. As thoughts enter your head, acknowledge them and let them go. (Think “that’s interesting.” if you need to think something, and then let go of the thought.) With your mind clear, focus on two questions. “Who Am I?” “What Do I Want?” Allow whatever surfaces to fill your mind without pressure or direction. Simply listen. When you are finished, take a cleansing breath. Breath in the new day, possibilities, the opportunity for a new start. Breath out any expectations.

2. Experience your dream life before you go to bed.

Clear your mind, and then: Using a vision board or mind movie, take ten to fifteen minutes to live your dream life. Experience everything about it. Walk through your dream house. See yourself in your dream car. Feel yourself being loved in the perfect relationship. Have fun and relaxation on your perfect vacation. See the sights, smell the smells… but most importantly, feel the feelings that are associated with your ideal life. Then as you drift off to sleep, continue to focus on those feelings.

3. Don’t watch the news or read the newspaper.

The news is constantly filled with negative reminders of everything gone wrong. The news brings up fear, anxiety, and worry. The news is not your friend. In fact, you will continue to experience those feelings of dread, anxiety, and worry long after the news is over and you’ve moved on to something else.

4. Read positive books that teach you something.

Instead of the news, find books that will help you improve yourself, books that make you feel good, books that shift your focus. You can never learn enough. You can always improve yourself. Books about hobbies you enjoy. Books about self improvement that you find interesting. Books that help you improve your finances, your spirituality, your intellect, your skills, your mood… books that lift your spirits, make you laugh, change your point of view.

5. Watch television or movies that make you feel good about yourself.

The images you bombard yourself with affect everything you think about. So choose images that bring positive feelings into your life. Choose television programming that builds you up. Or, skip TV altogether.

6. Spend time with people you love.

Friends and family can drain you emotionally, lead you astray from your dreams, and challenge your own self improvement. They do not mean to. They are not malicious, but they can be deadly to your dreams. Choose who you spend time with, ensure that you are spending time with people who you genuinely love, and love to be around.

7. Spend time with people who build you up.

Imagine being on a diet. You go out to eat with your good friends. “Oh, it’s just one piece of pie,” one of them says… Just as you should choose to spend time with people you enjoy, you should also choose to spend time with people who encourage you, support you, and build you up.

8. Spend time doing something you love.

It doesn’t matter what your hobbies and passions are; you should spend time doing them. Love being out in nature? Try to go on a hike or experience it at least once per week. Love the beach? Go there as often as you can. Love woodworking, puzzles and games, going to the spa… whatever it is. If you love it, you should do it. And you should do it regularly.

9. Spend time taking care of yourself.

Take yourself on a date. Go to the spa. Have a nice dinner. Spend time with yourself. Go to the gym. Eat healthier food. Be mindful of your body.

10. Do what is presented to you.

As you take better care of yourself, and you focus your attention–and your thoughts–on what you love, you will discover that more and more opportunities will present themselves to you to become more and more of what you are focusing on. Your own intuition will tell you what to do. New ideas and inspiration will rise to the surface. Act on these.

Ultimately, the point of all of this is to create the you within the life you desire. You have the control, the choice, and the responsibility to live the life you were meant to live. Choose to start living that life today. Stop reacting. Start acting.