10 Ways to Better Your Life (That No One Will Encourage You to Do)

If there's one thing that most people will always offer, it's advice. This is doubly true when it comes to advice that will better your life in one way or another. People will tell you ways to better your life such as going to college, or paying into your retirement fund, or even by getting a cheap job.

However, there are certain forms of advice that tend to be off-limits, for one reason or another. The advice given that's off-limits tends to be more realistic—and also tends to offer a lot more in terms of brutal honesty. The truth is, a lot of people might even avoid telling you this advice because your following of it could hurt them.

Want to know the secrets that let you improve your life that others don't want you to know? Here are ten snippets that people are very unlikely to tell you...

Cut off the people who aren't benefiting you.

This is one of those routes to better your life that rarely ever really gets brought up.

Well, actually, I lied. Most people will tell you to cut people out of your life pretty frequently. The only thing is that they often won't advise you to do it when it's them that you need to cut out.

It's amazing how many toxic relationships start out beneficial, isn't it? Sadly, when a healthy relationship starts to turn toxic, it's time to call it quits regardless of how long you've been together.

There's no real way to cut someone out of your life without looking like a jerk for doing so. Unfortunately, you can't exactly set yourself on fire to keep others warm. If you need to cut someone out, put your well-being before others and do so. You'll thank yourself for it later.

Put your needs first.

This is another one of those things that people will often tell you to do, but get angry for if you actually practice what they preach. People are always for getting you to put your needs first, as long as it doesn't affect them or make them feel like they are doing worse than you are.

You may have already noticed this with friends and family who get judgy when you don't do what's "expected" of you. The truth is that you are going to be the one who lives with the consequences of your life's decisions—not others.

So, why would you live life for others, knowing that others won't get as affected as you will by that decision? Other peoples' inconveniences are not your emergencies. You only have one life to live, so you might as well enjoy it and turn it into the life you want to have.

Say no and stand up for yourself, even when it's not necessarily the most polite thing to do.

Manners are a double-edged sword. Our society is one where we are told to "be polite" and let certain behaviors slide, simply because it's rude to make waves. That's exactly why one of the easiest ways to better your life and the lives around you is to stand up and be the vocal one of your group.

A surprisingly large amount of people enjoy the fact that people are "too polite" to call them out on their bullshit. While they may hiss and growl at you for doing so, the fact is that standing up for yourself or outright refusing to go along with whatever they're doing is the easiest way to get rid of toxic crap in your life—as well as responsibilities you don't want to take on.

If you are feeling too burdened by others, learning how to say no and learning how to get assertive are two of the easiest ways to improve your life by leaps and bounds.

Call people out on their shit.

This is considered to be one of the biggest social no-no's out there, and to a point, it's rightfully so. If you get too aggressive, people assume you're trying to start a fight. However, there is a certain point where you do need to call people out on bad behavior.

More often than not, doing so when you first notice it will make them stop. Of course, if they don't stop, cutting them out of your life works wonders for sanity.

Don't be afraid to talk money in relationships, especially if you're a girl.

If you're female and you ask a guy about his finances, the word "golddigger" will almost immediately get thrown in your face. People like to pretend that love is never about money, but at the end of the day, money often makes or breaks a person's attraction to you. Even if it doesn't, arguments about money end around a third of marriages.

It's just as easy to fall for someone rich as it is for someone poor. You might as well try to go for someone who will keep you at a comfortable lifestyle and ensure that you don't have to be the one footing the bill 24/7.

Anyone who hates you for looking out for yourself often has something to gain from you eschewing potential perks. As a result, this is one of the smartest ways to better your life on a romantic and economic level.

Stop caring about what someone else thinks.

Every single day, someone else will deride you for existing or just not making the same mistakes they did. They may mock you for your choice to drink water instead of vodka, or they may make fun of the goals you set. Or heck, they may even start attacking you for not wanting kids.

One of the easiest ways to better your life is to realize that their inconvenience is not your emergency. You will never please everyone, so you might as well work on building a better life than they do.

Let them fume. Let them hate. At the end of the day, they will remain sad and pathetic for giving you free rent in their heads—and you will be doing what you enjoy.

If you're being mistreated, quit your job—but do it wisely.

People aren't the only things that you should walk away from. Sometimes, walking away from a job is the right thing to do, too. If your company is mistreating you or undervaluing you, start a search for a new job and leave as soon as possible.

At times, it may even be better for your health to leave before you have work. Quitting a job where you're being abused is one of the best ways to better your life, simply because you shouldn't spend the majority of your waking time being abused.

It's shocking at how much of a negative effect a toxic workplace can have on you—and how often people don't realize it until they are out of that job. Trust me when I say it's a smart move, even if most people advise against it.

Don't be afraid to have a vice, as long as you can control it.

Though some might disagree, I believe that having a vice or two can make life a lot more tolerable and can even open up certain doors. A lot of opportunities and friendships have been made by simply going to a bar and talking to people, or even going to a party with friends.

We all need to blow off some steam sometimes. The key thing is to learn how to do the wrong thing the right way—and to realize when your vice needs to be cut back.

Buy it.

Most of us have that one lust object we've always wanted to get but were told it's not within our means. If you really want it that badly, chances are that one of the ways to better your life would be to buy it. This is doubly true if you know that you'd use it every day or if you knew that it'd be something that would greatly increase your quality of life.

This may sound like bad financial advice or even encouraging wasteful spending habits, but in reality, it's one of the easiest hacks to improve your life. Looking back, you'll wonder why you ever thought it'd be okay to go without that item in your day to day life.

Finally, remember that you don't owe the world niceness.

We have this weird obsession in society with being nice. Nice is smiling even when you're uncomfortable. Nice is refusing to say what's really on your mind when people aren't taking no for an answer. Nice is how good people get taken advantage of.

Nice is not a compliment; it's a way of saying you're a sucker. Being nice does not guarantee long-term results; being assertive does.

Though the world may want you to think differently, you do not owe the world niceness—especially not towards people who are pushing your boundaries in alarming ways. Don't be afraid to get forceful, bold, or outright aggressive with people who are clearly not respecting your boundaries.

This isn't just one of the most important ways to better your life; it could also save it in certain situations.