Change is hard, there is no denying that. However, change is possible if you want it bad enough. I used to believe that people don't change. While I still believe that is true, there is an addition to that phrase that is much needed: people don't change unless they really want to.

The truth of the matter is there is nobody to answer to but yourself when it comes to self-improvement. Nobody is perfect and the sooner we realize that the quicker we can move on to changing our negative behaviors. There are no excuses when it comes to self-improvement.

If you want to be a kinder person, the only excuse that is acceptable is if you have a medical condition that makes is physically impossible for you to be a kinder person. If you want to be a fitter person, the only acceptable excuse is if you have a medical condition that makes it physically impossible for you to get into shape. But even if your growth and change are being stopped by a medical condition that is out of your control, that doesn't mean that you can't try.

Trying to be a better person is difficult, but if you try for long enough, you will see results. Self-improvement doesn't happen overnight. If work out for ten minutes one day, you're not going to get six pack abs. However, if you work out for at least 10 minutes every day, you may be closer the six-pack abs than you were when you started. It takes time and dedication.

Take a moment and think of the version of yourself that you've always wanted to be. What's stopping you from being that person? Excuses like not having enough money, not having enough time, not having something that would make this dream come true are not valid excuses. Change comes from within, and everything else will follow.

We make time for the things we want to do in life. Stop procrastinating on becoming the best version of yourself that you can be. If we have around 80-90 years on this planet, why would you want to be someone you dislike for even a minute of that time? Our time is limited, don't wait till it's too late to make a change. Don't wait until your 95 years old and regretting that you spent your life not being the person you knew you could be. Don't live with the regrets of the you that you could've and should've been.

Your circumstances do not define you unless you want them to. If you are not in the situation that you thought you would be in, if you are not where you want to be in life, if you feel as if your past is preventing your future, then you are allowing your circumstances to define you and define who you always will be. It is easier to bow your head and say that change is not possible because of where you are or where you came from. But take a look around and see how many people who refused to let their circumstances define them. The "rags to riches" trope is all over our media, so much so that it can become unbelievable, but it's everywhere for a reason. If you are not in the situation you want to be in, there is nothing stopping you from changing and getting out of your situation. It may take you twice as long and five times the amount of work you have to put in, but nothing is impossible. If you believe in yourself, others will too.

There are millions of things in our lives that are not in our control. The two things that are in our control, and always will be under our control are: who we are and how we treat others. Control what you can, stop making excuses for yourself, and get to work becoming the best version of you that you can be.