If you looked back on your life five years from now, are you positive you would you feel satisfied?

Ask yourself this important question today, and remember that the decisions you make in the present consciously create the reality you experience down the road. If you just go through the motions and live for the weekends right now, you can always make gradual changes in order to thrive, not just survive.

By making the following simple modifications in your life, you can look back in a few years, and truly celebrate how far you came.

10 Positive Things You Can Do Now You’ll Thank Yourself for Later

1 – Live in the Present

If you don’t live in the moment, where else is there for you to live? Think about that for a second. We only have right now, not yesterday, not tomorrow, so there’s no use wishing you could go back to the past or magically transport yourself to a better future. You get to build the future you wish to see based on your thoughts and decisions right now.

“If you are depressed you are living in the past, if you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present.” – Lao Tzu

2 – Be Honest

By always choosing to tell the truth, no matter how shocking or uncomfortable it might seem, you will never sacrifice your peace of mind. People have more respect for those that courageously speak the truth in a world full of disingenuity, and you will have a clear conscience and, most likely, healthier friendships as well.

Lies run rampant in corporations, governments, the media, in school textbooks, and throughout our culture in general, but you can always choose honesty over deceitfulness.

3 – Be Proactive

“Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” – Benjamin Franklin

If you want to get somewhere or accomplish something, the first step is to just start. Laziness proliferates in society today, and many people sadly wish their lives away instead of actively working on them. Don’t wait until you turn 65 and collect retirement to travel the world; do it now. Don’t wait until next month to start your own business, or start an exercise regime, or eat healthier, or start meditating. The “perfect moment” you’re waiting for is actually right now, so take advantage of it. Anytime is a good time to start working on your life!

4 – Create Healthy Boundaries

This can apply to many facets of life, such as exercise, dietary choices, relationships, job, and spending habits. While it’s also important to not live life by a set of strict rules, having some sort of limits will pay off in the long run.

Maybe you choose to save money each month so you can take a long-overdue vacation, or adopt a healthier diet comprising of whole foods so you can finally run that marathon.

Boundaries just mean you have the courage to say “no” to what doesn’t work for you, and say “yes” to things that will serve your best interest in the long term.

5 – Practice Positive Affirmations.

Positive affirmations can range from statements like “I love myself unconditionally” to “I am grateful for what the universe has provided for me.” Just start replacing negative thought patterns with more uplifting thoughts like these, and you will begin to see your life transform before your eyes.

Remember, a positive life always starts with a positive mindset, so flood your brain with as many encouraging statements as possible. Keep in mind that your vibration always determines your reality, and having a higher vibration attracts better people and events into your life.

6 – Surround Yourself with Sunnier People.

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” – Jim Rohn

Pay more attention to who you predominantly spend your time with. If you find that your friendships don’t add much meaning to your life, you need to become more of who you’d like to spend your time with. In other words, inspirational, drama-free people will come into your life when you focus on creating the person you want to become.

By establishing a strong foundation, you invite others into your house who will encourage you to keep building, not try to destroy all your hard work.

7 – Reduce Your Use of Social Media.

The evidence continues to mount that heavy use of social media can lead to depression, isolation, social anxiety, and laziness, among other detrimental things. Once upon a time, Facebook was used so people could keep in touch with relatives and friends, but now, many use it as a time-filler, entertainment, a distraction from boredom, or even to stalk ex-boyfriends or girlfriends. We live our lives through screens instead of through our own eyes, and it’s becoming a global epidemic.

Turn off social media for a while if you have to, and focus on living rather than reading statuses and liking pictures. Believe it or not, there are actually reports that show people can still make friends when there’s less social media, so give it a try.

Remember life in kindergarten when you went up to random kids and asked if they wanted to play hopscotch? Now, the kids have grown up and probably don’t play hopscotch anymore, but that doesn’t mean people lose their desire to make connections. You will gain something beautiful by distancing yourself from social media – your life.

8 – Reduce and Eliminate Approval-seeking Behavior.

You will realistically never make EVERY person happy, so why even attempt to? It will just waste your time and keep you further away from your own personal idea of a fulfilling life. Don’t make decisions just to appease others; choose to do something because you actually want to.

People who really love and care about you will come around eventually once they see that those decisions really enhanced your life.

9 – Spend More Time Doing.

You can spend your life wishing, or spend it doing. Ironically, most people wish they had tried new things when they look back on their lives, but that doesn’t have to be you.

Stepping out of the confines of safe and normal will allow you to experiment with life and really put yourself to the test. If you get too comfortable, you might become complacent, therefore missing possible opportunities to learn and grow. Live while you can, so you don’t have a mountain of regrets later.

10 – Let Go of Expectations.

If you have no expectations, you simply cannot be disappointed. Life often doesn’t go according to the plan you may have set, but if you refrain from planning out every little detail, you will find that life quickly becomes more enjoyable. Also, people have unpredictable behaviors, so expecting them to return a favor or reciprocate your generosity may lead to a huge letdown.

Just because you help someone through a tough time, they won’t necessarily do the same for you. Learn to give unconditionally. This way, life will never seem unfair, and you can keep a positive attitude no matter what happens.