Don't feel bad about failing to turn your life around, focus on small manageable changes here and there

Just thought to be a bit positive for once. One of the main things that has made me feel like everything is pointless and impossible is that I see all the things in life I need to figure out, and thinking that I need to tackle everything at once. I have massive issues getting started, my diet isn't the greatest, I don't work out enough, I don't challenge my comfort zones socially enough and so on. So I've had periods in life where I think "alright, time to turn this around now" and ultimately fail and do nothing.

But what has worked for me, is to just take changes slow. Diet is bad, but the idea of setting up calorie trackers and a steady meal prep plan and so on is overwhelming? Look to smaller things, maybe think "I like snacking, what if I replace it with coke zero" instead of trying to just ignore those instincts and push through it.

Accept that you'll be unproductive on days, and don't feel guilty if you didn't manage to do what you felt you were supposed to do. Be graceful to yourself, and see if you can do something else. Maybe you didn't manage to get to campus to study, and instead of walking around all day not doing it, and feeling guilty about it, maybe spend 30 minutes cleaning your room instead.

I don't know if these are actually good things or not, but it's a mindset that has helped me stay sane and move forward during a pretty stressful time. Trying not to compare myself to others, and especially not comparing myself to the ideal version of me.

And remember that any change for the better is good! Sure the thing you started doing might seem like it's nothing compared to what "regular" people do automatically, but you should still feel proud. You took the first step towards an important goal, maybe it's as simple (in theory) as cleaning your plate right after eating while other dishes pile up or something like that. But it's still progress, and that's all that matters and you should allow yourself to feel proud of that.