![]() You're tired of how things are going in your life and ready for a change. Maybe you want to eat better, exercise more, and lose weight. Maybe you want to get more organized. Maybe you want to improve an important relationship; or perhaps start a new one. Maybe you're looking for more meaning in your life, and a purpose you can truly get excited about. Whatever it is, you think about it constantly and even visualize it, yet nothing happens. Nothing changes and each day feels just like the one before. Meanwhile, you find your hope and enthusiasm gradually draining away. Engaging in the same actions will lead to the same outcomes. Regardless of where you're at and what you're dealing with, change is possible! But if you keep engaging in the same actions, you'll likely keep experiencing the same outcomes. For change to take place in your life, you need to change something. Consider baking a cake: the same ingredients, in the same proportion, baked in the same pan, will yield the same outcome each and every time. What will it take to bake something different? You could add in a new ingredient, like some chopped nuts or blueberries. You could change things up by switching to a muffin tray. ![]() With just a small change, you can alter the finished product that comes out of the oven. But you need to change something first. Likewise, unless you change the “ingredients" you're bringing to your life every day, you'll continue to experience the same outcomes day after day, regardless of how badly you hope and wish for change. Introspection, reflection, and visualization are useful; these practices can help you clarify your values, priorities, and goals. But ultimately, to produce different results in your life, you need to change something first. Straightforward as this is, it's not always easy. If you're discouraged, stuck in a rut, confused, or struggling with your confidence, change of any kind might seem difficult, frightening, or overwhelming. Growing and Developing Your “Change Muscles" Like everything else in life, the ability to make changes when needed is a skill that can be learned and strengthened. If your “change muscles" haven't received much use of late, they'll need some work to grow and develop. Don't get down on yourself or beat yourself up over that! The key is to scale things back to whatever is manageable for you, so you're able to take action. ![]() You wouldn't show up at the gym and immediately attempt to lift the heaviest weights. You would start by selecting a manageable weight, something you could safely lift without injuring yourself, knowing that as your strength improves over time, you'll gradually be able to lift more. Similarly, if you want to get the ball rolling for changes in your life but you feel nervous or uncertain, start small. Pick something you feel confident you can handle and use that to get things moving in the right direction. Some areas to consider and explore:
Shake things up and alter the trajectory you're on. Perhaps you're unclear about what exactly you want the change in your life to look like. Or, you might have a vision in mind, but you don't know what path to take to make that vision a reality. Your starting place may simply be seeking out more information, in order to clarify what you want and the action needed to achieve it. The key is taking action of some kind. By doing so, you'll immediately start to shake things up and alter the trajectory you're on. Even if you desperately desire change in your life, it can't happen if you continue to engage with life in the usual ways you're accustomed to. For change to happen in your life, you need to make the move to change something. Different actions and behaviours, no matter how small, will start moving you towards the changes you want. You'll be pleasantly surprised by how quickly your “change muscles" start to grow! Image Credit #1 and #3: Majaranda from Pixabay Image Credit #2: Sofia Iivarinen from Pixabay
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