Five Essentials for Creating Change in Your Life

Over the years I've been asked, "What does it take to make lasting changes in my life?"

Here's what I've learned.

#1 There first needs to be a Desire, a burning desire!

You recognize or feel that there is something wrong, or just not right, and you need to make changes.

You're feeling at least one of these: uncomfortable, unhappy, unfulfilled, wasting away, stuck, powerless, empty, drained, used, abused, like a failure, ashamed, guilty.

OR

You're feeling at least one of these: excited, called for more, expansive, open, powerful, creative, energized, joyful, courageous.

Change, lasting change, doesn't come with the wave of a magic wand. It generally takes a lot of hard work, a lot of stick-to-itiveness, persistence, and perseverance, on your part.

If you doubt this to be true, just think about New Year's resolutions. They just don't last long.

You can also think about Olympic athletes and the time and sacrifices they make over many years of training.

So, there needs to be a burning desire to change whatever it is you want to change.

Not to go too far astray here, but I give an example of burning desire in my book, Heal Your Anxiety Now! when I share about deciding to end my second marriage, aka get a divorce. It was one of the hardest decisions I've ever made.

I said this to myself, "I am no longer going to continue living my life this way. I want and deserve what is good and right for me."

You can see in that statement a burning desire to make changes, healthy changes.

Tht statement also leads us to the second essential: Having an image, idea, or vision of what you want.

#2 You need to Have an image, idea, or vision of what you want!

You know your life could be better. You've looked back or reflected on your life; some of it the result of choices you've made and some not.

You want a better life for yourself. You want a life you would love living, a life of health and well-being, a life of acccomplishment and fulfillment, a life where you can give back and pay it forward.

You have an image of yourself and your life on a vision board, and you give thanks for that life.

But there's more. Because real change requires Commitment.

#3 There needs to be a Commitment to yourself!

You are worth it. You are worth the time and effort it will take to make the change you want. You want a better life, a more fulfilling life.

You agree within yourself to hold yourself accountable. You check-in with yourself, and ask yourself questions that require an honest answer. Questions like:

*Is this healthy for me?

*Do I feel comfortable?

*Do I feel safe?

*Do I feel listened to and heard?

*Do I feel supported?

*Do I feel valued?

*Am I visible?

*Am I strong and empowered?

And you say to yourself: "I am worth it!"--"I can do this!"-- "I will rise up!"

Which leads us to Alignment.

#4 There needs to be a Physical, Mental, Emotional, and Spiritual Alignment!

Basically, your entire being needs to be in Alignment. Every part of you is wanting and needing, maybe even begging you, to make this change or changes.

In Western culture we are tuned in to listening to the physical and the mental aspects of ourselves. But the emotional and spiritual parts of us are ignored or not given the same value or credibility.

So, we need to listen to what we are feeling, and be able to say, at least to ourselves, what we are feeling. (Most of us have a very limited feeling vocabulary, and use the same feeling words over and over again. I will post a feeling vocabulary on Friday and send it out. It will provide you with a few more feeling words.)

And, we need to listen to that Still Small Voice, that spiritual part of us that is speaking softly to us, if we only listen. We need to remember that we are, "Spiritual Beings having a human experience." (Teilhard de Chardin)

If you have all of the above four, and maintain them, then you need one more essential component to create change in your life: Taking Action.

#5 You need to Take Action!

How do you Take Action?

You have a plan.

You wirte out your plan.

You have a vision board or an image book with pictures, drawings, words.

You look at your vision board or book morning, noon, and night, or at least once a day.

(What's your commitment to yourself?)

You get the support you need or want.

You follow through.

You take action!

And you persist! You persevere!

You can do this!

To Your Courageous Self!

Edie Savage-Weeks

Transformational Life Coach

PS I will be offering a free online webinar/web class each week focusing on how to make the changes you want to make in your life. Each class will focus on a different topic, and will be about 60-90 minutes. There will be time for questions and comments, time permitting. The classes will probably be on a Thursday, at 12:00-1:30. I will send an email when I have everything firmed up.

PPS Please feel free to share my blog with your friends, family, and colleagues. Thanks so much!--Also, I definitely welcome your feedback and suggestions.