I don’t have the stomach for fear based media that tells us everything we care about in life could disappear (just after this commercial break). As a result of our rush rush rush culture, we rush through life sprinting from one milestone to the next.
We are not encouraged to think long-term. We are encouraged to grab at whatever comes our way–a reactive attitude toward our careers. Everything in our culture moves us along quick quick quick.
Do you feel you are in charge of your career decisions? Would you walk away from an offer right now if it came with a caveat that was hard to stomach? Are you so consumed by the day to day you feel like you have to do the tasks in your life you hate? Sometimes we forget that everything in life is a choice. To bring change, we need to slow down. Looking at the unfavorable occurrences of 2012 brings valuable insight into what needs to be done differently. If I do X, then I will get Y. I’m trying to live this practice myself. It takes patience and calm–not an easy thing during the holidays.
Don’t be afraid to walk away from the people or activities in your life that leave you where you know you don’t want to be. The events and people you do want to attract will come to you, but first you need to identify what you don’t want in your life. Have faith that the path you’re walking is the right one. Don’t lose faith and make knee jerk reactions for the short term.
Sometimes opportunities will come your way that come with an unfavorable caveat that’s hard to ignore. Do you take the job, client, lateral move just because in the short term it seems like a good move? Or do you take time to step back and think about where you want to be in one year’s time?
How well you adjust to change will determine your ability to be successful.
Change can be a friend or foe depending on your willingness to stay flexible and open-minded. When you get too comfortable in your ways, it becomes harder to adjust to new life circumstances. You can make change your best friend by being aware of your own experience throughout the “change process.” Being self-aware is going to be your best weapon in business, and in life.
In this economy in particular, we all need to look at the landscape and see the opportunities, not the statistics.
Below is the mastering life change infographic we’ve created for you at Artemis.
It is during the darkest times you need to be the most agile, focused and confident. Get support, research answers and believe in yourself. Anything is possible!
There’s nothing like Sheryl Crow’s award winning song “A Change Would Do You Good.” We all have periods in our lives where we realize we need to make change, but we’re not quite sure if we can leave our comfort zones for the arduous trek.
I love this song–it’s a wonderful anthem for how change can be powerful. Everyone can benefit from being a little more empowered.
We were put on earth to live meaningful and spiritually rewarding lives. As an individual you evolve, and benefit from setting measurable goals that keep you focused on a clear path. Every single day you can benefit from bringing you A game. A game can be applied to anything such as a project, job or event a new relationship or health regimen. Staying focused, engaged and flexible will allow you to continually move to higher ground. While that means different things for different people, I’ve determined that to master any life change there are nine steps to mastering a life change.
When you want to bring change into our life, it almost never happens over night.
While some make success look easy, almost always they have personally gone through their own journey including years of hard work and struggle behind the scenes.
It is my personal belief that to flow with the natural current is to drive in the direction of our individual truth. We have to constantly iterate in our own lives moving with environmental or circumstantial change. Additionally there’s a flavor of necessary change–plain ol’ stuck-in-a-rut and need to change.
You know your life isn’t turning out like you had in mind originally, but you are so stuck in your habits that the thought of not having the crutch you rely on sounds terrifying. You refuse to believe that you have a problem and busy yourself so you don’t have to recognize that things need to change. You surround yourself with people who also lead the type of life that you do preventing anyone from reminding you that this is not the best decision for you.
2. Awareness
You’re getting tired of the same old results from the same actions. You see your life is not changing in the way you want it to. You don’t have the self confidence, groove and ease of life you felt you once had. You see successful people who have what you want and wonder what they’re doing that you’re not doing. You’re frustrated that things haven’t turned out differently, but you’re not quite sure you’re ready to make personal change. You’re starting to understand the “why” of making a change.
3. Research.
You start casually looking for answers. You google, you read books, you follow people who are doing what you want to do, and so on and so forth. With the web this is the easiest part. Most of the questions we have are just a click away. You make calls with people. You have coffees with people. You research events to go to, meet-ups to check out and so on.
4. Contemplation.
You have all the knowledge you need to move forward. Now is the time you are thinking if you are really ready to step out of your comfort zone. This could include going without something you’ve had as a comfort for a long time, or pushing yourself harder than you have. You are deciding if you are ready to make a life-long habit change. You are considering the pros and cons of taking action.
5. Planning.
You start writing down a plan. You create a step-by-step guide for how you will get from where you are to where you want to be. You continue to consider the “why,” but now unpack the “how.” You take all the best tips from the meetings, research and reading you did and create a tactical plan of how you can apply this to your own life. You create achievable milestones for yourself that will push you forward without making it so difficult you give up.
6. Action
You’ve decided that the results you are looking for are worth the sacrifice or investment that you will have to make. You gather all the information from your research and start putting a plan into action.
7. Reflection
It’s harder than you thought it would be. Can you do this? Maybe you’ll throw it all away and go back to the old way of doing things. But you know you won’t be happy that way. This is feeling difficult, uncomfortable and taking longer than you thought it would. Can I do it? I’ll give it a few more days–and if nothing changes…..
8. Habit Change
You didn’t think you would get through those first hurdles, but you made it! You’re riding the bicycle. It’s much easier, more fluid, and fun than you ever thought it would be. It comes natural to you and is now part of your every day life. You can’t believe that you did it but you did. Now that you have made this life change, you want to see what else you can change in your life. It’s a no brainer–you’ve mastered it!
9.Mastery.
Your whole life is beginning to change. The way people react to you is so much brighter. You have more energy, you’re attracting different people to you than you used to, and you recognize who you used to be in other people (and you never want to be that person again). Life is great when you believe in yourself.
As a sidenote: I have personally made a commitment that I won’t help people unless they ask me for help. There is nothing worse than trying to tell a family member or friend they need to change when they don’t want your help. People have to be ready to change, and there’s a process that comes with that.
