Keep the Change

After such an intense and inspiring summer, I have been thinking a lot about change and what my goals are for the next few months, and year, even. Leading up to this summer I was anticipating a new season of life, and now that we're almost through, it's arrival is ever closer. (If it seems like I'm speaking in code, my apologies, I'm only still thinking through all of this myself, so it's a bit of a stream of consciousness) I'm expecting great changes in my life, in the positive sense, as I am always in the process of discovering and refining the person that I am and aspire to be, and it's only natural in that process to experience lots of change.

When I first began thinking on this subject about a year ago, my reaction was that of resistance..I was comfortable, happy, and didn't want to change; however, as life has continued, and I have grown, it's become obvious to me that the only way to truly get where you want is to challenge yourself to change and grow in new ways, to be open to different experiences, and to live fearlessly (a few more of my thoughts on living fearlessly).

So if we realize that change is essential to becoming the person we want to be, how do we begin? There's a lot of different thoughts on this subject, but a few of the things I've found beneficial in the process are as follows:

1. Continue to learn and expand your mind
If you're not continually learning, you only know what you know...but how much more is your world expanded if you consider yourself a student of life; learning whenever and wherever you are. I've found this to be so true, especially when you're no longer attending classes, and your learning now takes on a different format. Be aware of people, experiences and opportunities to learn something from, and read, read, read..I cannot stress this enough to you, except to say this cliche phrase "readers are leaders" but seriously, look at all of the successful people of the world and you'll see that they are continually learning, reading and expanding their world; this will be a key to great growth and positive change in your life!

2. Set goals of who & where you want to be.
How do you get somewhere if you don't know where that place is? Setting goals has become one of the most important habits I've set for myself. What helps is to think in terms of measurable, achievable and exciting changes & accomplishments. Maybe your goal is to finish a degree in a certain amount of time, travel to a new place, become better in an area of your life, read more..etc. Whatever those goals are, be sure to write them out and set them in a place where you can read them on a daily basis...the process of repeating them to yourself daily puts those thoughts into your mind where your subconscious can begin to work on them, and sooner or later you'll find yourself in the process of, and actually achieving them! Talk about some good change! :)

3. Be patient & consistent.
Ooh, this is a hard one for me, as I would love to just write out what changes need to be made, and BAM, it's all done! Unfortunately, this isn't the case, and changes take time, so allow yourself to grow, experience the process (however long that is), and to make mistakes. We often measure ourselves against a standard of perfection, but forget that we should instead use a standard of grace...you're human after all! With that said, do your best to be consistent..this is key to both achieving goals and changing. When you set a goal, be diligent in making the necessary adjustments & habit patterns to achieve it, and if you do mess up, get back up and try again..don't allow failure to keep you from a full & abundant life! Be patient with you, and consistent in your actions and you'll achieve much.

Here's a few thoughts to end this with:

-Examine your life & determine areas where you can grow & change to become a better version of you!
-Write out 5-10 goals and set them in a place where you can read them daily.
-Be willing to challenge yourself & get out of your comfort zone!

What changes do you need to make?