Posted on 12 May, 2011 -
23 Ways to Make Changes in Your Life
Celebrate the diversity and difference in your own life
Our lives are in constant flux but there is also a lot we can do ourselves to attract more positive change
23 ways to make sure the changes that are around the corner will be good ones
Dear Reader,
Everything in life - from people and plants to personalities and partnerships - has its very own way of doing what it does and we should be wary of comparing it too much with other examples of its kind.
Human beings, by nature, have always liked to find patterns. To put things in boxes and sets and sub-sets and categories. We like to know how things work and are very good at this kind of categorisation.
What we are not so good at, however, is accepting that there is also a huge amount of chaos, a lot of fuzzy edges, and that some things just can’t be put into neat boxes or even neatly explained.
Everything in your life is unique
Our own personalities, for example, can sometimes be a complete mixture of often contradictory habits and traits. And we have as many variations of our own personality and behaviour (and even voice) as there are people that we know and meet.
No other person in the world is even slightly similar to you. No child-parent relationship is the same as the ones you have with your own parents or children.
Every single relationship, in fact, is totally unique and we should not beat ourselves up that the relationship we have is not ‘right’. That our place in life is different to that of our friends. Or that we are not ‘normal’ or living a normal life.
If you were a sub-species, what sub-species would you be?
In the fly world there are roughly 130,000 known species of flies. There are Dance Flies, Robber Flies, Horse Flies, Soldier Flies, Bee Flies and Long-legged Flies… Fruit Flies, Hover Flies, House Flies, Stable Flies, Dung Flies… and so on.
So if there were such thing as different species of humans then what species would you fall into? (Two animals are defined as different species, by the way, if they cannot breed to produce viable fertile offspring.)
And what sub-species would you want to be if you had a choice? (Your answers two these two questions may be revealing...)
But humans we are. And there is only one species of us despite all the variations.
And what a lot of variations!
Unless you are a twin, no other person looks that much like you. Nobody dresses quite the same as you. Nobody has quite the same tastes as you. And nobody acts in quite the same way as you do.
The path that you take through life will be totally unique. And it will be totally yours.
Attracting more change and better change
Compared, let us say, to that of a fly or a butterfly, the life path of any human is hugely unpredictable, never straight, and subject to many changes.
A lot of the change that happens in our life happens to us. Even though we cannot often see a big change that is just around the corner, there is often one lying waiting for us. Many things will happen to you over the next five years that you would never have predicted.
There is also an extent to which change is also a choice that we can make.
We can choose to embrace the idea of change. To welcome it. To believe in it. To not be afraid of it.
So if you’re ready to embrace the idea that you might be in control of change, take a read through these 23 ideas and see which ones work best for you…
1. Write a Life Mission Statement so you can get it clear in your head what your goals in life are.
2. Decide on a single action or event that would make your life different - but then question whether this is REALLY the right answer.
3. Apologise to somebody for the way that you have acted or question whether the ways in which you have acted in the past may have brought pain to certain people in your life.
4. Plant lots of ‘seeds’ of change and keep on watering them.
5. Think positively about your future. Don’t lose all your faith in dreams.
6. Do five minutes of yoga every morning.
7. Cut out all the stuff that doesn’t add to your life and make room for stuff that does. That includes things you do, things that happen, things you have, and things that you think.
8. The best way to change is to change your habits. First you must recognise what are the habits that you have that hold you back. Next you need to launch a long and dedicated campaign to change and dispel them.
9. Decide that it is time to raise your standards.
10. Ask yourself difficult questions such as: Am I getting what I want out of life? Am I doing all I can to make my relationships good and positive ones? Am I satisfied with my work and career? Am I reaching my best potential?
11. Remind yourself that it is never too late. Many people make their greatest achievements - and/or find their greatest happiness - in their seventies or eighties.
12. Decide that this year, starting from today, is going to be your best year ever.
13. Remember that the story of your life is largely created by your internal thoughts. Listen to the things that you tell yourself because they will shape your future. If you don’t like what you hear then it’s time to change all those negatives into positives.
14. Spend just one minute of every day thinking about positive things that will happen in your life in the future.
15. Join a club. Start a new hobby. Go to church.
16. If you’re single, start dating. If you’re in a partnership, do something outside of the home.
17. Make a list of priorities in your life.
18. Change your catch phrase. You know the one…
19. Dust off your bucket list. Make a list of things you’d like to do before you die and start planning today.
20. Remember that change happens constantly and that fear keeps it away.
21. Realise that there are an infinite number of alternative realities available for you. That you are the person who is in charge of the picture you have in your mind of what your reality is. And that you are the person who can change your reality.
22. Change your daily routine to change the groove that you live in.
23. Your life is too precious to waste. If you’re not enjoying it, something HAS to change.
The tide is changing. Go jump in the surf!
Best wishes for the best year ever.
