Photo by Paul Skorupskas on Unsplash
When you’re in a place in your life that feels stagnant, unfulfilling and something needs to change, I completely understand how overwhelming this can seem. I’ve recently gone through some major life changes, many of which have been self-implemented because like you might be feeling now, I knew something had to shift!
There are so many areas of our lives, but what I’ve come to understand, is that everything is connected. Yes, we have our relationships/dating lives, our careers and our health, which we can certainly work on individually – and it can be helpful to break things down to avoid overwhelm. However, when we take the steps to change one thing, it tends to ripple into all of these other areas. If we’re miserable in our relationship, it will impact our health and if we hate our job, it’s likely we’re not going to be the best partner or potential partner.
So today, I’m going to share my own insights on what it really takes to change your life!
Know When it’s Time to Take a Leap
Whilst perseverance is a quality that serves us in many ways, it’s important to know when it’s time to step away. If you’re in a relationship that you know drains you or no matter what you do, nothing seems to change, it’s time to get out of that. If you’re in a job or career that continues to make you miserable, now is the time to consider other options – and take this as your sign!
I’m certainly not saying walk out or quit today as I appreciate each situation is unique. In a relationship, you might have kids with your partner and that obviously needs to be taken into account, and I’m not going to tell you to leave your job with no plan. This is about setting that intention and then make the plan.
As one of my copywriting clients, who is also a valued mentor of mine and whose wisdom has had a profound impact on my life, Julie Murphy would say “You have to be relentless in what you want to create”. She also talks about the fact that when we continue on a path that is totally misaligned, something else suffers along the way. I have experienced this myself and I’m sure you can relate!
So, if there is a part of your life that you know, in your gut, needs to change, once you make that decision, have that conversation or put the plan in action, the sooner you free yourself emotionally of the shackles it’s creating. It’s also amazing how suddenly the opportunities, people or circumstance seem to line up to support the decision!
Change Your Perspective
When we feel stuck in a rut or are desperate to create change, it’s easy to fall into the negative mindset of looking at everything that’s going wrong.
You’ll perhaps know, I’m very much into the Law of Attraction and it’s certainly true that our thoughts and words reflect our world! In recent months, I’ve made a major life change and previous to this, I’m not ashamed to say, I was totally miserable! I felt like I was suffering and that is exactly what I created in my life. I decided once and for all to take a leap of faith and from that moment, focused solely on what I wanted and not what I didn’t want. I took new actions and therefore created new opportunities. My life has changed in ways I couldn’t have imagined in 2 months as a result of this!
When you take a different perspective and look at the situation through a more positive, proactive lens, you switch your brain into a creative gear and find yourself coming up with all kinds of ideas and solutions. Plus, you feel better!
Don’t Do It Alone
Oftentimes, a little help and encouragement from others can do wonders for creating and continuing momentum! Seek that support from people who you trust have your back and best interests at heart and try not to be afraid of speaking up about what you’re going through. Don’t feel like you have to do this alone!
You also can’t underestimate the power of surrounding yourself with people who either embody how you want to grow yourself, are doing or have done what you want to do, or are just supportive, fun, uplifting people! If you’re reading this article, the chances are something in your life isn’t working and so you have to be incredibly intentional. It doesn’t necessarily mean changing the people who are in your life now (unless any of these relationships perpetuate a suffering cycle), but spending time with those people who don’t involve themselves in gossip or negativity, and instead are in pursuit of their own goals or just feel good to be around!
In contrast though, be firm about the changes you want to make. While taking on board the guidance and opinion of others can be helpful, you know what’s right for you and have belief and confidence in that. If someone makes you doubt yourself, tune out and stay in your own lane!
Don’t Underestimate the Power of Taking Steps!
Taking steps can be daunting, but even just doing one thing in the direction that you want to go, and that pushes you out of your comfort zone is immensely powerful!
Don’t be afraid to send that email or pick up the phone and ask about the opportunity, take a leap of faith and go on the date, post your new venture online, do something different that signifies the change you want to make. As I’ve spoken about before, rewiring the neural pathways by thinking different thoughts and taking different actions, by shaking things up, you’re rewiring your brain and body and training it for the ‘new’.
Decide that this is your ‘new’ and challenge yourself to keep taking those small steps. You don’t have to do it all at once and let me tell you, it gets addictive when you feel so damn good after you do it!
If you’re reading this, you know it’s time to make that change. Go for it and don’t look back!