Want more in your life? Let's look at change

In order to get more of what you want in life, something has to change. Otherwise you’d already have it. To get through a change requires a decision first and then commitment. This process will take finding an awareness of what needs to change. It requires looking at where you are now, where do you really want to be and what habits are keeping you where you are.
 
I realize change can be difficult. We get comfortable where we are. It may not be ideal but it’s our comfort zone. This comfort zone has become habit. You’re there because of your habits and your habits will keep you stuck there as long as you let them.
 
Fear of the unknown, not being sure how it will turn out, are common reasons that keep people where they are. You’ve settled for what you have even though you know life could be better. When you are looking at what you want, where you strive to be in life, rather than where you feel stuck, it makes getting there easier.
 
If the word change has a negative connotation for you, adjust your perspective. Look at the good that can come from change. Normally when we desire change, it means an increase of some sort. The change will make life better. Focus your thought and your energies on that increase, the new result you want in your life. 
 
Let’s look at what is keeping you from the change you desire. Habits! Before a change can be made, you have to become aware of what needs to change. Look at your daily activities, at your thinking. All change must begin in your mind. Why do you do what you do? Is it a choice you’ve made or are you living from your programming? 
 
Many of our habits, including how we think, have been passed down to us. We do things the way our parents did, or think and act in a certain way because that’s what we were taught or what we picked up from the environment we were raised in. Looking at it with an open mind, questioning where the behavior came from so that you can recognize what needs to change, is what it takes to break free. It’s not necessary to understand or get to the root of why and analyze it, as much as it is to see the behavior that is keeping you there. 
 
Look at your behaviors or habits and ask yourself, if I were to change one habit, how would it improve my life? You always have to replace one habit with another habit. You can’t just remove a habit. That would create a void which would get filled with yet another behavior that may be as bad as the one you wanted to get rid of. Find a positive, productive habit to put in the place of the habit you want to change.
 
For example, if when you look at your daily habits and you see yourself watching television for four hours a day and you know that this habit is preventing you from building that project you’ve been thinking about doing for years or creating another source of income, look at what habit you could form that would change that and move you toward what you really want. If eliminating television seems too difficult, take steps to make a gradual shift. Start by cutting it down. Then purposefully add a new activity to replace it, a positive habit where you will see new results. Once you start seeing the improvements, you will want to do even more.
 
Whatever the new habit is that you are working to establish, you must be consistent and not miss a day. Old habits can be hard to break. You must have determination. Keep looking at how your life will improve when you make the change, and it will keep moving you forward.
 
Never try to change more than one or two habits at a time. The only way to change a habit is with repetition. Daily and consistently do the new activity, which replaces the old habit. It may take 30, 60, 90 days or more to establish a new habit, depending on the habit and how deeply ingrained it is in your subconscious mind. Once the new activity has been established as a habit, then you can move onto changing another one.
 
A habit I recently changed was drinking soda. I could probably say that I was addicted to Pepsi, even though most days I had it down to just drinking two cans. The biggest factor in making this change started with a committed decision. I made the decision that I wanted to be healthier and that included changing what I drank. I quit drinking all soda, caffeinated or not. I even quit drinking juice and my beverage of choice is now water. I can honestly say that it didn’t seem that hard to do and that’s because of the decisions I made. I made the decision to be healthier and the decision of what to drink instead of sugary drinks. It’s been seven months since I made the decisions and I am so glad I did. 
 
You can make any change in your life that you truly want. You just have to want it bad enough to do what it takes, and bad enough to make the committed decision. Focus on the good results you will see in your life because of the change. 
 
Be consistent, persistent and don’t quit. That’s what it takes to succeed. If you skip a day, don’t beat yourself up, just get back on track the next day with more commitment to see it through. The change is possible. Change your thinking, change your habits and you will change your results.