No Longer Settle… Change Your Life While You Can
Here are five simple steps to help you get started.
It happens to many of us: we feel stuck in a life without much fulfillment, joy or inspiration. We know that we want to make a change, but are unsure of how and where to start.
That was me, several years ago, when I felt stuck as a stay-at-home mother of four. On the outside my life looked great: four healthy kids, a supportive husband and no financial worries. However, I felt exhausted and disillusioned. I wasn’t as fulfilled as I had hoped I would be.
Now, several years later, I can say that I discovered several tools that helped me increase my fulfillment and joy, even leading me to write a book, Inner Compass Mom. The surprising thing that I learned is that you don’t need to completely turn your life around to increase meaning and happiness in your life. Small changes can create big shifts. This is likely because the biggest changes happen first at the level of our mind. When we uncover the limiting beliefs that have kept us from pursuing fulfillment and joy in the past, we can start changing them. Becoming more open minded about our beliefs allows us to find a more supportive perspective so that change can take place.
So, if you are tired of settling and want to increase fulfillment and joy in your life, follow these five steps to get clarity on what you truly want and how to get it.
- Solitude is key.
In today’s busy world, with its constant distractions and barrage of information from electronics, it seems hard to find alone time. It’s necessary though. Introspection requires solitude. So, it’s time to unplug for a bit.
Meditation is a great way to slow down your thoughts so that you can get in touch with more authentic parts of yourself. When you move beyond the chatter of your busy mind, you connect to your inner compass, your intuition, and can sense more easily what you truly long for.
2. Get clear on what you really want in your life.
These questions can help you get clarity:
- What do you want to increase and/or pursue?
- What do you want to reduce and/or eliminate?
- What do you truly enjoy and want more often?
- What did you used to enjoy and want back in your life?
- What is it that you’ve always wanted, been curious about, been inspired by?
- What do you not enjoy in your life and want less of or not at all?
It’s important to get clarity on exactly what it is that you want. Making a list can help greatly. Forcing yourself to put words to your ideas by writing them down can help you identify what it is you want. This prevents your dreams from remaining vague, and, just that: dreams.
3. Schedule it.
Find time on your calendar to dedicate and pursue things on your list. Creating a real shift in your life takes time and dedication. Start with something small and easy to achieve, so that you have a greater chance of success and will stick with this process.
For example, if you want to explore an interest, such as painting or joining a club, you have to set aside time for this. If you don’t, chances are that you will put it off or end up not doing it at all, risking that nothing will change.
At this point in the process you’ll have likely run into your inner critic. This critical inner voice will try to shut down your efforts so nothing will be disturbed. These thoughts are likely connected to limiting beliefs that you’ve possibly had for a long time and have held you back in the past. Having an open mind and taking a more supportive perspective will help you reach your goals.
4. Use visualization.
Besides taking action and putting in place the changes that you want, you can use visualization for the harder to obtain situations on your list. There are different ways to help you manifest what you really want. Vision boards are very popular and can be created as actual boards, but online platforms such as Pinterest work as well. It really doesn’t matter. Whatever you prefer. Have some fun with it!
Review your vision board regularly. What’s important here is that you imagine what it feels like when you get what you want, as though you have already manifested it. As soon as negative emotions or doubts arise, step away from it and do something else. Meditation is also a great time to visualize what you want.
5. Keep track.
Writing down your successes can help you keep track of your progress. And, if you ever feel like giving up, you can look back and notice the positive changes that have happened. Often we don’t realize that we have made progress, because many changes happen gradually.
According to Shawn Achor, author and advocate of positive psychology, “We become more successful when we are happier and more positive.” So, there you have it. Good luck with creating positive changes in your life, one small shift at a time. Who knows where it will lead you!
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