The Cost of Change

We’ve reached the time of year when everyone is giving tips and pointers on how to achieve your goals and do awesome things and be your best self by following a set of rules. But what if this isn’t the answer?

So last night I did a two hour podcast on my reflections of my life for the year 2015 and how to move forward with being the person you want to be. But with all the hundreds of posts I read on change, I realized that while change is constant, it’s a paradox that our brains are wired for routine, yet must be open to transitions and the fear we must walk through to defeat it.

But we get confused by the paradoxes, our peers, the media, and our outcome from a premature hypothesis of what should have happened from the plans we set for ourselves that were supposed to happen but didn’t.

So what now?

There’s a great quote that was on Tim Ferriss’ podcast when he interviewed Derek Sivers:

“Confusion is a great way to break habits.” — Derek Sivers

When we get confused, we get frustrated, when we get frustrated we seek to get an understanding, getting an understanding creates new perspectives which in turn helps us to identify what needs to be changed and then we learn the anatomy of habits and replace the destructive with habits that will enrich our lives.

I’ll make it simple. Write it down, set alarms on your phone, and after 3 months check back in to see if you notice a change. Try to stay consistent, but it’s ok to not be perfect. After all, you’re unlearning many years of things that are hard wired in our brains, and that’s no easy task.

5 Things To Do Now to Change (effortlessly)

• Set a timer to meditate for at least 5 min.
• Write down THREE goals you want to accomplish this year, and write out how you define success (for each of them).
• Grab ONE accountability partner you trust to share these goals with and to keep you in check.
• Set a timer to journal for 10 minutes (this book is a good resource as well: The Artist’s Way Morning Pages Journal https://www.amazon.com/dp/0874778867/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_3K0HwbY6W8BQ7)
• Read a book a month to gain new perspectives that usually get drained by the distractions around us.

And that’s it. There’s more of course, but the point is to start small, and the once you get the momentum going, it becomes easier and clearer to see your purpose and come alive and not merely just exist.