The Readiness For Change

Posted by Miz Helena

Jul 2

You start your quest in getting your life together by figuring out what it is that would make your life feel more complete. Do you want to be happier? Do you want to be more satisfied? Are you looking for more contentment in your life? If you don't know where you stand right now, then you certainly won't be able to figure out what you need to do in order to reach the happiness, satisfaction, or contentment you crave.

WHY CHANGE NOW?

Getting your life in order can entail many different things. Maybe your finances feel out of control, but your physical health is great. Perhaps you have the highest degree you can possibly attain, but your house is so full of clutter you can't see the floor. Whatever has led you to decide to get your life in order, there is no harm in making positive changes in every aspect of your life…even the ones that you didn't necessarily think needed improvement.

READINESS

Have you had your «a-ha» moment? What has led you to decide to get your life together? Obviously there has to be something going on that makes you feel as though your life is not in order if you have made the decision to make some changes. Did you wake up one morning and make the bold proclamation that today is your day to change your life? Or did you receive another delinquency notice in the mail to add to a growing stack? Maybe you broke off a relationship with your romantic partner and you're ready for a fresh start. If you know your motivation, you are more likely to attack the task at hand and begin down the path of changing your life with full vigor.

Are you just sick of your current life? Sometimes there isn't a big, defining moment that leads people to want to change their lives. Instead, it may be a series of events that shed light on the fact that it is time to get their life together. Many people simply realize for no particular reason that the life they are living is just not the life they had envisioned for themselves, and if this is the case for you, there is still great motivation to change your life for the better. Examine all the things you do not like about your current situation so you can fashion a new life that will make you happier.

You decide when you're really ready. Your parents or other loved ones may have been harping on you for some time to get a better job, go back to school, stop eating junk food, or whatever else needs changing in your life. The decision ultimately rests with you, however, and until you are personally ready to make all the necessary changes, you probably won't have the dedication needed to see real results. Don't do something just because someone else tells you that you need to…do it because you want to, and because you are also ready to take on the responsibility of getting your life together.

Don't change your life to mirror someone else's. Maybe you were going along enjoying life when you met someone who really seemed to have his or her life together, and it made you feel a little inferior. Perhaps you decided at that point that you were going to make big changes and get your life together in order to be more like this person. Beware of making big changes just because you get the impression from someone else that they have some sort of better life than you do. The decision to change your life should rest in a conscious decision on your part that life just isn't working out the way you would like it to, and now is the time to make the necessary changes to get everything in order. You should also realize that the side of people that is public, in other words the side of people that you actually see, is oftentimes not a true representation of what is going on in their lives. The person you know who seems so well put together and in control of things, might actually be crying themselves to sleep every night because they are so miserable. So yes, there is always room for improvement in people's lives, but the decision to get your life together should be a decision you make on your own, regardless of what other people say or do. Don't allow yourself to be convinced that your life is unhappy or out of control when in fact it isn't all that bad.

WILLINGNESS

Some changes aren't easy. If you have some serious issues in your life that need to be addressed, such as addiction or destructive relationships, you are going to have to work mighty hard to get your life in order. If you have always gone out on Friday nights with your friends, and then decide that you need to get your life together and stop drinking, you may find it harder than you thought to turn down their invitation when Friday night rolls around. Even small changes are sometimes difficult; someone who starts each morning with a flavored coffee drink on the way to work, may find it hard to break the habit after he or she decides to try to end unnecessary expenses in an effort to become more financially secure. The question as to whether you are truly ready to take on all the challenges associated with getting your life together is a question that can only be answered by you.

How gung-ho are you? It is one thing to decide that you need to change your life, but it is another thing entirely to take the necessary steps in order to do so. Just recognizing all the different aspects of your life that need improvement can be exhausting, let alone implementing all the essential steps for change. If you feel ready to attack the aspects of your life that you don't like, then move full speed ahead. You may find that, as you begin to make changes and notice differences, your motivation will increase exponentially. You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink. If your friend hands you a book about getting your life together and suggests to you that your time has come to fix your life, you probably will be less willing to analyze your life as you might have been if you had come to the conclusion yourself. The person who makes the decision that your life needs a little more order is you, and nobody else.

ABILITY

If you don't have the resources, create them. Sometimes, getting your life together will entail things like paying down debt or paying for occupational training. If this sort of thing sounds out of your financial league, you should recognize that where there is a will, there is a way. There are many people who are, at this very moment, delivering newspapers or moonlighting as kitchen staff to get the necessary funds to pay for the things they desire. The opportunity to make extra money is all over the place; you just need to be willing to seek it out and work a little harder than usual to obtain it.

It's up to you…mostly. Yes, the responsibility of getting your life together rests squarely on your shoulders. This does not mean that other people cannot assist you along the way. You never know who might have just the advice you need in order to move forward, and sometimes it comes from the most unexpected places. Maybe you have worked next to someone for years and never knew that they were once in a position that you would love to be in, such as a professional singer or perhaps a teacher. While you are attempting to figure out ways to get your life together, it would be wise to chat with other people about their various life experiences. You really never know what sort of valuable information you might discover about someone and additionally might be able to apply to your own life.

You can do it, really. Some goals seem so incredibly unattainable that many folks won't even bother trying to reach them. If you wistfully dream about someday being out of debt, what is stopping you from starting to pay your debt down slowly this very day? If you dream of losing weight, why not go for a walk? Little changes can make a big difference, and you need to stop looking towards a quick fix. The more you work towards a goal, the easier it's going to get. Consider the beginning of your efforts as a sort of initiation period that everyone needs to go through before efficiently getting their lives together. You may look back on these days in amusement someday, with a sort of fond admiration for your willingness to move forward. «I remember struggling to get up the nerve to enroll in college,» you might hear yourself say in the future, as you look on to your classroom full of students. «If I could do it, so can you!»

What sorts of changes are ahead? This book emphasizes four main categories of change for people who are looking to get their lives together: emotional, physical, financial, and spiritual. A person cannot hope to have their life in order if they are an emotional wreck. Emotional problems, whether minor or major, have such an enormous affect on a person's daily dealings that nobody can have a smooth life without working through whatever emotional problems he or she might have. Physical health also has a tremendous influence on how together someone's life is. Inside, a person may feel like a million bucks and be ready to conquer the world, but if they can't walk up a flight of stairs without panting and sweating, they are not living life to its full potential. Financial issues are a big problem for many people. Even if every other aspect of a person's life is in order, financial problems can cause someone to feel quite anxious and out of control. Finally, spirituality is brought up as a major aspect of getting a life together for a few reasons. Real solace can be found in spirituality for many people, but even if someone decides to denounce all religions, they should do so after making an informed decision. Spirituality is just another section of people's lives that always has room for improvement and reflection. Other topics are mentioned, and are all worthy of consideration by someone who is looking to get his or her life in order: attention is given to things like occupational satisfaction, educational goals, and the idea of starting a whole new life somewhere new, complete with a different home, job, and friends. There are countless other topics that should be brought into consideration when getting your life together, and just because something isn't covered here, it doesn't mean it's not an important and valid topic that deserves attention. You are the only person who truly knows what you need to change in order to get your life together, but the hope is that the topics discussed in this book will work as an outline for making great things happen for you.

Change can be awful scary and intimidating. Your current life, although it is perhaps not what you truly want, is what you are used to, and for this reason alone, you may be reluctant to try to switch things up. But you'll never know what might have been if you don't give changing a try. It may be that someday you look back on the day you decided to get your life together and breathe a sigh of relief that you were willing to take the first step.

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