Many may feel a twinge of anxiety at the thought of change, with all the related decision-making stress and worry about the” what-ifs.” We are, after all, programmed to self- critique and play out events in our minds, sometimes too repetitively to be emotionally healthy.
As we ponder the possible outcomes of our decisions, it is normal for the stress to cloud one’s judgment, leading to a panicked and less than an ideal choice when we are challenged with a sudden turn of events.
Others who aren’t at that stage can most certainly recall such events from memory and relate to the emotional rollercoaster that change presents as 21st-century life moves us along with both having to deal with personal and business change while simultaneously coping or dealing with day to day life.
This article will arm you with a means to maintain a state of well-being and peace, an essential element for logical well-considered decisions, as change is the only constant in the 21st century, let me help you take the sting out of change.
Let’s learn to dance, instead of wrestle with change instead.
Step One: Gathering and Mindfulness; right where you are now! Right now, wherever you are, stop and take a moment to allow your attention to wander inside your body. Without overthinking, allow your attention to pass through your different body parts, noticing tension, aches, or the need to shift position, hunger, thirst, or perhaps the need to use the restroom.
Take a long as you need before you continue. In these moments you have spent in self-awareness, were there any signals that the body sent to the mind that you were not attentive to? If we try to place the sources of this habit of ignoring our body’s needs, we may notice that each of the things we became aware of tells a little about our personal history and life story as though the body is a diary of our habits and lifestyle.
Engrossed in sensory stimuli, life conditions us to pay more attention externally rather than internally; hence, the repetition of this exercise (which may soon take only a few seconds) before you fall asleep or when you take a break or have a meal will bring about a sense of balance. Balance is not a luxury; it is a power, an ability to remain centered during more demanding or turbulent times.
As the habit of ignoring messages has formed a habit, so too can the above exercise add back into your lifestyle, what has been taken out, and bring about a sense of mindfulness. The benefits of this exercise are greater health stemming from an awareness of what your body is asking for, “The green reed which bends in the wind is stronger than the mighty oak which breaks in a storm.” 2 6 knowing the stimuli such as noise or chatter that may be annoying you, or a type of seating that may cause long term damage.
Lastly, doing and following up on the results of the exercise, can assist one’s ability to recall information easier as the mind has a chance, during the exercise to clear away information it has been focused on while ignoring the body’s needs.
Step Two: What’s up? Never judge yourself too harshly, humans by nature are creatures of habit. This is something that can be used to our advantage. As habits form and we justify their existence in our life and at times cut ourselves short doing so, we can also thereby, follow through and see the patterns we form in our judgment of situations and people, our motivators to action also become more explicit
. Awareness aims to nip such habits in the bud where possible and know the warning signs of potential problem situations and people. When the mind is overworked and unable to deal with a problem in a way that you can say “I acted correctly,” it is usually because of sensory overload that pushes us into a panicked decision. By firstly centering oneself as above, it is next the time to put the pre-programmed, conditioned mind to a temporary rest.
By doing this, we allow what the actual problem or underlying cause that is overwhelming our mind and blocking our full ability to manage with life to present itself is. Take a deep breath and, without thinking even for a moment, blurt out the very first thing that comes to mind. Ask yourself the following: What do I like to do? What do I want right now? What do I need right, oww?
The same exercise can be done again with the conscious, logical mind answering after some thought. If this is done correctly, the answers will probably be surprisingly different from what is at the tip of our tongue, in the primal part of the mind that will speak out that which is what is truly needed.
By allowing our minds to become aware of what it truly needs and communicate this clearly to us, we lay a strong foundation of being grounded and can prioritize action to keep the mind and emotional self in a state of wellness that can handle the challenge.
Step Three: A bite at a time No matter whether your change is weight management, to become stronger financially or emotionally, or to be prepared but relaxed and happy for whatever life brings, remember kaizen. This is a Japanese technique wherein tasks for just a minute at a time and then gradually increasing the length of time over intervals to reach your goal.
If thirty minutes of study is too complicated and you have been postponing this task for the last week, why not try one minute of research today and increase this time length by thirty seconds daily? It doesn’t have the daunting overwhelming feeling attached to the task anymore.
By owning, adapting, and making these principles a habit in your life, they become a part of your thought pattern. While life may throw an occasional curveball, for most of life’s challenges, these techniques make the mind a well-oiled machine ready for a change in a cool, calm, and collected way.
You may find yourself gathering yourself and thinking clearer faster. Setting goals are part of the actively decided change process. The setting, achieving and celebrating personal and business purposes reduce the amount of stress and pain caused when life seemingly pushes you out of your present comfort zone as others make their dreams a reality and impact the environment you exist in.
In this manner, change becomes inevitable; if you ever feel you are stuck, unhappy with where you are or want better, start a process of change by setting goals and making use of the service of a life coach, such as me. By doing this, you rather than somewhat unexpected circumstance or environmental change can decide the change process and the level of challenge you wish for.
Lastly, remember that you are powerful enough to do whatever you wish and have the power to control your life and your reaction or action toward change in any direction imaginable. My motto as a life coach is Ambition is the first step towards success. All Ambition starts with initiative.
Be aware of your power and ability to change and create your life consciously rather than by chance or through decision making resulting only from circumstances. Once you are aware, the steps on how to use this powerful ability accurately and take account of your life are up to the life coaching process.
Kearan is a certified personal life coach and business coach and is also trained in Neuro-Linguistic Programming. His passion for moving people forward and upwards formally started with his degree in Clinical Psychology as well as Organizational Development.
Feel free to reach out to Life Coaching today and join Kearan; you too can be a part of and know why self- empowerment through life coaching has become a global phenom.