The Top 10 Ways to Fulfill Your Desire for Change

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Laura Kronen, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.

They say one of the worst addictions is that of comfort. We’re ruled by habits. We do things the same old way because we know how it works. Unfortunately, this decreases your mental edge. If we haven’t done anything dynamic in a long time, we begin to think we can’t.

2013 is upon us and there is plenty of opportunity to grow and test ourselves. Whether it is something big or something small, just begin. That’s the hardest part.

Below are the Top 10 Ways to help you fulfill your desire for change.

Go from fearful… to fearless.
Have you always wanted to try something, but were too scared? Now is the time. We made it through the end of the Mayan calendar, so now the world is yours for the taking. Don’t let fear paralyze you or prevent you from doing something you have always dreamed of. Take a trapeze class, skydive, train for a black belt in karate, rock climb, or start public speaking. If you need help, find a role model who overcame big hurdles to do exactly what you want to do.

Read a book a month.
It will increase your vocabulary, help you express goals, open your mind to new ideas and perspectives,Reading is a lifelong brain-stimulating activity that can even help stave off Alzheimer’s disease. Not to mention you will also have something to talk about at dinner parties.
Spend time with family. We love our families, but it’s easy to let day-to-day busy-ness come between us. Your kids may even prefer it that way. Schedule time for activities that would foster conversation—take a hike, build something together. Have everyone come to the dinner table with a topic to discuss every night. Also, don’t forget to make sure to schedule a date night with your significant other.

Multitask in the right way.
If you want to talk on the phone or read a magazine, walk on the treadmill while you are at it. Get your exercise and your relaxation in at the same time.

Find a new hobby.
And preferably one that is associated with physical movement, such as painting, ballroom dancing, learning a musical instrument, or bowling. Neurons that fire together grow together; there seems to be some kind of connection between thinking great thoughts and doing something with your feet, mouth or body, Not only is it great to put the connection between thought and movement, but it also seems to have a real blunting effect on more serious disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease. The brain is the powerhouse or command center for all functions in the body, there is definitely an advantage to continually exercise the brain—which is a hallmark of those high in creativity.”

Start hanging around with people more successful than you.
Ditto for chilling with better runners, stronger tennis players and golfers with a lower handicap. Break out of mediocricy. Make friends with people outside your industry. Pal around with someone whose work is completely different from yours. It will offer a great opportunity to learn about new things, get a different perspective and increase your circle of influence.

Donate your time and resources!
Volunteer at a local school or nonprofit or do other good deeds. Share a batch of brownies with your neighbors. Hold the door for someone, let another driver proceed ahead of you, make bouquets from your garden for co-workers. Giving induces feel-good endorphins. You can also become a mentor. An executive can mentor a mid-level businessperson, but a college freshman also can mentor a seasoned professional. Everyone has something to offer—and to learn.

Create a major concrete goal which requires many incremental ones.
Then celebrate each one of those incremental goals. Like for instance, you want to lose 25 pounds in 6 months. Celebrate each month’s victory or celebrate every pound gone. If we keep acknowledging the smaller goals, the big one won’t seem so daunting.

Become a morning person.
The only reason you aren’t one is because you profess you aren’t one. Save the more relaxing tasks like checking social media accounts and reading the paper for the evening and jump right into the most important tasks of the day when you wake up. Most people waste the first few hours of the day. Smile when you wake up and turn that around.

Change your attitude.
Think positive. Imagine yourself where you want to be and imagine what positive difference it will make to your life and what benefit you will have received because of the changes that you have made. Picture the new you, make the image bright, so bright that you have to squint to focus on it, now double the image in size, and double it in size one more time. It is time to step into this image of you. Consider what it feels like to have accomplished the change that you made. What do you see, hear and feel? Spend a minute soaking up the feeling of what it’s like to have completed the change that you set out to do. Now head in the direction for what you want.

In the end, remember: Not only are some things possible, but everything is possible.

Laura Kronen
Be You Only Better
www.beyouonlybetter.com