5 SMALL CHANGES THAT CAN HELP YOUR LIFE

1. What do you want to change?

It can be overwhelming. You want to change your weight, your health, you belly size, your overall fitness or anything else. You do not even know where to start, and it is so frustrating. Stay with me here, chap. Think of what would make you happy. Try to prioritize. If you’d like to become a runner, dreaming of running a marathon is probably too much. Start with a 5K! Maybe you would like to learn everything about eating healthy, but Googling information is about to give you a heart attack. Start with cleaning up your pantry goal. How badly do you want this change? Got it? Write it down in detail.

2. What do you have?

You are a wonderful human being. You posses many fantastic qualities. Your neighbors love you, your friends can’t live without you, your dog adores you, and your colleagues can’t imagine the company without you. Write down your strong sides. If you have a super will power, or very strong biceps, write it down. You love to cook? Creative? Can joke about the most miserable failure in life? These are your strength too. Can’t find anything? How about answering one of these: Do you have legs? A roof over your head? A steady paycheck (size does not matter)? You can breathe? See, you have something some people don’t. Write it down as well.

3. Know your enemies.

I heard it so many times, and I am guilty of saying it out loud myself: “I don’t have time”, “I don’t have the money”, “But this thing is in the way”, “I don’t know where to start”. I will help you out with these challenges (or should I call them excuses?:), your job for now is just to write down everything standing in the way of you and your big goal. Remember: “The journey of thousand miles begins with one step” (Lao Tzu)

4. Change is hard but it is necessary.

Have you ever seen grass growing through a crack on the asphalt road? How easy do you think is it? It always amazes me that the most subtle and fragile plant can grow through something as hard as cement. The only thing you should be scared of is being scared! You only have one shot at life, why would you want to stay fearful? Trust me, there are plenty of things we could do to start the change and stop being afraid of this and that. Afraid of failure? Not starting is already a miss. Put your fears in writing, and once you are done think about how cool it will be to conquer them. Deal?

5. You are amazing.

This one is probably the most important statement you should repeat daily like a mantra. Especially when you are feeling crappy. You may not be perfect but I know you are amazing, strong, smart, witty, funny, and capable of so much more than you are doing right now. Look at everything you’ve accomplished in your life so far, praise yourself, pat on your back, and smile. If you have not done much, do the same thing anyway. I know you will do great once you start.

I want you to go over these 5 bullet points every other day, refine them, and put them in writing again and again. Once you take your first steps to a new you, you will notice the growing confidence, and your fears and doubts backing off. Then just…Start your change. Go with it.

What is the hardest thing for you to overcome? The easiest? What could you do today to change tomorrow?