A friend recently decided to make a massive sweep of her life, infusing physical, spiritual and career changes in order to meet newly developed, self-defined goals to enrich her life. (Caution: Such all-encompassing major life change can be similar to a whole-body cleanse – in the end, the outcome feels wonderful, but at the beginning, you often wonder if you can make it through!)
After years of mistreating herself with an overstuffed social schedule, 60+ hour workweeks, poor eating habits and “living to excess,” she was fed up with her lack of energy to do things she believed to be important.
It was time for change! The process required major life modification including: canceling longstanding social activities in an effort to simplify her schedule, saying “no” to some after-hours work requests, and creating time for sleep and energy-inducing activities.
As we often do with diets, she was pumped and ready to go after making her decisions, only to run into a dilemma. Her plan was so zealous, that soon her schedule was overpacked with activities intended to achieve life-enriching goals.
Now, instead of spending time at parties and eating on the run because work had overtaken her schedule, she spent her time at or getting to the gym, making appointments for acupuncture, massage, and meditation. She now ate on the run because work still overwhelmed her psyche and “life- enriching” appointments bombarded her calendar.
The moral here is no different than what you’ve probably heard many times before: You must know what you want before you can get it. And if you want to reach your goals, you must implement a step-by-step plan to get there.
If you’re considering changes in your routine to create the life you’ve always wanted, here are tips to get you started:
Think about what you want. Often we know what we don’t want – I don’t want to be tired anymore, I don’t want to feel so run down, I don’t want to be at the mercy of everyone who needs something from me … But what do you want? Change negative statements into positive ones, like, “I want to have more physical energy,” or “I will create more time for myself.” Focus on the great things life will manifest once transformation is underway.
Create a strategy to achieve it. I’m guilty of it too; often when we decide to attack something, we tackle it with zeal. Just remember, you don’t have to do it all at once! Changing your schedule, modifying your routine, creating boundaries – they’re all major areas to tackle. It takes time, energy and commitment to make such changes. To be prepared for the obstacles along the way, you must have a plan in place to help you recover from the stumbles. After deciding what you truly want out of life, create a step-by-step strategy that accounts for setbacks. For instance, if the goal is incorporating more physical activity, that doesn’t mean you have to run 5 miles at full intensity tomorrow.
Create an ultimate goal. For example, you set the goal of running 5 miles, twice a week by a certain date. You must create realistic steps to achieve the goal: Week One, walk a half-mile daily, increasing the pace, intensity and distance each day. Week Two, jog 1 mile daily. Week Three, run 1 mile on Monday and Tuesday, increasing to 2 miles by week’s end …
You know yourself best, and only you can create realistic steps to achieve your goals. Be certain, however, that the steps are challenging enough to push you to the next level, so that you progress toward your goal.
Act. So you want to make the change, you’ve created a realistic plan and now it’s time to get started.
Your path does not have to be perfect. It’s your path. Just get going. Use the effort of getting started to propel you to the next step. So what if it isn’t exactly what you had in mind when you wrote your strategy? At least you’re doing it!
Doni Luckett is chief executive of Divine-Basics.com, which produces lifestyle products to reconnect with moments that matter. Your questions may be addressed in the column by e-mailing enrichyourlife @divine-basics.com.
