Four Ways to Change

“There are only four ways that you can change anything about yourself, your life, your work, or your relationships with others.” – Brian Tracy, self development author and coach

Brian Tracy says that to change you need to:

Do more of something
Do less of something
Start something
Stop something

We all have things that we would like to do more of but never seem to have the time.  The flip side of that coin is that we find the time to do things that perhaps don’t bring us all that much joy or aren’t of any great value in our achieving goals.  You might want to exercise more, do more yoga, spend more time with family, read more books but can’t fit it into your busy schedule.  On the other hand,  do you watch mindless TV, play hours of video games, spend too much time chatting on the phone?  So why can’t you do less of those things and therefore spend more time on the things you DO want to do.

The same holds true for starting something.  Perhaps you have to stop something in order to start something else.

If you find you are stuck and not moving forward, ask yourself “If I do X, what will that get me?”  For example, if you stop playing video games and read more books about investing, what will that get you? Perhaps that house on the beach when you retire, or a new car because your current one has 250,000 miles on the speedometer and may not last much longer. If the house or the car are important enough, you will stop playing the games and start reading.

If your answer is something that you deeply want or care about, then you WILL find a way to make the change. If you have a passion for something, it will drive you to do whatever is necessary.  If not, then it probably wasn’t all that important in the first place.

Action Steps

What do you need to do more of?
What will that get you?

What do you need to do less of?
What will that get you?

What do you need to begin?
What will that get you?

What do you need to stop?
What will that get you?

Include behaviors and attitudes in your list.
Ask those around you what they think you should stop, start, do more/less of.
Start small. Pick one thing and work on that.
Start today and change your life!

Midlife Transition: Am I on the Right Path?

For me there is only the traveling on paths that have heart, on any path that may have heart.  There I travel, and the only worthwhile challenge is to traverse its full length.  And there I travel, looking, looking, breathlessly.
–Don Juan, in Carlos Castaneda’s  A Yaqui Way of Knowledge  (Don Juan’s Teachings)

Ask Yourself

• Am I passionate about the path I am on today?  Is my heart in it?
• Am I committed to following the path in its entirety?
• Am I so involved that it takes my breath away?

Take Action

• If you need to change the path, take the first step and do so, RIGHT NOW.
• Look at the path from ALL sides … engage in “out of the box” thinking.
• Choose to be FULLY on the path

Midlife Transformation

Transformation

TRANSFORMATION

Transformation has its place,
Don’t get all upset;
By definition all things change,
We’re just not ready yet.

Transformation comes I think,
Often quicker than a wink;
Or years may pass before I see
Changes that occur in me.

Growing up or getting old
Requires change or so I’m told;
Compassion when applied to pain 
Transforms losses into gain.

Transformation equals change,
It’s mind or matter rearranged
And challenges when squarely met
Leave no room for past regret.

In the future I shall see
Just what has become of me.
Here I stand a single soul
Transformed by life as it unfolds.

 
Greg Wright (All-Around Artisans,
703-217-7253)