Articles of change

The Process of Change - Key steps to lasting change in your life06/11/2012

Principles in Life

What makes a person want to change permanently? Is it because they are forced too or circumstances require a change. To a certain extend this is correct. But change cannot take place unless that individual accepts the change as “true”.


This means that they should believe that the change will genuinely benefit them internally & externally. If the circumstances are not warranting change then it is highly unlikely change will take place.   


Have you had problems in making the change that would make a difference? Has fear crept in your line of vision? Well fortunately there is hope to eradicate this issue.

Many individuals in the past have held their own and made change a reality. How did they do it? Well studying their process closely, a unique pattern prevailed. BY studying this pattern for a period of time now, I would now like to share that process with you so that you could use these unique steps to make permanent change in your career / family / health / spiritually / relationship etc.

1. Identifying the need for change

Before change can take place firstly you must have a reason to change. You need to feel the requirement for change as much as the need oxygen to breathe. I have seen many people talk about change but don’t believe in it. So first ask yourself, do I believe that this change is for me? How badly do I want to change?

2. What are the Pro's & Con's for change

Sometimes no matter how tempting change is, a close evaluation is required to find out if the pro’s and Con’s out weight each other. Sometimes we are so caught up the current moment that we tend to ignore the long term effects the change will create.


Hence taking time to closely examine the pro’s & con’s is vital especially if the change you are about to make will be life changing. What you must do is first take a clean sheet of paper and draw a line down in the middle. Name one column “Pro’s” & the other “Con’s” (Pro’s = Positive’s of change and Con’s = Negatives of change).

Take as much time as you want to write down details to each column. Suggest you do this by yourself as too many external opinions may drown the authenticity of the change. (Take note that if the change carries danger physically or mentally to you or others please ensure you seek professional advice first) Once you have written down the details, do an analysis of the document closely and in case one out weights the other by a clear margin then you will have your decision. However if it is a close call, go with your gut feeling or take more time to analyze and gather more information.  This is especially important if the change is a big one. (Eg – Leaving your permanent job to start a business with no proper financial backing)

 

Ok if your decision for change is a “Yes” then let’s move forward. If it is “no”, don’t take it to heart as it may be a decision for the best which would avoid great calamity in the future.

3. Drowning opinions

Remember every change has its critics. It has happened to so many people, they believe in the change but once it is communicated to external sources everything suddenly turns all gloomy. This is because out there are the pessimists, the ones who always want others feeling miserable as they are. Therefore they are very good at pointing out all that could go wrong in your decision for change. If you listen to them then you are back to square one.

You need to have the courage to be able to fight pessimism if you want the change to be long lasting. That needs a lot of courage and endurance, but if you get through it your on the way to results.

4. Maintaining consistency

Once you have fought of external pessimists then comes the battle with yourself. How many times has it happened to us, down the path of change we give into temptations which are contrary to the change policy? (Eg – If you wanted to lose weight, one of the steps is eating healthy. But on how many occasions have we been tempted to consume unhealthy food during the “diet period”)

The battle with our mind is the hardest of all. This is because since the mind is already conditioned to a habit it will always fight back against any change. If you are a chain smoker trying to quit you may know how hard it is to fight against a “quick puff”.   This is where fighting against your mind must take place as you need to replace one habit with the other. To do so you must keep feeding the mind with the change so that it will finally accept is as a habit. Once this is achieved you have thereby created consistency in your path to making the change happen.

5. Tracking progress

Once you have the change permanently fixed it is important as a motivation for future changes that you track the results of the change. (Eg – If you stuck to your healthy diet you can see the change in your health and weight) This is the “confidence factor”. This creates the belief in you that you can make anything happen if you put effort to it.

If in case you side track from the change, go back to the steps and start again. Sometimes it’s hard to make the change on the first attempt but once you keep persisting it will inevitably take effect. The only rule is not giving up just because you face a road block.

Wish you the best in your change. Would be happy to receive your feedback if the above article made a change in your life or if you need further information about the process.
 

Note that individual coaching sessions with me are available online. Please contact me on coaching@garwinmurray.com and will let you know the process.

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