I believe that just about everyone out there wants to change at least one thing in life, most people more than that. Whether it is financial situation, health and fitness, education, job, living situation, or any of the multitude of other facets of our life we could possibly want to change. However, despite our desire to make these changes, most of us don't. Too often I hear about people who say how they wish they could BLANK. And yet, they do little to put themselves in the position to do what they desire. At some point we become settled into our situation and eventually lose hope for change. In many cases this becomes a topic that we subconsciously complain about. And this is part of what drove me to write this, because I am of the believe that if you do not like your situation, you have every opportunity to change it.
Why don't we change?
The reasons that we do not take the steps to make these changes in life are endless.
-Fear: Fear of failure. Fear of ridicule. Fear of the unknown. Oddly enough, fear of success. Most people do not want to step out of their comfort zone into the unknown. This fear is a controlling force in their life that holds them back from reaching their potential.
- Conditioning: People are often programmed to believe that they are only as good as their parents and relatives before them. They are so ingrained in how their family has lived that they do not realize that they are in control of their future. The past has no bearing on each individuals potential. Everyone has obstacles in life of varying sizes and qty, but we all have our struggles. How you deal with that adversity is what forms you and prepares you for the success you will be down the road.
- Education: Oddly enough, there are people out there that believe they are not intelligent enough to have better than their current situation. I find this to be a very sad situation. We all have opportunities for learning and bettering ourselves, that do not cost much if any money at all. While I am college educated, I believe some of the most valuable knowledge I have gained has come from books I have read on my own. Libraries are great resources to gain knowledge. The Internet has also put knowledge in the hands of anyone who seeks it out. Learning should not be a hurdle to making a change in your life.
- Money: I can understand that money is a hurdle to making an immediate change, but with proper planning and execution, money problems can be overcome. It may take making changes in other aspects of your life such as spending or working more, but money problems can be overcome.
This list could go on and on, but I think these are some of the biggest factors that restrict us from doing little things that can improve our lives.
How do we change?
I think change can be accomplished with just a few steps. In a lot of my studies and experience I have seen various models for organizational change and optimization. All of these same principles can be applied to any aspect of our lives that we wish to make better. I will lay out the steps that I believe can help us all improve.
Step 1: Awareness-Where are we?
I call this step awareness because we need to understand where we currently are. Financially, if we are to really be aware of our situation we need to understand our in flows and outflows of money, as well as any debts and bills. While this can be as simple as writing down all of our spending on a piece of paper and tracking that way, the world of technology has made it so much easier with various software and apps. I use the finance example because it is something I am interested in and track pretty regularly, but the principle applies to anything. Losing weight, job salary, educational goals, etc.
Step 2: Where do I want to be?
This can basically be considered goal setting. We need to understand where we want to be. Whether it means to become debt free, lost 30 lbs, or increase our salary by 25%. Knowing where you want to go is the only way to make a proper plan of action.
Step 3: Gap analysis/How to
Now is the time to see exactly how far we are from the goal. Is this a short term or long term goal? Will this change effect other aspects of my life in order to achieve it? What resources do I have to get there? All of these questions can be addressed in this step. That is because, all of those questions should be answered in order to make a plan. The plan is basically the "How to" guide to achieving your goal. It is a road map of the steps you will take to get there. Part of the plan should include any risks you see that could interfere and how you will address them if they do happen. Also, any budgeting or resources that you need along the way should be identified at this point. There are plenty of what ifs that could be considered at this step and I am sure this is where a lot of people get afraid and stop. However, some risks cannot be identified anyways so there is always something that could go wrong. Do not let the what ifs stop you from moving forward.
Step 4: Make it happen
Now is the time to move forward with implementing your plan. Some may call it taking the leap of faith, but I think its just taking the first small step in a well mapped out path to success. This is the time to begin making the sacrifices that you identified in your plan in order to meet your goal. A lot of reaching financial or fitness goals revolve around using the word no. A lot of the time you will be saying no to friends and socializing, but most of it has to do with telling yourself no. This is called discipline and is the root of successful change. The most important parts of this phase of change is to stay focused on your goal, and disciplined with your plan. Your plan should have fun or splurge days built into it so as to not cause a huge setback to your normal plan. If you can stay disciplined, you can have the change you want.
Step 5: Analyze/Revise
This part of the process is where you will begin to see your results. It is wise to periodically take a step back to step 1 and analyze where you are. Measure your current situation to both your beginning as well as to your goal. Make it a regular progress review maybe monthly or quarterly. This will then give you the chance to make small tweaks or revisions to your plan. I think that once you begin to take the small steps of progress you will see there are opportunities to become more aggressive with the goal.
In Summary, I just want people to realize that there is no reason to fear change. Change is a certainty in life, but whether or not you have control over it is up to you. A few small steps can help you down the path to all you desire if you have the discipline to stick to the plan.
Good Luck.
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