Lasting Change

There is such a freshness with the start of a new year; a shift in the season to a new beginning. The road before us is unchartered. Many start the year off with New Year’s resolutions, only to find that they rarely provide lasting change.  

True change comes from a process where you connect your hearts desires with your thought processes and actions. And many times this comes with behavior change and mindset shifts. Lasting change requires us to turn off the “auto pilot” switch and start paving new ground. “Auto-pilot” for me can be my daily routines or habits. It reminds me of the movie Wall-e; the people are going about their daily routine until Wall-e interrupts it and suddenly their eyes are open. They are confronted with a choice; do they continue back on their normal daily routine or do they explore other options? The same is true for us, do we stick to the comfort of what we know (the easy path) or do we step out into the unknown and possible discomfort to explore new paths? 

When you are looking to change something the first thing you need is an awareness to change. This realization may come to you directly or it may come through feedback from a loved one or colleague. You may process this instantly or this may take time to see the change as a necessary course of action. Next, is having a desire to change. Desire is deeper than having an awareness; it is truly wanting the change. Sometimes this can be the hardest part, because it is wanting the change no matter how much discomfort may be involved. The next few steps are walking out how to change, acquiring the right resources and determining how you will maintain it.  All of which are important if you want to create a lasting change that propels you forward and breaks you out of your comfort zone. What lasting changes do you want to implement for 2022?