In a similar vein to my recent posts, I have recently met with many people who are undecided in their life. Not undecided about whether they need change but what they should or would like to change.
Our brain is a complex beast that we are still discovering more and more about. What we do know is that most of us do actually embrace change. We convince our mind that change brings uncertainty therefore we don't need to change if our life is going okay. However, we also like (need) change because it brings 'freshness' into our lives.
I try to work on the well-known phrase "If you keep doing what you've always done you'll keep getting what you have always gotten!" (Not great grammar).
Now is a good time to start planning for 2016. So how do you make plans for change in your personal life? What works for me is to make a list. I love lists. When we make a list many things happen;
· Lists engage our logic brain as we delve into our emotional creative brain.
· Lists lodge things into our subconscious.
· Lists give us targets to aim for.
· Lists keep things in perspective.
· Importantly, lists clarify change.
Two other factors that we know about our brain and change is that or brain doesn't like too much of it all at once and that we need time to embed change.
So, when you are thinking about change, here are some practical steps to consider around change;
· Decide on what are the most important things to you in your life and list them.
· Examine that list and decide on three things that you want to change. (Our brain tends to work in threes - 3 cheers, 3 stages in most things, companies tend to have 3 letters/words in their title, a book has a beginning middle and an end, etc.)
· Examine each of the three things that you want to change, write each out and then list three steps towards each goal.
· Then list in order which change will take the quickest and commence work on that single change.
· Once you are comfortable working on that change begin working on the second change.
· Remember that it takes 60 to 80 days to change a habit, not 21 days as some would espouse.
The beginning of a new year is a great time to make changes in your life as there is a determined start line already in place for you.