In the previous post we discussed some possible barriers on how to change your life. It is simple to find problems and cite ideas but actually making changes to your life is a bit trickier. Learning how to focus or what to focus on is part of the challenge. Mastering what you can change in your life will take practice and dedication. You may have to try several approaches before you get it right. Here are some simple ideas to deal with the other half of the battle – what you want to change.

1. Clear all of your distractions and make a list of 50 things you would like to do…aim high. Maybe you want a University Degree -pu it on the list. If you want to climb Mount Everest – put it on the list.  If you want to learn how to play the zanfir – put it on the list. If you want to re-enact the Civil War – put it on the list. Okay, you get the point. The idea of creating this list is not to be silly, but rather to give yourself an idea of all the things you want to do. Then you can worry about how. Dream a little and then live a lot!
2. Have a focus…and see your goal. Plan backwards to reach it. If you just pick one thing on the list and aim to do it, you will have a better chance of success. Many people take aim and run around chasing 50 pigs in a pen. Pick on that one pig and zone in on it. What you will find is that eventually you will catch that pig and not a random one. This achievement should not be overlooked. The shortest distance is a straight line, so picking one pig and aiming for it is a straight line – a more simple approach.
3. Believing in that focus and that list is half the battle. If you believe you can do something, then you probably will. Looking for the solutions will remove the belief that you can’t do it and keep you on target.
4. The 60 second plan – decide what you want to change and from where to where! This is the crash course in change. It’s where you reach high and say I’m doing this but I want to do this! Step back right now and think of one thing you want to change. Then change it. When this has become a habit or you are on the road to success start another 60 second plan.
5. Don’t spend time thinking about it…just do it. Most of us have tendencies to analyze everything. We come up with obstacles, reasons for not being able to do something. We want to make sure it is the right choice. The problem is, we could spend years thinking like this. What is the obstacle – obviously it’s the time spent thinking and analyzing. So, stop analyzing and just do it – change your life.
6. Do it slowly, one step at a time (decide to focus on just one thing). You may have heard of the phrase baby steps, doing one little thing to get to the next thing. If you want to learn how to be an artist, you don’t start by painting the Cistine Chapel. You start by learning how to draw basic shapes and you expand it from there. As you get better at each step you progress. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
7. Get up 1 minute earlier every day! This is an addition to the point I mentioned above. If you want to buy yourself more time, by doing it gradually you will increase the chance to change your life. In 2 months you have an extra hour to get all those little things done. But you won’t have to feel the impact of setting the alarm an hour early. The minute will go un-noticed.
8. Change how you look at things. If you close your eyes, change will seem impossible. Opening them to the possibilities will bring you to a realization that there are different ways to achieve and you may have been putting an obstacle on the road. Be thankful for what you have. Adding a little bit of gratitude can make these changes more simple and put you in a frame of mind that is open and calm.
9. Start asking the right questions and ask them in the right places. If you want to learn about something it is important to know what you want to learn. To do this you need to ask questions that are relevant to the topic. The same is true in change. Asking what is relevant can be very enlightening. Make sure you ask the right person though. You wouldn’t ask an accountant questions about music, would you? What can I learn from this?  People that prosper are often ones that have failed many times but kept trying. Usually, as part of the process, they have reviewed their actions and learned from mistakes. So asking how will this help me has taken them to the next level and the change has happened, usually not overnight.
10. Book time out…just for you. That’s it, nothing more to say here. Taking time for yourself is a big step in making changes. It offers you a time to reflect, time to enjoy life and a moment to realize what you want in life and what changes you need to make. So take a minute or two every day to change your perspective on life and enjoy it.
11. Find your pillars of strength. In the previous post, I mentioned Soar with Your Strengths. Find out what your strengths are is something many of us have done, yet we still do all the things we are not good at in hopes of getting better. A more efficient choice would be to find pillars of strength elsewhere, a support group of key people. In social circles this could be family or friends. In business the key components of success might be an accountant or a sales person that can support your overall vision for your business. Take the pressure off and stop stretching yourself – find your pillars.

There are dozens of other ways to change your life. Keep your eyes peeled and you will discover them. Look for those precious gems and the changes will no longer be a mystery. If you want to change your life, there is only one person in the driver seat – you.

if you liked this post, take a gander at these ones!

• Change Your Life – Part I
• simplicity is productivity
• simple steps to downshift your life
• tackle your workload with just 3 hours a day: 3 simple steps to get things done
• intentional living – the art of awareness