Inspiring Change

Most of us hope there is going to be a time that we want to clean our house, work out, eat a spinach salad for lunch everyday and learn to speak Japanese. The truth is that, if we simply wait for that day, it will NEVER happen. 

We have to make it happen by cultivating our motivation (even better if we can cultivate inspiration). We have to remind ourselves of the good reasons that we want to do something that is good for us and stop doing something that will harm us in the long run. 

If it's fun and good for you - then it's kind of a no brainer. 

If it's not fun and bad for you (like maybe your job or spending time with people who suck the life out of you) it's still kind of a no brainer - but you might have to practice saying no when you feel pressure to say yes.

If you want to exercise and eat healthfully then you have to feel connected to your reasons for wanting that more than anything - particularly in your weakest moments. Remind yourself that you want to live a long healthy life, keep up with your kids, walk up stairs without getting winded or fit back into your favorite jeans.

If you want to stop doing something that you have a hard time resisting then you have to work hard to resist the urge until the habit or craving diminishes. You can make it easier on yourself but using incompatible behaviours to use whenever the craving strikes (like going for a workout when you would rather smoke). Again, it can also help to make your list of reasons for really, really wanting to stop and read it over everyday. 

When you are trying to make big changes, it's important to be kind to yourself throughout the process. We all struggle and most of us make several attempts to do what's hard but good for us before we figure it out. Knowing what to do is easy - figuring out how to do it takes patience and determination!