Change Your Life by Making the First Move.

August 31, 2018

Do you want to change your life in some way? Perhaps you want to let go of a toxic relationship, leave an unsatisfying job, start exercising or reduce stress. Or perhaps you want to do a total overhaul. Whatever you want to change, know that it is possible. You have the power to change your life. And once you realise that, you can start taking small steps in the right direction to create a life you truly love living in.

Nothing Happens Until You Move.

Robin Sharma is a great motivator. I find myself feeling inspired when I bump into him virtually, reading a newsletter or watching a video. Recently one of his quotes came my way, and it stopped me in my tracks. “Nothing Happens Until You Move”. Wow. That’s so true, especially when you’re wanting to change your life. You need to take action to make the change you want.

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Here is an excerpt from a leadership article of his:

Start small, dream huge but begin today. Nothing happens until you take massive action. The sad reality is that procrastination is nothing more than the defense mechanism of choice used by scared people. Here’s what I mean: if we actually did our goals and acted on our visions, we’d become ultra-successful. And spectacular success brings responsibility. That frightens most among us. And so we put off getting great things done. And blame the world for any mediocrity that infuses our lives.

Where are you going?

The first step to changing your life in some way is knowing where you’re going. You can’t just run off into the distance, hoping for something grand to happen. You need to reflect and reconnect with yourself and work out what it is you actually want. What is your goal? Where do you want to be in the next 1 or 5 years?

It’s not always an easy task. I have met some people who seem to know exactly what they want. While others just don’t know. Work hard at finding out, because you need to have life goals to work towards.

I found it tough figuring out what I wanted because I love so many things. However, by reflecting, researching and journaling A LOT, I eventually found some answers. So set some time aside to work on your life goals, until they seem clearer.

Take a step in the right direction.

When you have your life goals down on paper, you can start to work out a plan to get there. You can then break your big goal into smaller goals. Even tiny goals. Then you can face one small step at a time, to get you to where you want to go.

After much soul-searching, I created my ‘life plan’ in January. The plan could of course change over time, but this was the direction I wanted to take now. One of my big goals was to start studying health coaching at The Institute of Integrative Nutrition before the end of 2018. Health has been a lifelong passion of mine, and I wanted to move in that direction. I also wanted more time and freedom to do my own thing – The time to still work (remote marketing), but to also build my lifestyle blog and travel more. And… the 9-5 life wasn’t giving me the time or space to do that.

I realised then and there that being in a 9-5 job was not good for me. It had served its purpose, but now was taking up too much of my precious time for the return. And so, I decided to make that first big move, and quit my 9-5 for good.

That was the move that would start setting my plans in motion, in the right direction.

Make it work.

Of course, leaving the 9-5 life after quite a few years was a little daunting. I’d been freelance before a few years back, so I knew what I had to do and the hard work it entailed. However, this time around felt different – I felt like a different person, with a different set of skills to offer, and in a foreign country. So this was a new challenge I was giving myself now.

Now it was up to me to make it work. Pretty scary, but also liberating.

Some people excel in a 9-5 and others truly excel out of it. I am the latter. I love managing my own time and finding my own opportunities. Out of 9-5, I am free to explore and let life unfold, instead of being bound by 4 walls and the clock.

Sometimes you need to take that first step, and put yourself in that new situation. It may feel uncomfortable, but it forces you to face up to the challenge and take the next step.

Change your life, step by step.

Having this plan of action has helped me tremendously in changing my life. I know that the little steps I take every day are fueling my big life goals.

I’ve had to work really hard over the last few months, but it’s been so worth it. And even while working hard on my remote marketing and finding clients, I have had so much more time for my other projects that all lead to my bigger goals. Such as building my healthy lifestyle blog to use as a platform when I become a health coach in the near future.

So don’t wait. If you want to change your life in any way, big or small, the time is now.

Focus on what’s important to you and get those life goals down on paper. Work through it. From there, focus on your most important life goal and break it down into small steps over a realistic period of time. Schedule it into your calendar, and start with that first small (or big) step. If necessary, break your goals down into tiny ones like I do. As long as you’re taking a step, it doesn’t matter how small it is. You are moving.

As Lao Tzu says so well:

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

Know that you are the creator of the life you want. You play a big role in how you move forward and where you end up 1 year or 10 years down the line. Have a plan, have life goals. And then… make that first move.

Nothing is going to happen unless you move.

xoxo Ciao for now