How To Create Positive Change
Have you heard yourself saying something like…“I will walk daily when there is more daylight”, or “I will book in to see someone to help with my back pain once the holidays are over”. Essentially, you will act on something that is going to benefit your health or your life, once the time feels right or conditions are perfect?!
If you have, I am right there with you! It feels good to say we are going to take action, but unless we physically do it, nothing changes.
I share this because as a newish mum, I have used these words a lot over the last couple of months. Now, in the early days I needed to give myself some grace due to healing and navigating a new way of life, therefore, many areas that I was delaying were justifiable, and you may be in a similar boat. But personally, now I am seven months into my motherhood journey, there are many things that I can re-start or try, but the words “I will do it when…” or “I should…” keep cropping up, when really, there is no reason why I can’t do the things now. And when I reflect, I have been delaying it due to fear or laziness!
Why do I share? Well, as I write this, it is the last day of January, and I am guessing that many of you set intentions or took a moment at the end of 2023 to think about what you wanted to achieve this year, or the steps you wanted to take to improve your wellbeing. So, my questions to you are, how is it going? Are you building momentum or are you still waiting to start?
I ask those questions lovingly and share honestly that the intentions I set myself at the end of last year haven’t been going too well. I have been waiting for the conditions to miraculously change, or for it to feel right, when in life, the conditions will never be perfect. And the more we delay it, the harder it becomes. So, if like me, you are feeling that January hasn’t gone as well as you had planned, here are 3 steps that have helped me recently, and I share in the hope it may help you move forward too:
1. Take A Moment
Remind yourself, what do you want and WHY? It can be easy to think of the things we want, eg: lose some weight, feel more alert, start running, be in less pain… but often we forget to ask the ‘why’? Thinking about why you want to do something adds emotion and creates purpose. For example, if you want to be in less pain so you can enjoy time with your family, you will be more motivated to take action and stick at it as we move into February and beyond.
2. Don’t Wait!
When you have reminded yourself about what you want and why, take action now! For example; book onto the fitness class, reach out to your friend, call your chiropractor for some support with your back pain, go out for a walk, whatever it is, take action straight away. Just do it, and then do it again; make the call, click ‘book now’, step outside. Don’t let fear, or whatever it is that is keeping you static, hold you back.
3. Stay Mindful
This has been the biggest realisation for me. Being mindful about the words I use. The language we use, whether speaking to others, or our internal dialogue, matters. The ‘shoulds’, ‘I will do it when…’, ‘I can’t’, can hold us back. But what if we change our language to words like - ‘I am going to book onto the class’ (and then press book now), ‘I am strong’, ‘I am healing’, ‘I have called…’ etc. Each time we flip the words around and take action, it builds confidence and will create that momentum and change you desire.
We have eleven more months to go in 2024, so fear not, there is still time. If January has been hard and you feel in the same place that you were in December, don’t punish yourself. There is time to make a change if that is what you want, and I hope that the steps I shared will offer that reminder and support that we all need at times, to make a positive step forward.
You’ve got this. But please reach out if myself or the team can be of further help.
With love,
Sarah