Are you settling for small change?
When we welcome a change, we call it variety and enjoy it.
When we resist a change, we call it tragedy and suffer pain.
Something just out of reach of your conscious mind is scratching at the surface of your life. It’s time for change. You know that some part of your life no longer fits – and you need to do something about that.
When it’s a small change, it’s not a big deal – and that’s often where we settle. We get a haircut or go shopping. We let off steam by talking to a friend. We alter our routine at work. Little changes make a small difference – and we’re happier for a while.
So what do you do when the voice inside of you loudly demands a big change? Do you listen? Often, we’re too afraid of the unknown to make the change or we don’t know what our next step should be.
Here are some unorthodox ideas for welcoming big change in your life:
1. Where will you be 10 years from now? If you are in a dead-end job, an unhappy relationship, or the wrong location for you, but you can’t muscle up the gumption to do anything about it, picture yourself there 10 years from now. Close your eyes and run the entire scenario through your mind until you feel you are really there. Is that the life you want? No? Then, start living.
2. Figure out your first step. Would you rather have a nicer location, more abundance, a happier relationship, a better career? It takes some big, powerful steps to get there, but you can only make the change one step at a time.
We tend to overwhelm ourselves by pondering the end goal rather than just taking the first step to get there. So break it down. What can you do today to get you one step closer to your happy life? As Gandhi said, “Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.” That first step toward your new life may not shake your world, but just as Gandhi through simple, small steps changed the world, so can you change yours. Just take that first step and watch the next step reveal itself.
3. Expect what you need to show up. Once we’ve made a commitment to a goal by taking action, our intent works like a magnet to attract the people, resources, and events we need to reach that goal. The next step will reveal itself, so expect to hear great ideas from people around you, watch for opportunities to arise, and be open to making changes greater than you anticipated – and in ways you never expected.
4. Accept the pace of change. When we set an intention, we don’t know exactly where the ripples will go. Opportunities can present themselves sooner than we thought they would, and they may challenge us to go somewhere we have never been. When the brass ring is presented, trust that it is coming your way for good reason – and grab it.
5. Be willing to learn by doing. When a new opportunity presents itself, even if you aren’t confident that you can meet it, do so anyway. Too often, we play it safe, only walking into what we already know. Adopt the attitude that the opportunity has arisen to call out the potential that already resides within you.
6. Are you scared? Rejoice. If you’re scared to take the next step, you may be looking at significant change in your world. Way to go! Acknowledge your fear, but change anyway. When you get on the other side of that doorway, you’ll wonder why you didn’t act sooner. If you’re life is very safe, and you’re not enjoying it, then it’s time to take some risks. You are not here simply to take your preciously preserved body gently to its grave. You are in life to enjoy this rollercoaster ride, so let it shake you up a bit – or a lot! It’s so much more fun that way.
7. Learn to love the unknown. In the information age, we’ve come to expect that answers we need will be just a keystroke away, but making big changes usually means walking into the irrational unknown. We can educate ourselves only so far into our process, and then the rest is up to wherever our path leads us.
For example, I became a yoga teacher without any conscious intent. Walking by a yoga studio one day, I clearly got a message from my inner guidance that I was to go in and say that I wanted to work there. My conscious mind thought, “Okay, I could work at the front desk, supplementing my income and getting free yoga classes.”
However, my inner guidance had other ideas. The owner of the studio hired me to work at the front desk on the spot, but with the proviso that I was to train immediately to become a yoga teacher. It turned out to be a natural fit for me, but not one that I had consciously considered.
Had I known that I would be asked to teach yoga, I probably would have been too overwhelmed to walk into that studio. I would have missed out on a very beautiful component of my life, simply because of my own resistance to stepping into something entirely new.
Since we do meet new challenges with resistance, our inner guidance will only give us information on a need-to-know basis, not revealing the end result, but just nudging us step by step in the right direction. Be willing to act on the inner nudgings you receive, even if they don’t make logical sense to you at the moment.
8. Trust your intuition. Often, people know instinctively what they need to do, but they balk at heeding the messages from within, because they would have to let go of security and step out of their norm. Accept responsibility for your inner knowing and take the action you know you need to take, accepting that you may encounter major challenges on the way. If you need to leave a relationship or a career that despite your efforts isn’t working, delaying your departure won’t make things any easier.
9. Accept fallout. With positive change often comes a period of loss and disorientation while the ego mind finds a new footing. Be gentle with yourself during this time. Surround yourself with supportive people. Take time to be alone when necessary to feel your way through the changes. Accept that fear about the outcome of your choices is not uncommon when you’ve taken a step outside of your usual paradigm.
10. Look around. Making a big change in your life alters your vibration. Expect to interact with people you’ve never met before. Recognize that opportunities will arise, and that you could be drawn even further into the mystery that is this new paradigm. See each interaction as an invitation into a new and exciting life.
11. Address resistance. It may take time to adjust to big change. Old patterns can emerge that don’t fit your new circumstances. Their modus operandi is to pull you back to your previous life. When you find yourself wanting to slip into that comfort zone, sit with the resistance instead of acting on it. It may burn through you like fire, but eventually, the pull backward will weaken, and you’ll have more energy to embrace your new situation.
12. Feel the emotions of change.
Whenever we are called upon to make a major change, we start to experience strong emotions. This is a sign that an internal shift is taking place. Change must come from within before we can generate a better world outside of ourselves. If you make a leap forward without allowing yourself to feel how this is affecting you, then you are likely to recreate the same problems you thought you left behind.
From the time that you contemplate making a major shift in your life, throughout the process itself, and as you adjust to your new situation, there will be emotion. Think of these feelings as energy in motion. Everything within is being rearranged to suit your new paradigm.
You will be tempted to withdraw into old comfortable patterns, and to shut down these powerful feelings. Instead, welcome them. They are entirely necessary to the process of change. The longer you can sit with the sensations instead of acting outwardly to relieve them, the deeper the shift into your new paradigm.
Not sure how to do this? Join me for an intuitive counselling or PSYCH-K session so you can transform thought patterns that resist change, and directly experience the guidance within, which has been working to steer you toward positive change your entire life.
Great advice!
Thank you. I enjoy your blog. Please keep the inspiring words and creative expression coming.
Hi Bonita:
Interesting thatI’m reading this today, because I went through a change in perspective a few weeks ago. It wasn’t something I decided to do. The change was foisted upon me. But I’m grateful that I accepted the circumstances after taking some time to reflect. I understand that my own interpretation of God always has me best interest at heart and all change is simply a step to a better place. I enthusiastically embrace what’s around the corner.
–
Chris