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Believe. . . Once you have that image of yourself in your mind,
believe that you can become that person, make those changes
in yourself and the world. Believe in your own potential to
make things happen and create change.
Become. . . Spend time reflecting on the attitudes and
behaviors you will need to become the person you imagine
and believe you can become, then take action. Read books,
take classes, join organizations that will help you grow,
that will teach you what you need to learn. Take action to
implement the changes you desire. Become excited about the
changes you want to make happen in your life. Tell family
and friends (don't forget me!) what you want to accomplish.
Invest in yourself and your loved ones by becoming the
person you always wanted to be. The real you is probably
waiting, just below the surface for the chance to show the
world what you can do.
You may find, however, that some aspects of yourself that
you'd like to explore are not appropriate for this stage in
your life. The decisions you've already made in your life,
the responsibilities you've already accepted, impact your
choices. Young children at home might keep you from
spending three months hiking the Appalachian Trail. Credit
card debt, car payments, and other financial
responsibilities might keep you from quitting your job to
write the great American novel. Commitments to family and
community might keep you from taking that seemingly perfect
job that would require you to move 2,000 miles away.
But you can begin planning and preparing to achieve these
things in the future. Hiking mountain trails that require a
weekend away from home will help you prepare for the
ultimate goal while keeping you close to your children.
Take shorter hikes with your children. Perhaps your child
will be your hiking partner one day! Concentrate on paying
off credit card debt. Pay more than the minimum amount
required. Make changes in your lifestyle that will allow
you to put money into savings to cover expenses if you
eventually decide to take time off from work. These changes
may even allow you to build writing time into your
schedule. Get started on that novel today! And finally,
appreciate the benefits of living close to family and
friends. Keep your eyes and ears open for local
opportunities that can provide the same experience and
training as the job that required relocation. Don't
restrict yourself to workplace activities.
Don't fret over the amount of time it might take you to
incorporate change in your life. Keep working for change
one day at a time. In three months, six months, two years,
you will look back at the person you were in these early
days of 2002 and you will realize that you've changed.
Others will recognize the changes you've made in your life
and will ask you how you got it all together.
The answer is simple: You imagined. You believed. You
became.
~~~
Application:
Step 1: Imagine
Spend a few minutes over the next week thinking about the
person you are and the person you would like to be. Imagine
your possibilities. If there were no obstacles in your
path, what roads would you travel? If you could accomplish
anything, what would it be? Write a description of this
person and tuck it in your wallet, your sock drawer, or the
cookie jar. Put it someplace where you will find it and
remember it on a regular basis. Imagine who you want to be
and what you want to do.
Step 2: Believe
What do you believe about your abilities, your attitudes,
yourself? Do you ever want to try something new? Do you
move beyond your comfort zone into a world that is
unfamiliar and perhaps frightening? Why not? Do you want
to? Do you believe you have control over everything or
nothing?
If you don't believe you can become the person you
imagined, ask yourself "Why?" Do you feel unworthy? Do you
believe you are locked into a path of existence that can't
be altered? Do you believe you can't you create the change
necessary to reach your goals?
If you have a hard time with this step, don't give up.
Sometimes the believing comes after the becoming. Sometimes
we need to accomplish our goals before we truly believe
that we can do it. But after several successes, we begin to
believe in our abilities, our purpose and ourselves. We
begin to take chances, we learn the value of failure and
keep trying. We learn what works and what doesn't work.
We learn that not everything is within our control and we
accept it or work to change it.
Step 3: Become
This is the action step. This is what you do to create
change in your life. Do you need to read books, take
classes, join an organization, change your lifestyle, work
smarter, put in your time? Talk to people who've
accomplished what you want to accomplish. Ask them for
guidance. Listen to their advice. Determine what is good
advice and bad advice. Act on the good advice. Learn from
your mistakes, but don't give up on the goal. Don't stop
believing in yourself.
~~~
Copyright 2002 by Donna Doyon. All rights reserved. You are free to
use material from the A Swan's Song eZine in whole or in part,
as long as you include complete attribution, including live web
site link. Please also notify me where the material will appear.
The attribution should read:
"By Donna Doyon. Please visit Donna's
web site at http://www.donnadoyon.com for additional stories and articles on improving relationships with yourself, your family and the other people in your world."
"Carefree Woman" artwork by Ann Boyajian
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