So you've been thinking, contemplating, ideating, saying you're going to make that one little change or that huge leap, but it's just noise in your head.
You haven't quite had the motivation yet, but you're certain it's what you want to do. What's stopping you? Is it fear? Are you over analyzing it?
Are you going to have to give up something in your comfort zone that you're not prepared to do without, or are you simply too content in your comfort zone? All of these are legitimate reasons for not moving beyond your current state.
Now it's time to consider the rewards and upside to pursuing your dreams... and BE SPECIFIC about what you can do to accomplish your goals.
If this a career related reinvention, consider if it's the financial aspect, the work, the people, or the security you seek... what is holding you back from making that move?
If it's trying to take on a new health and fitness regimen, is it starting a new exercise routine that will interfere with your current schedule? Is it a diet that requires giving up certain foods you love? Are you just not clear about what diet or exercise program is going to get you the results most efficiently?
Are you interested in taking up a new hobby but just haven't figured out what it is? How do you tap into those passions and identify what is truly for you?
It's human nature to have uncertainties get in our way and inhibit us from evolving. But reinventing yourself is completely reinvigorating and nurtures your soul.
BE SPECIFIC in the course you set. If you have any hope of accomplishing your goals, you really have to detail what you're setting out to do and what steps you need to take to get there.
For example: You want to reinvent a piece of your life that will make you feel healthier and more in control of how you feel every day. You know you're not getting any younger, so anything you can do to improve your health is a win-win. So this is your goal.
Now, write down the things that you can do EVERY day to improve your health -- starting with the easy things to add to your life. BE SPECIFIC. It may be something like this:
1. Start taking vitamins -- research and decide which ones
a. Go to the health food store, talk to the vitamin person and ask what's best for you, your age and health conditions. Don't forget to mention any other things you're taking. Check with your doctor.
b. Put them in your bathroom or on your desk -- somewhere you won't forget to take them everyday.
c. If you have to, put a daily reminder on your calendar till it becomes a habit.
2. Add something new to your exercise regimen... or start one. If you haven't been doing much, start with something attainable that you can do without a lot of cost or excuses. BE SPECIFIC:
a. Load up your iPod with music that you love and that moves you.
b. Commit to taking a walk three times a week (at minimum) or establish a new power work-out that is a step up from what you've been doing. Perhaps check out a new dance fitness class -- Zumba is all the rage right now. Give it a shot -- it's a blast!
c. Put your walking or workout dates and times on your calendar -- make an appointment with yourself.
d. Within a few weeks, add another level of activity -- i.e. 50-100 sit ups four times a week.
Based on your fitness level and existing activities, you should make your own ambitious but attainable goals. Be realistic so you can achieve them and pat yourself on the back. The more you do this, the more motivated you will be to do more.
3. Food... stop eating "something" today -- right now, pick one thing you won't eat for the next three days -- bread, pasta, sugar -- you pick. What is the one thing you need to cut out? BE SPECIFIC and stick to it. It's not forever, just a few days. When the mental and physical rewards show up, you'll be more interested in doing it for longer.
4. Water -- commit to drinking at least eight tall glasses of water a day.
a. Set the times you will drink them, don't just leave it to a general commitment or you will get to the end of a day and realize you suddenly have to drink five glasses before bed!!!
b. Carry a bottle of water around with you -- it's your new best friend!
You deserve to pay attention to yourself and a little "project me" is a great reinvention project. If you feel good about yourself and what you can do for yourself, everything else you want to tackle will feel surmountable.
Now you can take this level of specificity and apply it to anything -- picking up a new hobby that nurtures your soul, switching careers, redecorating your home, rejoining the work force, making a spiritual Reinvention...
Just BE SPECIFIC and give yourself the long term and short term road map -- with that tool in hand, you will know how to get there, and you will!
Some great quotes to be inspired by:
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit."
- Aristotle
"If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else."
Yogi Berra
"Nothing will work unless you do."
- John Wooden
"Don't be intimidated by what you don't know. That can be your greatest strength and ensure that you do things differently from everyone else."
- Sara Blakely
Reinventing your life can be exhilarating, rewarding and fun. Pick your fun and go for it!
Share your stories with us - we all learn so much from others. Visit us at www.TheReinventionExchange.com
Enjoy and Happy Reinventing!
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