As we enter a new year, I think of the changes in life.


Life changes. No matter how much we may want things to remain the same, life is like a moving current that is in constant motion and thus in constant change.

• How do we face changes?
• How do we move through life gracefully or successfully?
• What are the secrets of change?
• Why do some people plummet into a depression when change comes and others rally to the cry of change conquering its challenges?

In my previous life, I experienced people walking through life changes. One of these times was as a Social Worker at a retirement life-care community for 8-1/2 years. Another time was for 10 years as a personal health coach helping people face the healthy lifestyle changes they needed to make. I helped them move past denial, identify goals, and create action plans to reach those goals. Now in my current life, I face change constantly as an expat. So, I can say that I am no stranger to CHANGE!
I have learned to face CHANGE and move with the currents of the river of change as it flows through my life. One thing that is certain, it normally starts with being uncomfortable. Habits, routines, comfort zones, and the like are not things to be easily dismissed and overlooked in someone’s life.  I like Mark Twain’s quote:

                    “Habit is habit, and not to be flung out of the window by any man,
                                     but coaxed down-stairs one step at a time.”

Many times, in working with people to quit the tobacco habit or to quit the emotional eating habit, I have seen the wisdom and the magic of “one step at a time” thinking. It has amazed me how reducing one cigarette a day can lead to a full quit a few months down the road for some people. This has happened even when the tobacco habit has chained them for 30 plus years!

So, what change is facing you in 2018? What habit, routine, comfort level, fear, etc. has held you in its grips for too long? First, realize there are no magic pills, no quick-change tricks, etc. that can produce a lasting change in life. There are thoughts, decisions, and action steps of work that can build a change in your life as you apply principles of change.

Where to start?
Here are some thoughts from one person facing the challenges of change to another person facing the same…

1.  Stop being the Ostrich. Lift up your head and face the world. Be willing to see the truth.
2.  Self-Awareness is a skill. Start developing it. Ask yourself some questions that you have avoided.

•     What do I like about this?
•     What do I not like about this?
•     What do I fear about change?
•     What will I lose when I change this?
•     What will I gain by changing?

3.  STOP looking back…no car can move forward when it is in reverse. Learn to say “goodbye” and let go.
      Your future is ahead of you and not behind you. Sentiment can become a slippery slope…be cautious.
4.  Create a vision (the big picture) for what you want. Write it. Draw it. Talk it. Find a Vision Partner to
      share it with and find encouragement from. Make sure they fuel and help fine tune the vision versus
      stomping out the fire of the vision.
5.  Use the SMART goal format to start taking the small steps toward your Big Picture Goal or Vision.

Here are some slides of our 2017 with all its changes. And more change will come in 2018 for us. (Click Read More)