Got Change?? 1.13.13

Howdy,

"Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore."  ~Andre Gide

I am a creature of habit.  When I go to a restaurant that I have been to before, I order what I ordered, if I liked it.  I will continue to get that same dish each time I return.  I like to pick out my clothes the night before… mainly because it saves time in the morning.  When you get up at 5am or 6am most days saving time is a priority.  However, even when I am up later in the morning I feel discombobulated if I haven't gotten my workout bag packed for the days sweat sessions.  I am also a creature, as we all are, who repeats things in her life… sometimes it feels like groundhogs year… not day, but year.  Same relationships, same ridiculousness in the relationships, same feeling of "Calgon, take me away!"  Sometimes I feel like I am on a hamster wheel.

When I was younger I moved quite a bit, which certainly helped shake things up.  Though wherever you go there you are, moving can jostle everything in such a way that it is easier to start new routines when everything else is new.  At the same time, if you aren't prepared for the stress of starting over, in a way, you will cling to what is familiar when you go somewhere that isn't.  Then of course there is the fact that moving isn't at all what most of us need to do, or frankly can do, when we are having a hard time changing course.  There are many things that will get you and your old ways to move onward and upward.

The bottom line is we like to be comfortable, even when that comfort is misery.  We enjoy the known because is feels safe.  Or at least we tell ourselves that.  There is less efforting in the known.  Then there is the awareness… we have to be aware of the patterns of our behavior before we can change and do it differently.  So before you can change anything you have to recognize that change is necessary.  The most important thing to remember is that you are the constant in your life.  What is happening in it is because of YOU, no one else.  So, if you aren't satisfied with how things are going, do things a little different and see what comes.

"By changing nothing, nothing changes." ~Tony Robbins

Not everything needs switching up.  But there are those things that just are exhausting to continue repeating.  I am sure you know what I mean.  You are just tired of being in the same place over and over and over… but maybe the thought of being somewhere else is scary.  If you know you have fear around the change acknowledge what it is.  I like to play the 'what if' game and continue to ask and answer that question until I run out of reasons that make any sense as to what will happen when I do something different.  Most often you end up with nothing dramatic happening except you aren't repeating a pattern.

"Even if you stumble, you're still moving forward."  ~Anon

Another way to push toward change is to do something that makes you uncomfortable.  If you are trying to spend less time driving you are going to have to start taking the bus or walking.  Both are guaranteed to make you uncomfortable in some way, if you haven't been doing it.  You will have to change your wake up routine, your leaving the house routine, your what to carry routine… so many things shifting will end up like a domino.  You cannot expect that all of those changes won't affect everything else in your world.  Maybe you want to change the way you eat.  Cooking at home is a great way to do so, hiring someone to assist with nutrition and menu planning, starting a rotating dinner club could work too.

Whatever the change necessary you will have to sit in a place of unknown and a bit of discomfort.  Doing something new means being a novice at it.  Not knowing what to expect, not having any cellular or muscle memory.  Accept that you won't be an expert at the new behavior and go for it.  Change is amazing and necessary for growth.  So shake it up if you aren't where you want to be.  You may be surprised at how amazing it is when you let go of what you know and go toward what you want.

"All great changes are preceded by chaos."  ~Deepak Chopra

xo

a