Originally posted on 13/08/2009
I'm sure you have heard that old saying – when all is said and done, a lot more is said than done! Whether you have one BIG DREAM goal or goals in every area of your life; in order to change and achieve those goals, you need to take action. And having taken action, then you need to take more action. Then see where that is taking you, and then take some more action!
This is exactly where the process of life change gets difficult for many people – the action stage and maintaining action. Thinking about change and talking about how you are going to change are necessary components, but the key is to move beyond thinking and talking to action! When I worked for an addictions agency, I was fascinated by the model underlying the addictions counseling. The organization used Prochaska and DiClemente’s Stages of Change Model. The stages progress from pre-contemplation, to contemplation, to preparation, to action, to maintenance. I think this applies to everyone when they are making changes in their life. The key is to be aware of the stages and to MOVE from one stage to the next!
What do you need to do? You need to know where you are at and take action to move to the next stage! Now that you know that, deciding which action to take can be difficult. If you have multiple goals and don’t know where to start, here are some great questions to ask yourself.
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Which of these things will have the most positive impact on my life in the long term?
Think about that in context with “how will I feel not having done …”? In other words
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“What do you want the most for the person you will be in 5 (or 10) years”?
Having decided what you want to work on … now what? The answer to that is simple but not easy. You need to decide what you can do this year, this month, and today to make that happen. And then each and every day, you need to decide what you can do that day to move you closer to your goal or goals. If you do just one thing each day, in a year, you will be 365 steps closer to achieving that goal. If you do 5 things each day you will be 1,825 steps closer to your goal!
Don't be a "gonna" - don't be the person that your friends stop listening to because you are all talk. Don't just say “I am gonna do this” and then nothing happens other than a lot of talk. Talk about change - definitely! But also take action. Action is what is going to change your life.
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