If you are just joining us now, below are links to the first and second parts of this series. Enjoy!
The Motivation Files, Part I
The Motivation Files, Part II
For those of you who have kept up with my weekly posts so far, and completed the 8 steps, great job! You are working towards using your time to do what you love! What an exciting time!
For those of you just starting to read my blog posts, here are links to the first and second parts of The Motivation Files. Try to take a week to complete each one. In my experience, you will need the time to think deeply to give yourself the best tools to motivate yourself. Some of you will have been looking for something like this for a while, and will successfully complete all the steps in one sitting. Great! Others will take far more time than a week to complete each step, let alone the steps outlined in each post. Great! Some of you will read all three posts, and complete part of it as your new year's resolutions for the next five years. Great! Or anything in between... Great! And thank you for reading...
As always, if you have any questions on any of the steps, or you would like a blog post devoted to something specific that did not make sense, please, please, please comment below! I'd love to hear feedback about anything and everything related to these posts. Paying it forward doesn't help if you aren't listening to what people want or are speaking in a manner they don't understand. So, help me help you! Speak up!
As I mentioned last week, this week's post is about letting go and being ready to make the positive changes happen. Ready? Here we go!
This is the post about actually making changes in your life. In the last two weeks, you have obtained the knowledge about what is required to have more time doing your favorite thing(s). Today, I'm going to talk about how to make the changes to make it happen.
Depending on your own personal beliefs on change, this could be exciting, intimidating, terrifying, anxiety-ridden, or any other adjective you associate with change. Change can be extremely hard for many people. Like all of our negative reinforcement to do things in our culture, we associate change with bad. This time, the change can't be bad: you chose it. It is change to make your life into the life you want. If it doesn't work, go back to weeks one and two, reassess, and try again. There is no failure here, just trial, trial, trial, ad infinitum and then finally, success. Woohoo! Yeah! Go team!
However, if you are not ready to make the changes, don't.
And now you're thinking: What the hell, Crimson? You have been so positive up until this point. What do you mean don't make the changes if you're not ready? I want to improve my life! I'm just also having a major panic attack over change. But I'm so ready!
Exactly. If you are having a panic attack right now, you're not ready. Close this window, and go take care of yourself, please. If the idea of changing anything in your life fills you with dread, it's simple: you're not ready. And I am the first to tell you: that's okay. It's not procrastination. It's not laziness. It's not that you're a wimp, and those ready to make the change today are stronger and better than you. That's all just bullshit we tell ourselves to hold us back even further, and become paralyzed.
It's far more simple: you're not ready, and that's okay.
You might ready be tomorrow.
You might ready be next week.
You might ready be next month.
You might ready be next year.
And whenever you're ready, that's great! It is, at that time, the right time, to change your life, for the better! Woohoo! Yeah! Go Team!
I don't know what you are going through right now. I'm not in your head. I'm not in your body. I haven't been through what you have gone through to shape you into who you are. I don't know. There are always reasons why we're not ready to change, and they are always valid. Life doesn't come with a manual. We learn as we go. Sometimes life is really hard, and we need to heal before we can move and change.
And that's okay. I repeat myself, that's okay. Take the time to heal. You will be a healthier, happier, stronger, more defined you for it.
How will you know when you are ready to make the change? A few observations from my own experience:
1. You've already let go of what is unimportant and doesn't matter in you mind, so letting it go in real life is a breath of fresh air, and freeing, not scary.
2. You're not scared, anxious, worried, having doubts, anymore.
3. You already talk in past tense about things you haven't yet let go, but really want to.
4. You talk in present tense about things you want to do.
5. You excitedly tell family and friends where you're headed.
6. You start making goals for what you want to do while doing your favorite thing.
7. You wake up in the morning, with more energy than you used to have. (I realize there is a spectrum on this, and some people will never be morning people, or morning will be after noon. However, you have more energy. Period.)
The best part of letting go of the things in your life that don't fit when you're ready: It's easy. It's freeing. It feels great.
Now, you're asking me: What if some of the things I want to let go are complicated? What if I own a company and I don't want to anymore? What if I no longer want to spend all of my time raising my children (or something equally huge, responsibility wise)? What if I don't know where to start?
First, when you're ready, everything will fall into place for whatever you want to let go to drop away.
Second, if what you want to let go is a huge responsibility, make sure it falls into the hands of someone who is capable, qualified, and that is their favorite thing to do. Then, you will feel happier about it, and it will no longer be your responsibility. Win win. There is always someone who will have the dream of doing what you really don't want to do.
Case in point: I don't want to teach children piano lessons anymore, but there are thousands, if not more, highly qualified piano teachers out there who love what they do, and that is their favorite thing to do. When I quit teaching at the school I was working for, I made certain the school had time to locate one of these fine people to fill my absence. You can do the same. It just needs to be the right time.
Third, if you are consciously, positively thinking about the opportunity you most desire, frequently, even though you have no idea how to get there, it will come to you. The people, situation and/or opportunity will appear in your life, when you are ready to accept it. Don't believe me? I didn't believe such things a few years ago, but here I am with a roof over my head, food in the fridge, and I am currently "at work" working on my blog in the comfort of my living room. I also have people in my life who love me for who I am, something I never thought would be possible. What did I do to achieve this? I thought about my dreams every day. I looked for direction in the slightest of signs. I prayed. And suddenly, the situation appears where you have the ability to start to let go, as impossible as it may seem before the situation actually occurs.
So, have a little faith in yourself. Have faith in your ability to make your dreams come true. You don't need much at first; just enough to keep working towards your dreams a little bit every day. It doesn't have to be in a benevolent universe, an omnipotent God, or anything supernatural, but it can be, if that helps. Believe in you. The rest will follow.
The steps for this week, for those who are ready:
Make adjustments as needed. Tell your family and friends what you intend to do so they can help keep you motivated, in addition to the self-motivation you have built by knowing what your favorite thing is, and why you are doing this.
You are one step closer to having the life you want, doing your favorite things.
This concludes The Motivation Files. Next week's post will be about Goal Setting, and remaining motivated once you have cut out the time to do your favorite thing(s).
See you next week!
The Motivation Files, Part I
The Motivation Files, Part II
For those of you who have kept up with my weekly posts so far, and completed the 8 steps, great job! You are working towards using your time to do what you love! What an exciting time!
For those of you just starting to read my blog posts, here are links to the first and second parts of The Motivation Files. Try to take a week to complete each one. In my experience, you will need the time to think deeply to give yourself the best tools to motivate yourself. Some of you will have been looking for something like this for a while, and will successfully complete all the steps in one sitting. Great! Others will take far more time than a week to complete each step, let alone the steps outlined in each post. Great! Some of you will read all three posts, and complete part of it as your new year's resolutions for the next five years. Great! Or anything in between... Great! And thank you for reading...
As always, if you have any questions on any of the steps, or you would like a blog post devoted to something specific that did not make sense, please, please, please comment below! I'd love to hear feedback about anything and everything related to these posts. Paying it forward doesn't help if you aren't listening to what people want or are speaking in a manner they don't understand. So, help me help you! Speak up!
As I mentioned last week, this week's post is about letting go and being ready to make the positive changes happen. Ready? Here we go!
This is the post about actually making changes in your life. In the last two weeks, you have obtained the knowledge about what is required to have more time doing your favorite thing(s). Today, I'm going to talk about how to make the changes to make it happen.
Depending on your own personal beliefs on change, this could be exciting, intimidating, terrifying, anxiety-ridden, or any other adjective you associate with change. Change can be extremely hard for many people. Like all of our negative reinforcement to do things in our culture, we associate change with bad. This time, the change can't be bad: you chose it. It is change to make your life into the life you want. If it doesn't work, go back to weeks one and two, reassess, and try again. There is no failure here, just trial, trial, trial, ad infinitum and then finally, success. Woohoo! Yeah! Go team!
However, if you are not ready to make the changes, don't.
And now you're thinking: What the hell, Crimson? You have been so positive up until this point. What do you mean don't make the changes if you're not ready? I want to improve my life! I'm just also having a major panic attack over change. But I'm so ready!
Exactly. If you are having a panic attack right now, you're not ready. Close this window, and go take care of yourself, please. If the idea of changing anything in your life fills you with dread, it's simple: you're not ready. And I am the first to tell you: that's okay. It's not procrastination. It's not laziness. It's not that you're a wimp, and those ready to make the change today are stronger and better than you. That's all just bullshit we tell ourselves to hold us back even further, and become paralyzed.
It's far more simple: you're not ready, and that's okay.
You might ready be tomorrow.
You might ready be next week.
You might ready be next month.
You might ready be next year.
And whenever you're ready, that's great! It is, at that time, the right time, to change your life, for the better! Woohoo! Yeah! Go Team!
I don't know what you are going through right now. I'm not in your head. I'm not in your body. I haven't been through what you have gone through to shape you into who you are. I don't know. There are always reasons why we're not ready to change, and they are always valid. Life doesn't come with a manual. We learn as we go. Sometimes life is really hard, and we need to heal before we can move and change.
And that's okay. I repeat myself, that's okay. Take the time to heal. You will be a healthier, happier, stronger, more defined you for it.
How will you know when you are ready to make the change? A few observations from my own experience:
1. You've already let go of what is unimportant and doesn't matter in you mind, so letting it go in real life is a breath of fresh air, and freeing, not scary.
2. You're not scared, anxious, worried, having doubts, anymore.
3. You already talk in past tense about things you haven't yet let go, but really want to.
4. You talk in present tense about things you want to do.
5. You excitedly tell family and friends where you're headed.
6. You start making goals for what you want to do while doing your favorite thing.
7. You wake up in the morning, with more energy than you used to have. (I realize there is a spectrum on this, and some people will never be morning people, or morning will be after noon. However, you have more energy. Period.)
The best part of letting go of the things in your life that don't fit when you're ready: It's easy. It's freeing. It feels great.
Now, you're asking me: What if some of the things I want to let go are complicated? What if I own a company and I don't want to anymore? What if I no longer want to spend all of my time raising my children (or something equally huge, responsibility wise)? What if I don't know where to start?
First, when you're ready, everything will fall into place for whatever you want to let go to drop away.
Second, if what you want to let go is a huge responsibility, make sure it falls into the hands of someone who is capable, qualified, and that is their favorite thing to do. Then, you will feel happier about it, and it will no longer be your responsibility. Win win. There is always someone who will have the dream of doing what you really don't want to do.
Case in point: I don't want to teach children piano lessons anymore, but there are thousands, if not more, highly qualified piano teachers out there who love what they do, and that is their favorite thing to do. When I quit teaching at the school I was working for, I made certain the school had time to locate one of these fine people to fill my absence. You can do the same. It just needs to be the right time.
Third, if you are consciously, positively thinking about the opportunity you most desire, frequently, even though you have no idea how to get there, it will come to you. The people, situation and/or opportunity will appear in your life, when you are ready to accept it. Don't believe me? I didn't believe such things a few years ago, but here I am with a roof over my head, food in the fridge, and I am currently "at work" working on my blog in the comfort of my living room. I also have people in my life who love me for who I am, something I never thought would be possible. What did I do to achieve this? I thought about my dreams every day. I looked for direction in the slightest of signs. I prayed. And suddenly, the situation appears where you have the ability to start to let go, as impossible as it may seem before the situation actually occurs.
So, have a little faith in yourself. Have faith in your ability to make your dreams come true. You don't need much at first; just enough to keep working towards your dreams a little bit every day. It doesn't have to be in a benevolent universe, an omnipotent God, or anything supernatural, but it can be, if that helps. Believe in you. The rest will follow.
The steps for this week, for those who are ready:
Step 1: Make a list of the things you wish to let go.
Step 2: Decide that you are indeed ready to let go each of the items on the list.
If you're not, cross off the item, and reassess in three months to a year.
Step 3: Make a schedule and flexible plan of attack for how you are going to responsibly and happily let each item go.
Step 4: Follow your plan.
Make adjustments as needed. Tell your family and friends what you intend to do so they can help keep you motivated, in addition to the self-motivation you have built by knowing what your favorite thing is, and why you are doing this.
Step 5: Congratulate yourself.
You are one step closer to having the life you want, doing your favorite things.
This concludes The Motivation Files. Next week's post will be about Goal Setting, and remaining motivated once you have cut out the time to do your favorite thing(s).
See you next week!
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