Look anywhere on social media today and people are sharing that they are thankful. It is good to be thankful, it moves you into your higher self and taps into the most authentic part of you. Gratitude is an inherent quality in each of us and when expressed allows us to be open and make deeper connections. But, this is not an article about gratitude.
Being grateful is certainly a great state to be in and life is precious so why not be grateful for it? We need to be thankful for each moment we have. Let’s be thankful today and every day. Let’s share our gratitude with everyone we cross paths with and those we love dearly. Let us also be thankful for today and embrace the opportunity to grow by making a commitment to one small doable change in your life and relationships.
That is right, I said commit to one small doable change today.
What are you dissatisfied with in your life right now? Where in your life or relationships does their need to be a change? Pick one thing today that you will commit to changing for the next 39 days. At the end of the year, you will have much more to celebrate.
Imagine starting a New Year with already having made changes. Get things going today! There is no better time than the present.
You might be saying to yourself, “I will wait until after the holidays because….”
But, why not today?
There can be a million excuses why not to do something, so ask yourself why you want this change? Imagine life with this change? Imagine the feeling it would bring to you and your relationships? Who will benefit? How will this change other parts of your life? What will be the ripple effect of you making this change?
Now plan what you are going to do? What action can you take today to begin making that change? Remember, a small doable change is all you need to make. The important thing is that you start taking action now. You may have been holding yourself back in a number of ways, but today you are thankful to be here and for the love around you, for the opportunities you will take advantage of and for the ability to make that choice for yourself.
Here is what you can do to start moving forward:
1. Identify what it is that you want to change. Maybe you have been wanting to have regular date nights with your spouse, lose weight, limit screen time with the kids, eat healthier, learn a new language, or build compassion in your response to others.
2. Visualize yourself there. Put yourself out in the future having made this change and really connect to what it would be like including the feelings, relationships, and all the benefits.
3. Pick one doable action you can begin to take today. Make it something you know you can do even with a push. You want to feel hopeful about taking this step.
4. Take action and do what you say you are going to do. It will help if you ask someone to hold you accountable.
5. Celebrate every success you have. You may think it is not a big deal to have responded to your kids with compassion or have lost 5lbs, but these successes need to be celebrated.
6. Check-in and review. Take time after a couple weeks to check-in with yourself and/or the person that is holding you accountable. Review your accomplishments and consider if you need to adjust what you are doing, add something, or learn something new to sustain this change.
7. Repeat this process.