This post originally appeared here in Change Your Mind Change Your Life.
You Are The Only Person Who Can Decide What You Want For Yourself
I think now, more than ever, we must believe we can improve and grow.
No matter which stage you are in your life right now, there is always a possibility for you to become better tomorrow.
Change is healthy. Change is good. But wanting change alone just isn’t enough.
It requires that you commit to a decision.
If I throw a random question to you and ask which areas in your life you want to see change, bet I’ll get more response than I could handle. Whether it’s about improving relationships, health issues, starting a new business or hobby, it only boils down to one simple action.
You have to decide.
Decide on what? Decide that you really want the change. That’s it.
That’s the first crucial step you have to make. Without that, there’s no point getting down to the nitty-gritty. Then follows a no-nonsense commitment to change. No more excuses. No BS. No more what-ifs. Sure, it won’t be easy, but you’re committed to the goal. Because you’ve decided.
This is one of the truths of the universe, and you heard it first from here: whatever we decide we want to do is what we do.
— Morgan Freeman
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Photo by Francesco Ungaro from Pexels
The Liberating Power Of Decision Making
So many people want change. But instead of taking matter into their own hands, they’d rather leave the deciding factor of what’s right for them into the hands of another, their spouse, their boss or the system. The reason they’d rather relinquish control is usually out of the fear of being wrong.
If this continues long enough, you may wake up one day to realize you’re not living your own life. Even though the people in your life may not be telling you what to do, you might still go out of your way to please them to avoid disapproval.
That’s why decision is power. It is liberating. Half of the battle is won just by you making that decision to change. The second half of the journey requires you to follow through with the first move.
If you’re half-hearted about making the change deep down, it won’t be very long before you come up with the first excuse why it can’t happen. Of course you can launch, but it won’t carry you to the finish line.
You want financial freedom? Decide first. You want better relationships? Decide. Better state of health? Decide. You are what you believe yourself to be. When you decide, you believe that it is possible even though you don’t know how it’s going to work out.
It is better to find your courage to make changes when you can choose to rather than being forced to. If you do not make change, change will make you.
— Roy T. Bennett
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Photo by Francesco Ungaro from Pexels
There's No Place For Fear In You
Fear of change keeps us in undesirable situations. Even though you want to be the master of your own destiny, chances are you’ll be willing to settle for less than you deserve because of fear.
If you continue to take action despite limitations or fears of the unknown, it brings you closer to who you are on the inside. Ultimately, you’re the only one who has the power to alter your destiny and shape your life into the one you love.
Anything worth having will involve effort, pain and difficulty. Most people desire the reward, but few are willing to make the necessary investment to secure it. You have to mentally expect that difficulty will come. There’s no way around it.
Sometimes it will suck. There are days you’ll have to go to bed feeling sick in your stomach. The next day you will wake up and find that Life continues. You’re given one more chance to go at it. The difference is you’re now a tad stronger than you were yesterday. You’ve survived and that will build your confidence.
Decisions with the most impact are those that come from your heart. You must let your heart decide. And this is where we often stumble. Our brains are so trained to step in, sabotaging our process. It is wired to resist the things we want. It makes us doubt and feel we are not good enough.
Original Photo by YURI MANEI from Pexels
When you sense the feeling in your heart, don’t rationalize in your head. Rationalizing will trip you up in a hurry. They won’t go away though, they often become more covert.
Ignore those voices in your head and just focus on your plan. The greatest challenge for you would be to embrace whatever limitations that are in your mind and still go ahead and do it, anyway.
The ability to feel grounded is important. When you are grounded, you feel connected to yourself and your emotions. You are operating from the heart. It shows that you’re taking your feelings seriously. You believe in yourself.
All Limitations Are Self Imposed
It can be hard because going beyond limitations requires that you stretch yourself internally. All the limitations exist only in your body and your mind. They are the ones that give up in the first place. That’s why you have to be sure that what you want is coming from your heart and not just your head. And then be willing to follow the promptings.
Every obstacle you face shows what your current boundaries are. You will be able to achieve much more if you dare to challenge those boundaries. By changing your perspective and seeing failure as a learning experience, it becomes easier to handle.
Life just goes on. Do you still believe that the surrounding people are spending a lot of time thinking about what you say or do? I’m sorry but you’re not the center of the universe, neither am I.
Don’t wait until a problem becomes pretty much unbearable before you take action. See your future self vividly in your mind. Where are you going with this problem 5 to 10 years from now?
This is your life, it’s your responsibility how you live it. It’s never too late to change and be who you want to be.
Decide.
Find a way or find an excuse, the choice is yours.
