I am not referring to the type that you eat, but rather a favorite analogy I use about making changes to your life. Have you realized that the year is already 1/4 started? How are your New Years commitments unfolding?
I have encountered many people recently who are ready to make changes in their life, yet feel overwhelmed by the distance between them and the outcome. It is important to have LONG TERM goals, which would be congruent to a DREAM. The short term goals are just as important though.
Picture an onion, with all its layers. When you identify the issue at hand and the new behavior you wish to acquire, this is like peeling off the outer layer, the protective layer that most people do not eat. That can often times seem like the hardest part, taking the first step, making the decision to take on the challenge of slicing the onion - which will might even appropriately bring you some tears of joy or pain of realization. This would be your first step out of denial and into contemplation of change! Congratulations!
As we all know, peeling that outer layer of skin, is actually one of the easiest parts, because now comes the tricky task of getting through the remaining layers, which for some people there are multiple.
Identify a behavior of your own, that you wish to change and match it with the behavior you would like to replace it with. Now rather than focusing on the old habit, write down small steps that can lead you to this new behavior. And only choose 1 for the week!!! That larger LONG TERM goal is on your mind, but not your main focus right now. It is simply your motivation to make the first SHORT TERM goal successful.
Example: I interrupt people too much, I talk too much.
New behavior: Being a better listener. (after all we were given 2 ears & 1 mouth!)
Action Plan!!!
First week: Clear your thoughts & opinions out of your mind when others are thinking. Focus on repeating small parts of what they say.
Second week: Focus on asking more questions then making statements.
Make a list of small skills such as these and then implement one each week or each day if you are a real go-getter! If you can’t think of a lot, rotate them through. Its going to take a week or so to start making this habit feel more natural and then a few more weeks before you don’t have to think about it anymore. From there, you can set yourself a new challenge, taking this skill to another level or you can choose something new. Good Luck! Let me know how it goes....
