99% of who we’ve become by the time we’re 35 years old sits in the subconscious part of our brain and controls all of our actions.
This is why making real change can be so hard! Science has shown that it takes 21 days to create a new habit. Yet to make a permanent change, it takes 40. Skip a day in those 40 and you must begin again at day one! Ouch.
Because our brain looks for information around us to support preexisting beliefs; it’s incredibly difficult to break our ways of thinking. Yet; it’s possible. Sadly, most people wait for crisis to make a change. I look around myself and see people losing jobs, homes, marriages, relationships, health and their lives as they’ve always known it. I’ve always disliked the saying “the only constant is change”; it made me slightly nervous deep in my center, because i knew it was true. As a control freak, I want to plan my changes, be ready for them and prepare. LOL!
Three years ago, my life blew up on all levels. I won’t go into the gory details but I will say that I lost a significant love relationship, two pets that were like children to me and, in my life for 16 and 17 years, my health, my job, and because I was sued in a very unscrupulous manner, everything I had in my life savings. I was left with the .40 cents I had in my shorts pocket the day I checked my ATM to discover I had nothing left. My life savings were wiped out. I also had to declare bankruptcy even though my personal debt totaled less than 700$ due to the lawsuit. I lost a bit more personally, but it’s too painful to speak of publicly. Trust me, I hit rock bottom.
On every level, I was devastated. I remember waking up each morning and trying to decide which subject to worry about; my money, my home, my health or mourn the loss of my relationship and pets. I was suddenly; after years of making incredible money albeit at a career i hated; dirt poor.
I was in such incredible shame that most people around me didn’t know the truth. I chose 3 or 4 good friends to trust with my sorrow and put on a happy face for the rest of the world.
So; I write this because I’m going to spend the next few weeks speaking from experience on how to turn your life around. Whether it’s financial loss, health issues or a matter of the heart; the sun does comes up tomorrow. This entire website is about making small changes that affect your life in big ways. Small steps, small ways of thinking, small gestures….it all adds up to make your life the rich colorful experience you hope it to be.
I stand now in abundance, health and happiness. Best of all, it didn’t take me all of these 3 years to turn it all around.
Some things I share will seem superficial and silly. Other things will seem unrelated to the issue at hand. But so many of you have contacted me with problems you’re encountering that I thought it was time to share what I’ve learned. Take what works, pass on the rest.
What’s most important to know is that this is happening for you and not to you. Years from now as you look back on this time, you’ll see this is true. If you think back on old relationships that ended; today you’re probably clear that it was for the best. Old promotions you didn’t get or jobs you lost did lead to better jobs, better careers. Sad losses led to new doors opening and most of all; tough times led to knowledge and strength that in retrospect, led you to a new place of power.
xo
Image Courtesy of D. Sharon Pruitt on Flickr Creative Commons.
Thanks…I’m looking forward to this. I have found that change isn’t all that scary, or at least as scary as my brain has cooked it up to be. I was at my lowest (or what was perceived as my lowest by said brain) and have been making small changes every day. Every little bit counts!
i agree jill. thank you for sharing…it’s funny…when we think we’re at our lowest, we’re actually at a zero point where change rushes in and we actually start turning the corner to fullness.
I heard Cher interviewed years ago and she spoke of change. She said that everyday we do something whether it’s a workout or better diet, we’re better than we were the day before. That inspired me way back in highschool and reminded me that small steps make us better than yesterday….and day by day….we SHINE.
xo