Change can be extremely hard.

How many times have we had all good intentions to start meditating and do it once, then other things just seem to take over.

Or you sign up to do a spiritual course and never seem to get around to finishing it off?

What you need to know and understand is the process of change.

Why?

Because understanding who and why you are and how to change so that you can achieve what you really want is important!

It’s been disproved that you can change a habit within 21 days … it depends on you and what the habit is.

The understanding now is that it can take from six to nine months to create new thought habits that stay put.

That doesn’t mean that you can’t change, you can, it’s just hard and does take effort.

It also means that there’s no quick fixes.  Sorry about that.

Did you know that there are five stages in anybody’s change journey?

The first stage that you go through is pre-contemplation.

Where you aren’t really aware that you actually want to change anything.  You could possibly even be in a bit of denial that things actually need to change.

If you’re in this stage, there’s no point in trying to implement change because you’re just not ready to face it, so you won’t stick with it.

The second stage is actual contemplation.

You’ve become aware that you have certain thought processes for example that aren’t working for you and you’re thinking about what you can do to change.

However, it’s still a huge hurdle for you to make those changes and the change may feel insurmountable and let’s face it, sometimes we just decide that it’s easier and less painful to not change at all.

The third stage is preparation.

You’re now ready to seriously make the effort that you need to make to enable change to start happening.  You’re going to start making the plans to make it all happen.

The fourth stage is action.

This is it! Where it all starts to happen.  You’re putting the energy into working hard to make those changes happen, to consciously ensure that you are starting to make the small changes that you need to make.

The Fifth and final stage is maintenance.

What you’re doing through this stage is actually keeping the changes going, creating new thought patterns for example so that they change for a lifetime, not just a few weeks.

Remember that this stage can take 6-9 months.  So, be kind to yourself through this period! Because as you’re navigating this new you, you need to support those changes that your changes are going to bring!

Before you start the change process, ask yourself a couple of questions.

Do you really want to change?

Far too many times people will say for example, I want to quit smoking but deep down, they don’t really want to, they just know that the people around them want them to stop.  Or you may want to become more spiritual because it seems that everyone else is doing it.

If you don’t really want to change, then you’re not going to.

What need is being served by what you’re doing now?

You’re doing what you’re doing for a reason, regardless of what it is, it’s actually serving you in some way, so you’ll need to swallow that bitter pill for a bit.

Take the time to think about this because when you work out what the negative change is that you’re doing, and why you’re doing it, then you’ll be able to work out the steps to change that behaviour.

Not understanding me? Say you’re a workaholic, why? Is the underlying need, that you want to be recognised?

Maybe your need is to feel comfort and so you over indulge in comfort type foods, which have led to you putting on excess weight.

When you understand the need, then you can ask yourself, where else can your needs be met?

If you’re a heavy drinker because your need is to relax, maybe you should go away to a meditation retreat.

Ask yourself as well, what’s the price going to be for not changing?

That can also be the start for you to make the changes that you need to make.

A key factor for you is to make sure you celebrate every little success.

Want to be more spiritual?  Give meditation a go, if you can only sit for 5 minutes before it becomes torture don’t beat yourself up, instead give yourself a pat on the back that you managed 5 minutes.  You now have a goal to break.

You can implement change in your life, just forget about it being an easy fix, but it’s going to be one of the most important ones that you ever do.

Love & light

Katrina x