By Lori Hanson
It’s March, it will soon be springtime. My favorite time of the year. In part because there is such promise with the days getting longer, waking up early and hearing the birds chirping outside the window. And better weather which means more time outside…fresh air and sunshine!
Spring is great time to start something new in your life. All you have to do is figure out what you want to do. I mean really want to do or change in your life. Maybe you haven’t thought about it lately because you are very content riding along with the status quo of your life. But maybe you are sick and tired of the way your life is: your health, your job, being overweight, not having any energy, constantly being stressed out or… Whatever it is, I can guarantee you that you are a master at talking about, expressing and focusing many thoughts on what you hate or are sick of in your life. And that’s the problem.
In order to make any kind of changes in your life you have to step out of your comfort zone. But oh that sounds and feels so painful! How do I force myself to do something that I’m scared to death to try? How do I push myself out there to find a new job when I don’t really believe I’ll find one. Why would anyone hire me? No one is getting hired right now, the economy sucks, how can I pay my bills? Are any of these thoughts familiar to you? Maybe your issue is different, but you’re very comfortable describing what you hate, are annoyed with and no longer want in your life. Like it or not, this is your comfort zone.
So how then do we change it? It’s simple really.
1. You cannot change anything in your life when you are focused on what’s wrong or how it can’t be fixed! Did the Wright Brothers figure out how to get a plane to fly but talking about and convincing each other of all the reasons they couldn’t do it? Did Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison make their discoveries and inventions by concentrating on the theories that didn’t work? No, of course not. They looked for, contemplated, and spoke about finding the solution.
So the first step in making a change in your life is to imagine what life would be like with a new job, with a new love, with a healthy body, whatever your desire is. Contemplate (think about) focus on, talk all the time about what it’s like to have what you want.
2. Your brain is brilliant. Do you know how to use it properly to help you change things in your life aka move out of your comfort zone? We are all blessed with incredible imaginations. And many people use those imaginations to fill their brain up with worry and stress about what “could” possibly happen or go wrong today, tomorrow or next week. They fill their brains with FEAR (fantasized Experience Appearing Real) a fantasy or story about how it’s all going to fall apart and the drama that will follow. Not helpful.
Use your powerful imagination to paint pictures in your mind of events the way you would like them to happen. Get real specific about it and think of all the details. If you want a new job, imagine the new building (or place) you will work in. What color is the building, how about your office, or cube? What is your new boss like? How about the new coworkers? How do you feel when you’re there? How does it feel to be in the perfect job, living your passion? What other changes happen in your life because of this job? Make it vivid! You can also do scripting and write out a little story, your own personal screenplay about the new life scenario.
3. Live in the now. Be in this moment. If you’re at work, give 100% concentration to what you’re doing. Not what will happen after work and what you have to do when you leave. Give your best at work. If you’re working out think about and connect with your body. How does your body feel? Enjoy the moment of making your body healthier with a walk in the warm sunshine, being on the treadmill, lifting weights or taking your new Zumba or Tai Chi class. By learning how to be in this moment you will begin living your life.
If you are complaining about what happened and how awful it was, you’re living in the past. If you’re thinking about how scared you are to try something new, or the possible drama that will erupt at home tonight, you’re living in the future. You only get this moment once. Live it! Be in this moment and fully embrace it. It will help you become better at using your brain to imagine and create very real scenarios of how you want your life to be and make it feel like it’s happening right now. Which is where the new things come from.
What do you spend most of your time thinking about? Whatever it is, I’m sure you see plenty of it in your life, whether it’s stress, frustration, unhappiness, sickness, happiness, joy, humor or abundance. Our thoughts are like little radio stations sending out the frequency of what we think about and connecting with it.
Want to change your life and get out of your comfort zone? Start changing what you think about today!
©2011
