Happiness, peace, joy, health, love, abundance…we all want these things—right? Why is it then that so many of us have a hard time achieving them, or fall short on some? Many of us commit to making changes in our lives at different times; perhaps at the start of a new year, a time of transition, or when we are fed up with something. While some people may start out strong and committed, over time our commitments are often put by the wayside. But what is it that causes these road blocks to change? The answer unfortunately is often us. We frequently sabotage our own progress.

We are all creatures of habit. While you may want to make changes in your life, often times, your thoughts don’t match up with your true desires and you get stuck in your ways and feel unfulfilled, stagnant, or stressed. This reminds me of something I read about rose bushes.

Typically when you plant rose bushes, you have to break up the root ball before planting them in the ground, so the roots can grow freely, get nourishment and flourish. “We, too, can become root bound, being so tightly packed in a too-small container that we can no longer breathe or receive nourishment.”¹

So what holds us back from growing and changing and how do we overcome it? First of all, you need to give yourself room to grow, so you are open to change. Instead of focusing on negative thoughts, you need to focus on what you really want and how to get there. I recently visited with someone who was so stressed out with work that she felt she couldn’t take the time to eat healthy anymore, let alone exercise. We all can get overwhelmed with life from time to time, especially if we focus on too many things. During times of stress however, it is important to eat the right foods, as well as exercise, as whole foods provide nourishment and exercise produces serotonin that can be calming. When we are calmer, we can focus more. It is easy to freak yourself out when you focus your thoughts on an outcome. By changing your mindset however, and breaking things down, it is much easier to achieve your goals and milestones.

An example would be if you are in sales and needed to increase your sales numbers. Many people overwhelm themselves by thinking, “I am never going to reach the new sales goal for the month.” You can tell yourself instead, “I am working towards my new sales goal by making 10 extra calls each day. You can also make a list of people to contact to work towards your goal. If you want to lose weight, you can change your thought that “eating healthy food is expensive, to  I love eating fresh fruit and vegetables.” You can also make yourself a healthy meal plan and make a shopping list.

So what changes do you want to happen in your life and what are you waiting for?

Remember—“A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”

Thanks for reading!

Barb

Source: ¹ Seale, Alan. Breaking Up Your Root Ball. Entheos – The Optimizer eNews. January 10, 2013.