People ask me all the time, “Is now really the time to consider making big changes in my life, or reinventing?” I say YES! Crisis times like these are the perfect time to reinvent. They push you to purify, shed what holds you back, and embrace what you want most in life. Why? Because so much of what you are experiencing today isn’t working for you, that you finally get it – you wake up to recognizing that you simply can’t go on like this any longer.
But to generate positive change in your life and career, you’ve got to take action. It’s work to make life and career change – both inner and outer work – and if you’re ready and committed to doing it, your life will most assuredly change for the better.
I’ve helped hundreds of people change careers, reinvent, start new businesses, apply their creative gifts to their careers, improve their relationships, gain empowerment in their current situation, and do more of what they love and less of what they hate to do in life and work. The one common ingredient in all of these folks who are successful in making change is a deep and ongoing commitment to making their lives better and happier.
There are six vitally important steps to moving away from what you hate towards what you love:
1. Understanding What You Want
This is not an easy task, but it’s essential. Understanding what you want in life requires a thorough review of your whole life and career, teasing out for exploration and discovery all the experiences you had in your life in which you felt fully alive, passionate, powerful, appreciated, recognized – in the flow – knowing why you are on the planet now. You need clarity about where you want to go, and this clarity comes from recognizing when you’ve been your “highest and best” self, the most joyful version of you.
Then, it takes figuring out how you can bring more of these experiences into your life today – developing a new empowered mindset, and applying your special skills, talents, and abilities in the world, and making MONEY doing it. It takes figuring out if you want a job or a calling, and also what you want in your life as a professional endeavor vs. an avocational experience.
Download my Career Path Assessment on my Ellia Communications website for a great start, or write me for a free 30-minute coaching strategy session to help you gain clarity on the “essence of what you want” vs. the right “form” of it for you and your life (and your marriage, family, financial situation, long-term plans, etc.)
2. Research, research, and research what you might want to do differently in your career and life. After you’ve analyzed what it will take, determine your readiness to move forward. Make a decision to commit to doing what’s necessary to bring into your life what you want
3. Stretch yourself and power up – start being more powerful in your life today, wherever you can. Speak up where you need to, enforce your boundaries where they’re being crushed, and stop being the “victim” to outside circumstances. Start being accountable for how things are, and for changing them.
4. Become incredibly powerful around money and develop a business/marketing mindset (forget about a “build it and they will come” attitude – that doesn’t make a new business or venture successful). As Tony Robbins says (I love it!) – don’t look at your life or career with rose-colored glasses. See it for what it is, but don’t see it worse than it is. Then TAKE ACTION!
5. Get help/be teachable at all times – Reach out and ask for help now, and all along the way. We all have gaps in our knowledge and skill-sets. Learn to recognize when help is required, and get it.
6. Finally uncover what’s really holding you back from making the life and career change you want most.
Most often, it’s an internal block in the form of the “stories” you’ve been telling yourself all your life, about your worth, abilities, who you really are, and what you can ultimately achieve.
Typical blocks fall into these key areas:
• I’m afraid to step up
• I’m not good/smart/strong enough to do this
• Who will want really want me/this?
• Selling is terrible – I hate to sell (myself and my services)
• It’s a lot of work
• I haven’t succeeded at this before – why would I now?
• I don’t know how to make money doing what I love (and there’s no way I can)
Which “story” are you telling yourself about moving forward to embracing doing more of what you love, and less of what you hate?
YOU CAN DO IT! Get empowered help today to gain clarity, focus, and create a plan to reinvent your life or work.
Check out my book Breakdown Breakthrough and my four month, four step Achieve Your Life Breakthrough! Program to start you on your way to breakthrough.
Change in life will happen, whether you act or not. The question is, “Do you want to progress and grow, and be more successful and fulfilled through life change, or not?” If you do, then you must take conscious and directed action: clarify exactly want you want, and create a concrete plan to achieve your goals.
Please take one step today from the list above to start you on your way to breakthrough.
Kathy,
I appreciate your perspective and wisdom from experience. You encourage movig towards creating dreams but taking into account ‘realities’. You ask good questions which I will now/continue to ask myself!