“Change before you have to.” — Jack Welch
In life, we can get stuck in a place where there seems to be little or no way out.
It’s a job we find unsatisfying or a relationship that is not healthy for us; but we are mired in our own patterns and ways of dealing with that person.
You can choose to live like that or you can choose to change it. And yes, it really is that simple. It just takes hard work to get there.
It’s an awesome gift we have been given, this free will, and it is both a blessing and a curse. We can choose to do nothing with it, or we can choose to work very hard and make our lives richer.
Think of something you want to do. Something within the realm of possibility, but you never thought it was actually possible for you. It is something “other” people do.
Envision yourself having achieved your dream. Take a moment, close your eyes, and relish the sweetness of that moment. Taste it, even if it lives just on the tip of your tongue.
Now imagine what it will take to get there, working your way backwards. Why backwards? Because you are going to figure out the steps you will take to get to that point. And then, my dear reader, you are going to set your mind to it and make it happen.
Yes, it is work. For the last six years I have been working to change my life. I realized that when we are outside of our comfort zone, we grow. It is absolutely necessary that you get out of your comfort zone and discipline yourself when it comes to what you want.
In 2006, at the doctor’s office, I stepped on the scales and weighed in at over 200 lbs. Two-twelve to be exact. Since high school, I’d always been five or ten pounds above ideal, but with three pregnancies and the subsequent raising of small children (Happy Meal, anyone?) I’d lost track of how much extra weight I was carrying.
It was my a-ha moment, my epiphany, my moment of reckoning. While I’m sure the nurse probably didn’t notice, for me, it was literally as if the world stopped while I processed that number. Right then, standing on those scales, I came to a conclusion, then a decision, and I set about keeping a promise to myself. In all I lost 85 lbs., and have kept it off.
No radical diets or surgeries. I achieved my goal by listening to my body, re-learning how to eat, and refusing to let old habits have any control. It was an act of will, or discipline. It was liberating. And I realized that by applying this principle in many areas of my life, the sky was pretty much the limit.
How? Make a list of the things you want. I love nothing more than to motivate, support, and encourage you to build your big, beautiful life. It is possible, and I am here to help you do it!
Melissa Hassard is a Team Member of “Simply” Sue Speaks! and you can see more by clicking on Meet the Team. She can be booked for your next event by contacting us here at this site.