5 steps to restart your life and move forward

Opting for change is not a casual choice or a whim. Most of the time, when we talk about important changes, we talk about an act of necessity, of firm conviction and above all, of courage. Because sometimes there is no other option than to do it, to shed our skin, to take root and look for other maps to be able to “be”, to be able to restart ourselves and find that balance between needs and achievements, between desires and behaviors… As we will see below, all of this It’s important when you make the brave decision to change your life.

Winston Churchill said, very correctly, that to improve is to change and that To be “perfect” is to have the courage to change often. However, to this statement we should add another equally important one: changes are positive as long as we do not lose the essence, our own values. Therefore, any variation we make throughout our life cycle must be objective to get a little closer to what we really want to be.

Now, achieving this is usually not easy or fast, much less pleasant, at least at first. Thus, something curious that usually happens is that Most of us assume that we must make a change when something relevant happens in our lives.. Losing a job, leaving an emotional relationship, suffering disappointment or failure is almost like a direct invitation to carry out what we often summarize in a popular phrase: “renewed or die”.

However, and it is important to be clear about this, before finding ourselves in these situations that place us on the edge of a cliff, it would not be a bad idea to develop strategies related to personal change, to better face these moments. If “change” is synonymous with progress and improvement, let’s put it into practice daily, continuously, in an integrative and intelligent way..

In this way, we will react much better to any event and we will feel more valid to continue moving forward. Let us therefore see a series of strategies to achieve this goal.

Change your life in 11 steps

Changing your life is a need that you have felt on more than one occasion. That need may have led you to consult a self-help book to discover that most of them offer very similar general ideas, full of optimism and good intentions.

However, the reality is different. Our brain is resistant to change, he doesn’t like it, he doesn’t see it as correct because for him it represents an imbalance and a direct threat to our survival. This leads us once again to the premise that all change is traumatic and therefore, to mitigate that impact, what we must do is apply 7 rules on a daily basis; 7 thinking approaches that will help us promote this personal renewal.

1. Through simplicity comes clarity

Marcos has started teaching karate classes. To his students, children between 8 and 12 years old, He constantly tells them that “without pain there is no achievement.” He does this while giving them exhausting and very complex instructions, encouraging them to make an effort. A week later, from his class of 20 students, only 3 children remain.

What has this instructor done wrong? Thinking that he could generate quick small changes and a firm commitment to classes is a mistake. The real changes, the best achievements, come by achieving simple and clear objectives to work on every day.

In this way, and if you want to change your life, there is nothing better than simplifying the process. Set a goal, one that is easy to achieve (even if it is part of another larger and more difficult one). When you get it, propose another one for tomorrow that is a little more complicated or that represents a new advance. Thus, and without you realizing it, you will have already conquered half the mountain.

2. “Protect” your new behaviors

Every change, big or small, requires putting new behaviors into practice. However, there is a common problem that is not always talked about. How does our environment react to these variations? How do they react to our need to renew ourselves?

Often, we feel the effect of inappropriate and unmotivating comments. In fact, we can reach the point (not recommended) of taking a step back due to the negative effect of criticism. Let’s avoid this. Become aware that all new behavior must be “protected”. If you choose, for example, to stop hanging out with certain friends, devoting more time to yourself, or pursuing other hobbies, don’t let yourself be affected by what others may or may not say.

3. “Being” is easier than becoming

When you want to change your life you can make the mistake of wanting to become someone else. It is common to visualize that image where we perceive ourselves as someone different, someone special arriving at a new place, performing exciting tasks, meeting different and interesting people.

Let’s keep our feet on the ground and understand two key aspects.

Being is easier than becoming. That is to say, promoting a change in our life does not mean transforming ourselves into someone we are not. This is neither logical nor healthy. The ideal is that every change enhances the expansion of our being. That allows us to find balance, but at the same time challenging our fears and limitations to take a step further. One step to adjust aspirations with achievements, dreams with triumphs, well-being with satisfaction.

4. Fear of the unknown is justified

In many self-help books we will find the following phrase “don’t be afraid, you can do it, trust yourself”. Well, this hackneyed and overused expression has nuances that we must consider, let’s look at it.

Being afraid is normal, so don’t deny it or hide it, just understand it.Fear of change is above all fear of uncertainty, to what will happen, to whether I will be able to, to whether everything will go wrong. He understands that these types of thoughts respond to our brain’s survival mechanism by encouraging us to stay still and not take risks.

Therefore, it doesn’t hurt to apply this series of verbalizations in your daily life that can be of great help to you.

I am afraid and my fear is justified. It is a normal process that I must understand and manage. The goal is that this fear, far from paralyzing me, serves as a reason to challenge myself, to see how far I can go. To reduce that fear I will set realistic, simple and progressive goals. I will go little by little, but without stopping.If there is one thing that is clear to me, it is that every change will take me to a place where I will be better.. Every change must be positive. Hence, I focus my mind on all the good things that this process will do for me until I achieve the goal.

5. Admire each result

If you want to change your life, remember that rush is not a good companion. Going slowly allows us to have greater perspectivebe more aware of each step taken, the errors made and the corrections that are best to apply.

Making one or more changes is not an easy task, it is not a simple path. In factSometimes, the shortest distance between two points is not always a straight line, but rather a zigzagging journey where you fall and get up two and three times… where we can lose ourselves and find ourselves again, where we can take one step forward and two steps back.

However, let’s not forget something in this adventure: to admire each result achieved. Because the success achieved will correspond to ourselves and no one else. It is a process where there is only someone to please, attend to and listen to, and that someone is us.

6. Avoid comparing yourself

As we see, change is an individual process. It is we who decide what we want to be and where we want to go; Therefore, it is vital that we focus on our own path. Change processes are never the same for people, Everyone is different and times and circumstances always differ.. However, this does not mean that some are doing better than others.

So Avoid comparing yourself, because the only thing you will achieve is to feel frustrated for not having achieved the results that others obtained in a certain time.. If you choose to compare yourself, it will be easier to give up than to keep trying.

7. Challenge your limiting beliefs

Education and life experiences often lead us to develop irrational beliefs that do not allow us to move forward, so We put barriers on ourselves and self-sabotage our personal growth without even realizing it..

For example, believing that “I have always had bad luck“, that “I’m not good enough” either “I’m too old for those things” are some thoughts that tend to take over us and stagnate us where we are. Therefore, It is important that we know how to identify which ideas are limiting us and reformulate them.

8. Surround yourself with people who encourage you to grow

Just as you must protect yourself from criticism that attempts to return you to your old self, it is also important that you Surround yourself with people who push you to be better every day. and that they support you with the changes you want for your life.

At this point it is worth mentioning Steve Maraboli’s phrase that says:

Therefore, identify which people are adding to your life and which are not, and rub shoulders with the former.

9. Don’t give in to failures

Errors and failures are normal in every person’s life. In fact, They are necessary to learn and continue growing. However, many give up in the face of failure, believing that their effort and dedication was not worth it. So, they stay stuck in their comfort zone and do not dare to change the formula to reach the goal.

Therefore, If you want to change your life it is important that you overcome the fear of failure and keep in mind that mistakes are our great teachers. After a failure, change your perspective, analyze where the error is and propose a new plan to achieve your goals.

10. Be disciplined

Another thing that self-help texts often repeat are phrases like “learn to motivate yourself“. The truth is that the motivation to change our life usually lasts the first days of the process and then gradually declines. Even, We will encounter days where our spirit is at the bottom and we do not want to take another step forward.And that’s not bad.

We must learn to recognize that we will not always be motivated, there will be certain days where we wake up with the best disposition in the world; but there will be others where it will be quite the opposite. So, What really matters and what we must promote is discipline.

If we want positive changes in our lives, such as getting up earlier, being more productive, exercising more, etc., then discipline is the key.

11. Life is just a moment

Lastly, keep in mind that our time here is not forever. Without intending to frighten or paralyze you, we call for you to realize that our days are…