Why start now?
And where do you start?
Every journey has a designated starting point. Changing your life, setting goals, planning a vacation. Sometimes it’s hard to determine what the starting point is, and how do I get from A to B. Developing a plan of action is a good starting point. Looking at the bigger picture. What is it you want to accomplish? What steps are involved, and what is your timeline?
“The stories we tell ourselves about ourselves determine the quality of the selves we imagine we are.”
—Rami M. Shapiro
Everyone tells themselves a story about who they are and what they are worth. However, the stories you tell yourself are instrumental in setting the course and deciding how far you will go in life. DrRooplen.com, Personal Development Blog, gives you five tips to change the stories you tell yourself.
Stories are the way we make sense of our lives.
As humans, we like to listen to stories. Storytelling has been a way of passing down our history, and our culture’s information about our world. So, think of your plan of action as your story. What story do you want to tell? Do you want to accomplish some specific tasks or improve your physical health?
A good plan of action can be developed by asking questions. The 5W’s have always been my starting point.
Who
What
When
Where
Why
Examine your life. Become aware of what you are thinking, feeling, and doing. Humans have great potential to change our lifestyles, behaviors, and habits. It starts with becoming aware of where you are now – AND – where you want to go. Where you are today is your starting point, the beginning of your story; it is up to you to define the next chapter in your personal story.
Take out a piece of paper. I am encouraging you to use paper and pen, as you can carry them around with you, make changes, and create a picture for your starting point. The blog on this website will talk more about visualization and self-dialogue. Keep an eye out for more to come.
Now let me add another dimension to this post: continuous improvement, incrementally. People often get overwhelmed because they look at the big picture and think it is too much; overwhelming. If instead, you look at the big picture and start breaking it down into smaller components.
Step 1 – Learn a new skill – Define what you want to lean
Step 2 – Determine what your current skills are and what is the gap; what do you need to learn the new skill? It might be an online class, a YouTube tutorial video, or a book on the subject. Something that can help you learn this new skill. What is it?
Step 3 – Implementation. How will you make this plan become a reality?
Write a poem
Write a book
Get a new job
Go back to school
What is it you want to add to your story?
Then you tackle the task incrementally, a little at a time. Especially when changing aspects of your story. It does not have to be rushed. Let’s say you are going to change your weight. Do not go on a radical stop eating a diet that makes you miserable; and will not work in the long run. Plan on changing your diet incrementally. One week, take something out of your diet that is unhealthy. One item at a time. Get used to the idea that you do not need that food item.
Yes, I have followed this practice and radically changed my lifestyle, nutritional intake, and exercise routines. One small step at a time. Sometimes it took me months to wean myself from something I loved that was bad for me.
Closing Notes
How changing your story can change your life – Lori Gottlieb Ted Talk
How changing your story can change your life | Lori Gottlieb – YouTube
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A Movement Toward Improvement