Is it possible for people to change?
The simple answer is yes.
However, simple isn’t always easy.
The quickest way to a joyful life is simple, though:
- Be of service to and generous with others. See them as people who have their own daily challenges, personal baggage and inner dialogue about the baggage, joys and basic desires as everyone else. Then, treat them with the same respect, compassion and kindness as you’d like to receive for no other reason than you want to, it’s the right thing to do.
- Don’t try to change others or yourself. It doesn’t really work. But if you do #1, you’ll change.
- Seek beauty. Perception is reality for most of us. If we see the world as a beautiful place and the people in it as good people doing the best they can, we’ll get proof of that. If, however, we see it otherwise, we’ll get plenty validation of that version. Even reading that, I bet you could feel the energetic difference in the two.
- Evaluate the stories you tell yourself. This is some high level stuff here, but you’re capable and wise. How are the stories you tell yourself about your past painful experiences really serving you? It’s not the experience itself that prevents you from evolving and growing, it’s your desire to not experience the pain again. As a result, you subconsciously sabotage all opportunities to grow for fear of being hurt again. Ouch.Drop the story of the experience, be courageously honest with yourself, and take forward action.
- Begin again. Always we begin again. Toddlers fall on their butts a lot when learning to walk. When they start running, they trip plenty. Sometimes it’s painful, mostly it’s just frustrating because they can’t get to where they want to be. You can empathize with that one, right? But, they don’t plop down on their butt and refuse to ever try again. No way! They get back up and go to whatever catches their attention.
If you’re not where you want to be in your life, take a moment (if you haven’t already) to consider where you want to be. Then, ask yourself, how would that person act daily? What habits would they have in place to support them being so awesome? What can I start doing now to move in that direction?
Which is where the spring cleaning comes in.
Take the month of March and commit to clearing out the old habits and replacing them with new ones. Here’s some suggestions:
4 Week Clutter-Buster Challenge
Week 1: the kitchen
Week 2: the bathroom
Week 3: the living room/office
Week 4: the bedroom/closet
Every day, commit to 30-60 minutes tackling the messiest areas of each of the above spaces. Commit to giving away or throwing away absolutely everything you have not sued in the past year, anything that doesn’t work, and anything you won’t use and does not bring you joy. Boom! Gone. Highly recommend challenging a buddy to do this with you and having a quick evening accountability call. If you have kids, get them in on the fun, too.
21 Day Chew Challenge
Every time you eat ANYTHING for the 21 days, chew each bite 25 times. Contemplate what you’re chewing, where it’s from, how it’s made, and offer gratitude for all involved to get the food to you. What’s interesting is that you may find there are somethings you don’t like chewing that much. You may also think twice about how much you put on your plate when you have to chew each bite that many times. You’ll also find that 1. your digestion will improve, 2. you’ll likely lose weight. #bonus
7 Day Unsubscribe Challenge
Step away from your screen. We all get way to much crap in our inboxes (thank you, by the way fore opening and reading my email!). Heck, we might not even remember why we signed up. Spend 15 minutes a day decluttering your email, social media (who are some of those people?!) and track how much screen time you have. Face to face time is so much better than Facebook. Instant memories is better than Instagram. And real life is always more interesting than TV. Stop letting the screen steal your precious time!
You could certainly do a combo or all three of these challenges. There’s no rules, though I’d love to know if you inspires you.
Get out in nature this month. Watch the evolution of seasons. Take some time to unplug from the world and tune into yourself.