It is the New Year, and we are all hoping that there will be some new changes in our lifestyles and the world.  While we cannot control or change the world, we can control and change what we focus on in our lives.

2 Things You Can Change

• How and what you believe
• How and what you think

Growth Requires Awareness

Your beliefs, emotions, and thoughts all combine to influence your actions, your habits.  Together, they create BETH, the story that you have been telling yourself for years.  Unfortunately, while this story may have initially served a purpose and got you motivated, this story has now become the story that is keeping you trapped. 

Your story will keep you trapped in an unhealthy cycle because it is fueled by fear.  Unlike love that liberates you, sets you free; fear traps, keeps you paralyzed in place, and enslaved to the same unhealthy lifestyle.  Fear also clouds your mind and heart, keeping you so confused you lose clarity, you forget your purpose.

Get Real And Change Your Lifestyle

So, how can you get real?  Get real on a profound level about why you really want to make this change. 

• Ask yourself, why does this really matter? Avoid the superficial and casual reasons.
•  What will you honestly be willing to sacrifice consistently to create the positive lifestyle change you desire? Focus on the positive gains.
• What will you replace the unhealthy habit with that will leave you satisfied and full of enthusiasm for the healthier lifestyle?
• How will you embrace and treat with care the new you?

Get Back To Basics In 4 Steps

1. Gain clarity about why this is important.

We need things to make sense and serve a purpose, a purpose that is of value on an important level.  Usually, that level is emotional; however, it can be spiritual, physical, or financial for some. So what purpose is so valuable to you that you would be willing this year to make the changes necessary to get totally healthy?

2. You have heard about knowing your “Why?”, well, I say know your “I.F.”

What is your “IF”, and why does it matter?  Your “IF” is the inciting factor that triggers the emotion or emotions that generate the feelings that propel you to act [participate in the unhealthy habit that is destroying the quality of your life and your health]. In other words, “IF” this happens, then what?

3. Shift your focus. 

We have all heard that what you focus on is what will manifest in your life.  If you want to get healthy, do not focus on all the areas of your life that are unhealthy.  Instead focus on the areas of your life that are healthy and strengthen them.  Then focus on the healthy steps you can take to get the other areas of your life to a healthier state. 

4. Be consistently committed.

Change takes time; therefore, be prepared to be patient and be disciplined.  There will be some rough patches, because you are trying to break the repetitive cycle of some habits that have become so ingrained in your life, you default to them automatically when there is an inciting factor.

Change Is Possible With Love

Learn to trust in the strength and power within you

Open your heart and mind to opportunities for growth and love

Victoriously overcome the habits that no longer serve your greater good because you are

Empowered by the conviction of your purpose

Choose to practice love daily and experience a life free of fear and full of joy, peace, and contentment. 

THIS ARTICLE WAS ALSO PUBLISHED ON THRIVEGLOBAL.COM