Wednesday, April 28, 2010

4 Traps to avoid when changing your life


So you have decided to make changes in your life and you want them to succeed. There are a lot of things that seem like good ideas at the time but just get in the way of our growth, let's call these traps. Here are a few traps to avoid.

Doing too much at once: This trap is a problem both at the beginning of trying to change and at times when we rededicate ourselves to change. We see everything that we want to work on and try to do it all at once. The result is we can't put enough effort in to any one item and we fail to see meaning full change.

Unrealistic expectations: I will illustrate this trap with a story from my life. I was living in one town and working in another the towns were about 12 miles apart and connected by some nice country roads. I wanted to lose weight so I decided to start riding my bike to work. The problem was that I had not ridden my bike in too many years to count. I should not have thought oh I can just hop on my bike and ride twelve miles to work but that is exactly what I tried to do. The ride my bike to work kick lasted one day.

Doing it alone: Sometimes when we try to change we find ourselves embarrassed that we need to change and we don't let others know that we are working on our selves. This is not to say you should tell every stranger you meet what your problems are and what you are doing about them (unless you write a blog like this). But you should share your goals with your trusted friends; this gives you accountability and encouragement as well as someone to give you a reality check about your progress.

The fear of failure: This trap stops us from starting the change we know we want and know we need. We will not fail as long as we keep trying.