When you feel inspired to make a change, it’s important to take action. If we are open to listening to our inner guidance system, we’ll be aware of when the time is right.
    Perhaps you want to lose weight, find a mate or have more money. So, you decide that a change needs to be made to achieve that goal. You are ready to begin because it’s Monday or the beginning of the month or it’s a new year. Then something happens and you lose the drive and determination to make the change.  What happened? The list of excuses that derailed your momentum could be long. But instead of focusing on why you couldn’t make the change you wanted, let’s focus on how you can be successful.
    One of the very first steps to making a change in your life is to find the emotional state of well-being. Now, you may be thinking, for example, “If I felt good, I would make the change easily, but being overweight  makes me feel bad. So I will have to lose the weight before I can feel good.”
    This isn’t true.  If you can step back for a moment and focus on the things that you love about yourself, you can feel good.
    Stand in front of a mirror. Look closely. You may find that you love your hair, your hands or the color of your eyes.  If you can’t see beauty on the outside, consider what your body does for you every day on the inside. Your heart beats and you breathe without effort. Perhaps you have a wonderful sense of humor, you’re creative or you’re a deep thinker. We all have something that we like about ourselves. 
    Appreciating what we DO like about ourselves reduces the resistance to change and puts us in a much better place to feel the inspiration coming from within.
    However, it’s not necessary to feel good relative to the subject that is bothering you, such as being overweight. What is important is that you feel good. If you just can’t find something to appreciate about yourself, get off the subject entirely and find another subject that makes you feel good. Perhaps petting your cat makes you feel good, or spending time with a friend. Simply search your mind until you find something that makes you feel good when you think about it, then focus on that thing.
    Once you begin to feel a little improvement in how you feel, then you can begin to take a look at the thing you’d like to change.
    The first step is to focus on what you want, rather than what you don’t want.  For example, you know that you don’t want to be overweight, or you don’t want to be alone, or you don’t want to have an empty bank account. Rather than focusing on the lack of what you want, just imagine what it would feel like to have what you want, or in this case, what it would feel like to be at your desired weight.
    What we focus on in our lives is what we will eventually create. You get results from that on which you put your attention. Focusing your attention on what you don’t want becomes what you have in your life. And conversely, consistently focusing on what you do want, and feeling good about it, will inspire you to make the changes your desire. Makes some sense, right?
    Using the same examples, try saying it this way:
•I’m looking forward to living happily at __ lbs.
•I’m looking forward to having someone in my life who is a great match for me.
•I’m looking forward to earning more money next year.
    Be aware that just saying one of these statements doesn’t make it happen. You may not even know how it will all transpire, but at this point you don’t have to. You first need to concentrate on what you want and not on what you don’t want. This shift in thinking can result in positive, forward action.
    Some people seem naturally motivated to make changes and achieve their goals.  But most of us need to dig deep for motivation. 
    Here is a five-step strategy that may work for you:
1. Take a look at what you want to change.
2. Make a plan on how to make the change: write down what you want to change; use a calendar to mark the days, weeks or months that you may need to achieve the change you want to make.
3. Determine the path you will take.
4. Visualize yourself in your mind’s eye having achieved your goal. 
5. Feel proud and happy that you made the change.
    If you are still not feeling motivated, add this sixth step: Ask yourself where you will be in one month, one year, two years, etc. This step can help you see that the time will go by whether you make the change or not.
    Here’s a personal story to illustrate step six. When I was a teacher, I decided that I wanted to pursue my master’s degree in school counseling. I researched schools, programs and tuitions.  I looked at the length of time it would take to complete my degree. I could see myself as a counselor. I knew how happy and proud I would be when I earned my master’s degree. But I came up with every “I don’t want” that I could think of, such as “I don’t want to go to school at night,” and “I don’t want to study over the summer.”
    One day when I was talking about it with a fellow teacher, she said to me, “The time is going to go by anyway, and in two years you can have your master’s or you can still be talking about all the things that you don’t want to have happen.”
    That one statement sent me into action! The unhappiness I was feeling from the inaction was suddenly much greater than what I did not want to do. I went back to school and yes, the two years went by and I achieved what I wanted.
    Now, my story may sound like it was an easy change to make.  However, I found that to make a change, I had to create new patterns of behavior to go along with the change or I wasn’t going to be successful.
    Creating new patterns or habits to replace the old ones is essential to making changes in your life. Continuing to use the example of weight loss, let’s look at ways to create new patterns that can lead to making the permanent change of losing those unwanted pounds.
Old pattern: mindlessly eating throughout the day and evening
New pattern: keeping your hands busy; staying out of the kitchen
Old pattern: making excuses to keep from exercising
New pattern: making exercise a priority
Old pattern: eating meals in front of the TV
New pattern: eating meals seated at a table—no TV, no reading, only eating
    It may take some time to figure out the patterns that keep you from making the changes you want to make. They may be so ingrained that you aren’t even aware of them as being patterns.
    Finally, try the following suggestions to help encourage you to make the changes that can bring you what you want in your life:
• Make a list of your daily patterns.
• Eliminate the old patterns that do not serve your goal.
• Create new patterns that support you.
• Tell others about the changes you want to make.
• Track your progress.
• Ask for help.
• Believe that change can happen.
It is possible!