Is now the Time?

Is now a good time to institute change in your life? If not, can you adjust your situation to make room for change? If the answer to there two questions is “no,” then any program laid on top of all the other stress in your life has little chance of being helpful.

The reason you need to clear out a space in your life for change is that real transformation requires a HUGE amount of energy and time. Many people feel frustrated, tense, irritable, and uncomfortable during the process. If they can not carve out extra time for themselves to relieve and address this, the discomfort usually become so extreme that the person will go back to his/her old habits to release the pressure. One of the biggest stresses is that things feel “WRONG.” The new habit is unfamiliar and so there may be a sense of being unbalanced and strange.
Trying to act a new way is finding a new way to BE in the world. It alters relationships with others. It may effect your work. It may seem to effect everything. The world may seem “off.” It may feel like you are trying to function with glasses that are the wrong prescription. Not being prepared for this feeling may make you go off your plan very quickly. And underestimating the quality and quantity of effort needed to sustain transformation is a sure path to quick defeat. To succeed in your endeavor you must do very good preparation.

To clear out a path, you have to prioritize the things in your life. Everything can’t be Number 1. Even if you have family, you may have to put them second for a few months. [A point to think about when feeling guilty: If you don’t take care of your health, you may not be around to take care of your family.] You may not be at this point, however. Your family or career may be number one now, and this may not be the time to institute change. If so, that’s ok too. Recognizing this fact may be important to decreasing your stress of trying to do everything at the same time, and allowing you to focus on what is most important right now. On the other hand, if now is the time, then making your goal priority one (or maybe two), at least for the short term, is likely necessary for success.