Stoke the fire of change
By: Rena M. Reese
Change is a beautiful thing. Or so we have heard. Actually change, while not always easy, surely fires things up a bit. I recall when our family lost power for 4 days after a significant snowstorm last winter. We huddled around our fireplace for warmth and I continually got a visual of this very lesson. When the fire seemed to be a heartbeat away from going out– with only faintly glowing embers left– a simple readjustment of the logs with the poker got it ablaze quickly. Just moving things around fired it up. Desiring change, planning for change, and implementing a plan for change, is worth our attention. But it requires more from us that just “wanting it”.
Effective, successful changes require more than thought, planning and goals. You have to visualize life with this change and how it will positively impact your life. Secondly, YOU must really want the change, or all the thinking, planning and goal setting in the world won’t get you to your desired outcome. It is like the difference between reading a how-to book and then actually implementing it.
When we try to make changes in our life, even things that are really good for us, we may find resistance rears up. It may seem that sometimes, things get worse before they get better. If you are trying to stop smoking, you may feel you are placed in situations when everyone around you is smoking. Or a crisis may arise that taxes your nerves and has you craving your nicotine fix more than a usual day.
If you are trying to eat healthier, get fit, heal from an illness, get your financial world in order, whatever it is; if it gets worse before it gets better, that is great. It is a good sign simply because this blip is evidence of a shift. If there is an energy shift, an attitude shift– even if it seems small and of little consequence, you are stepping toward change. The universe is responding, first with what appears to be resistance, but it is really part of the re-organization of the way things are now.
Please don’t be afraid to commit to a change until you feel you are fully prepared, you know all the answers or have choreographed it to the point that you are sure you cannot fail. Sometimes, change takes FAITH and a first step. Then FAITH and a second step…. and then a third step and so on….
You do not kneed to know all of the answers. Just simply know that you want freedom from the past way of doing, being, or believing– and be willing to recreate the status quo. Your faith and your willingness to act are two ingredients the universe uses to guide you through the How-To’s of the change you seek.
What can you control? Well, actually a lot. You can control your thoughts and what you choose in this moment. This moment is all any of us has, really. Once you are clear on the change you seek, you can ask yourself as choices arise, “Will this choice bring me closer to, or further from, my goal?” Moment to moment, choice by choice we will find we have arrived at the very place, or even a better place than we dreamed of.
Rena M. Reese is the founder of Soul Salon International, an inspirational multimedia company which offers coaching, consulting, web-design, publishing support, and fundraising opportunities for individuals and groups. She is the author of several inspirational titles, a professional speaker and coach as well as the host of a weekly radio program, The Soul Salon. Please visit www.SoulSalonInternational.com and connect with her on Twitter @TheSoulSalon.
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