It All Begins With You
- CL Landreth
- May 5, 2020
- 2 min read
“If you want to change your life you have to change.” ~ unknown
I have been saying this my entire life, however, I am not sure it was something I came up with or heard somewhere. Yet this very simple quote holds so much truth. As a child, I knew I was going to create a life different from the one I had grown up in. I was loved by my grandmother and grandfather who raised me from the time I can remember. However, there was also unnecessary chaos and drama from adult’s who were never able to communicate their emotions and used words to cut and hurt each other and often even my grandmother.
I knew I would learn how to not hold a grudge. I wanted to learn how to surround myself with people who cared and respected me and spoke with kindness. I wanted honesty and truth yet in a thoughtful and caring manner.
At 53, looking back at my life I realize this happened because I changed. Some of my changes were deliberate to break a cycle my family had been repeating over and over. Some went against my natural tendencies and required me to constantly be looking at how to change, adapt and improve.
We don’t get to decide where we start out. We sometimes don’t even get to decide where we go until we are well into our adult lives. However, there is a moment when we realize we want something different than what we have. In that moment the person we are today is the person who has decided to take the steps necessary to change. In order to become what we are meant to be and want to be, we have to change who we are today.
There are five things I have observed myself doing as part of any pivotal changes I have made in my life.
Awareness - the moment you realize you have the desire necessary to sacrifice what is needed to make the change.
Vision - the clear picture of what or where you want to go with your life; what you are going to change in your life.
Action - the required steps to take a thought or desire from a dream into a reality. Movement from having a dream to creating your life.
Discipline - desire isn’t enough. You need the discipline to do what will override past behaviors and fuel you to continue your action regardless of how you feel.
Faith - to know there may be setbacks I t may not go exactly as you plan, however, you are changing and making progress.
As I was going through items in my basement, I came across a journal from three years ago and one from two years ago. Both had lists of things I wanted to change or accomplish. Both very clearly pointed to my home I live in today. This August will be one year since I purchased this home, the one I had envisioned, took the action to achieve, had the discipline to save for, and the awareness and faith to believe it could be mine.
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