Making Change Happen In Four Easy Steps
Rachel Scheller | January 1, 2013
Whether you want to quit a bad habit, start a good habit, or alter something in your life that isn't working for you, change isn't easy to initiate. In fact, it can be downright frustrating, or even overwhelming!
Blogger Denise Scarbro shared with the Huffington Post her four steps on how to make change happen. Whether you want to make a major life change, or tweak a simple part of your routine, these four steps can guide the way.
1) Identify Your Goals. Scarbro says you first have to decide what you want in order to set an appropriate goal. "To identify what specific goals make sense for you, begin first by writing down what specific things you want in your life," writes Scarbro. "How much money do you want to earn? Do you want to lose a certain number of pounds? Do you want a new car? To take a vacation? Maybe you just want to pay off your debt? Decide what you want, and set your goals."
2) Be Inspired. This is a step that often doesn't make it on your to-do list, but it's an important one. As Scarbro explains it, "In order for a goal to hold our attention, it must inspire us. Once you have determined what you want, practice feeling what it will be like when you achieve your goal. Attaching a feeling to a goal makes it real. Now, mentally rehearse the feelings you will have once you achieve it. Is it joy? Happiness? Relief? Pride? Remember, your desire to achieve that feeling is why you have this goal."
3) Have No Fear. This can be a hard step to wrap your head around, but Scarbro points out that we are often afraid to set goals because of a fear of failure. Confronting those fears, and understanding that failure only provides an opportunity to redefine, adapt, and restructure our goals is an important hurdle to jump over.
4) Break It Down.Instead of creating a to-do list, Scarbro suggests an alternative method. "So I don't get overwhelmed," Scarbro writes, "and to better understand the steps it will take to accomplish my goals, I use a flowchart method. I draw boxes on a piece of paper and work backward through charts to better understand the steps I need to achieve the goal. For example: Write your goal down and make a box around it. Now ask yourself, 'What needs to happen to make this happen?'
Once you have determined what needs to happen, create a new row of boxes underneath the box with your goal, and write down all the action steps necessary. Now, what needs to happen to make that next level of boxes happen? Continue to break down all of the action steps necessary in as many rows as you need. Once you have broken down the action plan to the lowest level, you know exactly where to start and exactly what needs to happen! You have created 'mini goals' to help you reach your main goal."
The great thing about Scarbro's steps is that they can be applied to any change, no matter how big or small! To read more about these steps, check out Scarbro's article in the Huffington Post.
Blogger Denise Scarbro shared with the Huffington Post her four steps on how to make change happen. Whether you want to make a major life change, or tweak a simple part of your routine, these four steps can guide the way.
1) Identify Your Goals. Scarbro says you first have to decide what you want in order to set an appropriate goal. "To identify what specific goals make sense for you, begin first by writing down what specific things you want in your life," writes Scarbro. "How much money do you want to earn? Do you want to lose a certain number of pounds? Do you want a new car? To take a vacation? Maybe you just want to pay off your debt? Decide what you want, and set your goals."
2) Be Inspired. This is a step that often doesn't make it on your to-do list, but it's an important one. As Scarbro explains it, "In order for a goal to hold our attention, it must inspire us. Once you have determined what you want, practice feeling what it will be like when you achieve your goal. Attaching a feeling to a goal makes it real. Now, mentally rehearse the feelings you will have once you achieve it. Is it joy? Happiness? Relief? Pride? Remember, your desire to achieve that feeling is why you have this goal."
3) Have No Fear. This can be a hard step to wrap your head around, but Scarbro points out that we are often afraid to set goals because of a fear of failure. Confronting those fears, and understanding that failure only provides an opportunity to redefine, adapt, and restructure our goals is an important hurdle to jump over.
4) Break It Down.Instead of creating a to-do list, Scarbro suggests an alternative method. "So I don't get overwhelmed," Scarbro writes, "and to better understand the steps it will take to accomplish my goals, I use a flowchart method. I draw boxes on a piece of paper and work backward through charts to better understand the steps I need to achieve the goal. For example: Write your goal down and make a box around it. Now ask yourself, 'What needs to happen to make this happen?'
Once you have determined what needs to happen, create a new row of boxes underneath the box with your goal, and write down all the action steps necessary. Now, what needs to happen to make that next level of boxes happen? Continue to break down all of the action steps necessary in as many rows as you need. Once you have broken down the action plan to the lowest level, you know exactly where to start and exactly what needs to happen! You have created 'mini goals' to help you reach your main goal."
The great thing about Scarbro's steps is that they can be applied to any change, no matter how big or small! To read more about these steps, check out Scarbro's article in the Huffington Post.