March Ahead: Step One

Welcome to March! It’s going to be a fantastic month. The first step in having a wonderful month is telling yourself it’s going to be a wonderful month. So say it now, “It’s going to be a wonderful month.” Yay – it really is.

This month I am presenting you with a course in changing your life so every month is a wonderful month. Pretty full of myself, aren’t I? Yeah, well, I am going to be making changes and I thought I would invite my readers to join me. So, here goes.

Step One

Identify the problem

What aspect of your life is not satisfying you? It could be your health, your career, personal relationships or any number of other things. The first thing to do is to list what you want to change. You may come up with a slew of things, or you may have just one thing in mind, but I suspect identifying the problem is not a problem.

When my oldest offspring was 2 1/2 I had my second child. One night I was watching television with my husband and holding the baby after the oldest went to bed. The oldest proceeded to make a racket in the doorway of the bedroom. I called out, “What is your problem?”

The response was immediate and surprisingly clear for the two-year-old who screamed the baby’s name.

See, even at a tender age we are able to identify what is not making us happy. You can do the same.

I have identified the problem in my life. 

Yes, it is my career – or more accurately – lack thereof. After 20 years of being a stay-at-home mother and then a care-giver to my own mother, I find myself yearning for something meaningful in the career department.

If you are going to join me on this journey, the first step is to write your problem down where you will see it regularly. I used a poster board, but you can use anything. You could even make a computer file if you prefer, but the point is to be able to see it on a regular basis.

I wrote My Career because that is what I want to focus on for March. I could have written health and clean home on it as well because those are other areas I need to improve. Feel free to write an entire list of all the areas you want to change, however, only write one on the top of your poster/file.

Why?

Because if you try to change too many things at once, you will become overwhelmed and not be able to fully track your progress. To make the most progress it is best to focus on only one area. Imagine trying to clean a hoarder’s house by simply taking one thing from each room per day. After a month there will be 31 items less in each room, but will you really be able to see the difference the same way as you would if you took one room at a time and really cleared it out? I don’t think so.

One item at a time will not be noticeable each day and that can lead to some serious disappointment. It is discouraging not to be able to notice progress and may lead to giving up on the whole thing.

So, pick one area and save the others for the next month.

Now that you have written the problem you may want to know what to do next. Well, your assignment is to wait a day. Simply keep this problem in mind and really think about why it is a problem for you and how it affects you.

For me, the lack of a career keeps me poor, unsatisfied, and a little insecure. I don’t feel as though I am pulling my weight in this world.

Remember the story of my oldest’s reaction to a new sibling? You may wonder how I reacted to the baby’s name being called as a major problem. Well, I did what anyone would do. I handed the baby to my husband and went into the bedroom. I held my darling toddler and explained that a sibling was not going to change the way I felt about my first-born. I read stories, I sang, I rocked my little love and left the room only when I knew peaceful slumber was possible.

Just as I comforted and helped my child understand that the baby wasn’t really a problem, I hope to do the same for all of us this month.

So, are you game for this adventure? Feel free to comment about your ‘problem’. We could have a great support group in the comment section.

 

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About Marie T

I love gardening and magical beings. My profile is a garden ready to be created,

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March Ahead: Step Two ›

Tagged with: dreams, goals, life changes
Posted in March Ahead