Get Your Life Together!
READINESS
Have you had your "a-ha" moment? What has led you to decide to get your life together? Obviously there has to be something going on that makes you feel as though your life is not in order if you have made the decision to make some changes. Did you wake up one morning and make the bold proclamation that today is your day to change your life? Or did you receive another delinquency notice in the mail to add to a growing stack? Maybe you broke off a relationship with your romantic partner and you're ready for a fresh start. If you know your motivation, you are more likely to attack the task at hand and begin down the path of changing your life with full vigor.
Are you just sick of your current life? Sometimes there isn't a big, defining moment that leads people to want to change their lives. Instead, it may be a series of events that shed light on the fact that it is time to get their life together. Many people simply realize for no particular reason that the life they are living is just not the life they had envisioned for themselves, and if this is the case for you, there is still great motivation to change your life for the better. Examine all the things you do not like about your current situation so you can fashion a new life that will make you happier.
You decide when you're really ready. Your parents or other loved ones may have been harping on you for some time to get a better job, go back to school, stop eating junk food, or whatever else needs changing in your life. The decision ultimately rests with you, however, and until you are personally ready to make all the necessary changes, you probably won't have the dedication needed to see real results. Don't do something just because someone else tells you that you need to…do it because you want to, and because you are also ready to take on the responsibility of getting your life together.
Don't change your life to mirror someone else's. Maybe you were going along enjoying life when you met someone who really seemed to have his or her life together, and it made you feel a little inferior. Perhaps you decided at that point that you were going to make big changes and get your life together in order to be more like this person. Beware of making big changes just because you get the impression from someone else that they have some sort of better life than you do. The decision to change your life should rest in a conscious decision on your part that life just isn't working out the way you would like it to, and now is the time to make the necessary changes to get everything in order. You should also realize that the side of people that is public, in other words the side of people that you actually see, is oftentimes not a true representation of what is going on in their lives. The person you know who seems so well put together and in control of things, might actually be crying themselves to sleep every night because they are so miserable. So yes, there is always room for improvement in people's lives, but the decision to get your life together should be a decision you make on your own, regardless of what other people say or do. Don't allow yourself to be convinced that your life is unhappy or out of control when in fact it isn't all that bad.
WILLINGNESS
Some changes aren't easy. If you have some serious issues in your life that need to be addressed, such as addiction or destructive relationships, you are going to have to work mighty hard to get your life in order. If you have always gone out on Friday nights with your friends, and then decide that you need to get your life together and stop drinking, you may find it harder than you thought to turn down their invitation when Friday night rolls around. Even small changes are sometimes difficult; someone who starts each morning with a flavored coffee drink on the way to work, may find it hard to break the habit after he or she decides to try to end unnecessary expenses in an effort to become more financially secure. The question as to whether you are truly ready to take on all the challenges associated with getting your life together is a question that can only be answered by you.
How gung-ho are you? It is one thing to decide that you need to change your life, but it is another thing entirely to take the necessary steps in order to do so. Just recognizing all the different aspects of your life that need improvement can be exhausting, let alone implementing all the essential steps for change. If you feel ready to attack the aspects of your life that you don't like, then move full speed ahead. You may find that, as you begin to make changes and notice differences, your motivation will increase exponentially.
You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink. If your friend hands you a book about getting your life together and suggests to you that your time has come to fix your life, you probably will be less willing to analyze your life as you might have been if you had come to the conclusion yourself. The person who makes the decision that your life needs a little more order is you, and nobody else.
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