Evolve or Repeat: The Choice is Yours
It can be all too easy to be comfortable with the ways things are. Or even better yet, it can be all too easy to be discontent with the way things are but not have the wherewithal to make a change.
To name a few examples:
- You might be pining after that big promotion at your office, but chasing after it would mean stepping out of your comfort zone.
- You have always wanted to be an (insert dream job), but to do so could potentially involve sacrifices and financial insecurity.
- You’re feeling drained by the monotony of your day-to-day, and you can’t help but feel like there is more for you out there.
In all of these scenarios, you have two choices: Evolve or repeat. You can either be okay with (and even invigorated by) letting go of the way things were if they no longer serve you and your growth, or you can repeat the same habits and know that a change will not come.
How Do You Know It’s Time to Evolve?
In all reality, a healthy growth journey involves constant evolution. Evolution does not necessarily mean making a drastic change around every corner, but rather, it involves consistently taking stock of your circumstances and how they do or do not serve you. This is not to be confused with constantly being discontent, griping and groaning about your life. Instead, give yourself the freedom to recognize things about your life that don’t feel true to you, and work towards changing them.
Of course, the biggest sign that it’s time to evolve is experiencing an area of your life where you are consistently unfulfilled or performing unhealthy behaviors. Pose the following questions to yourself when wondering where you need to evolve next:
- What is my mind on all day?
- What keeps me up at night?
- What do I wish for in my life that I currently don’t have?
- Where did I imagine myself by now, and what is keeping me from being there?
Spend some time with your thoughts, and remind yourself that it is okay to want more for yourself than what you currently have. You only have one life, and it is up to you to make the most of it!
Outcomes of Evolving
Being in a constant state of growth and flux pays dividends. Whereas repeating your unhealthy behaviors involves self-sabotage, relying on your daily routines to mistakenly provide you with purpose, and feeling like you are constantly a victim of your circumstances, evolving has a host of fulfilling outcomes:
- You are taking risks with a specific outcome in mind… and it feels good!
- You find yourself virtually unrecognizable as you let go of unhealthy patterns.
- You attract positive experiences and people. When you emanate positive energy as a result of feeling personally fulfilled, you become a magnetic force— People take note and will want to be around you!
- You realize that, by taking courage again and again (and again!), your potential is uncapped and unleashed. The sky is the limit!
- You recognize the ability within yourself to transcend your self-limiting beliefs. Nothing can hold you back anymore!
- Most importantly, you are happier, down to your very core.
Actionable Steps to Making the Change
1. Rewrite the narrative. Instead of telling yourself that a change is out of reach, create a mantra that encourages your brain to think otherwise. Although the research varies on the exact number, it is proven that repetitive self-talk can alter the brain quite significantly. Let’s just agree on 20 times a day for good measure, shall we? (Here are a few mantra inspirations if you wonder where to start: “I am capable of anything if I only believe it,” “This change is mine to make,” “I am more than this job,” etc.)
2. Make a list of actionable steps you can take to reach your goal. Start with the steps most immediate to you and your resources, gradually working up to the ones that feel more far-fetched (just for now!). For example, for the sake of conversation, let’s say you are unhappy in your 9 to 5 job; you’ve always wanted to work in freelance photography. It goes without saying that quitting your job from one day to the next may not be the wisest choice if you don’t have the savings account to support it, but your list might look like this, in the meantime:
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- Start saving. Put aside x number of dollars from every paycheck in anticipation of transitioning to this career.
- Invest in the necessary equipment. Maybe you purchase the one camera and one editing software that are needed to obtain star-quality photographs, with a wishlist of more equipment waiting on the side.
- Create a business plan, to include pricing, marketing, client welcome materials, etc.
- Start promoting yourself. Get a few clients here and there; ask them to promote via word of mouth; watch your business start to grow!
See how these are all actionable steps that you can both afford and enact within a specific amount of time? Who knows; before long, you might be quitting that job and booking that trip to Greece as a wedding photographer that you have listed as step number eight!
3. Take it as it comes. Be aware that you may face obstacles, but none of these mean evolving in your intended direction is not possible. Assess each obstacle as you encounter them, decide how you will overcome them, and then leave them in the dust!
4. Continue looking for other opportunities to evolve all the while. What unhealthy behaviors continue to stand in your way? What things are you doing in a given day that you find yourself chastising yourself for, and how can you eliminate them? What little “thought blips” do you experience that get you excited?
Be curious. Be limitless. Be who you want to be. Know that you can unravel your unhealthy behaviors; you can achieve that dream job; you can live invigorated… if only you evolve. Reach out today for help on your evolution journey; I look forward to working with you!
