Mind, Body & Soul Session (#27)

Don’t fear change!
Change isn't easy; it's unsettling and can sometimes even be a traumatic experience, but change is part of life. Change is the only thing that will bring progress and without change life stagnates. Avoiding change can mean that we miss out on the most fulfilling opportunities of our lives and yet, change is often the thing we fear the most.

Fear is the greatest enemy to change. Fear is what keeps us in a relationship that isn’t working, keeps us from buying that dream home, going on a trip around the world, taking a sabbatical year or stops us from quitting that boring job we do year after year. Long story short, fear keeps us from living our dream and that’s a shame isn’t it?
Self-help books always tell people to “feel the fear and do it anyway”; in my opinion great advice but where do you begin. The first step is always the scariest one.

Let’s just say you want to go on a trip around the world. You can really see yourself on plains, trains, boats, in cars, hiking, on bikes and so on. You can see yourself visiting the wonders of the world, staying in backpackers’ hostels, fancy hotels or National Parks. One problem though, as soon as you start sharing your plans with other people they start to mutter about language barriers, accidents, crime, diseases, healthcare and money problems. At first you will shrug your shoulders but later on you will probably start to worry about taking on such a big adventure.

Of course you are worried, you might even be scared, but instead of letting go of your plans you can also give it another look. Look up information online, there might be sites that have all the information you need. Read the stories of other travellers. If you don’t want to figure this out all by yourself, go to a travel agent, they are more then willing to help you. If you are worried about diseases, visit a travel clinic.
By arming yourself with knowledge, you give yourself power and with this power you can begin to take control. A plan is less intimidating when you can see exactly what needs to be done. And it doesn’t matter if you are going on a trip around the world, going to buy a house; these rules are relevant to everything from coping with the aftermath from a recently ended relationship to finding a new job.

So, if it’s time to take control, here are some things you can do.
First: decide what you want. You need to focus on what matters to you the most. Jumping at every opportunity just because it’s offered can be fun but if it isn’t going to bring you closer to your goal you are not going to accomplish a thing.
Next: Look at the challenges you would have to face. Would you have to face big hurdles? Or could you just as easily break them into individual projects? Small steps will get you where you are going, too - it just takes a little bit longer. And here is the funny thing, when you are taking care of all the little things, taking the small steps, you’ll find that big things really have a way of taking care of themselves. Sometimes taking the first step is just the thing you’ll need to get the ball rolling.

"The greatest adventure is what lies ahead
Today and tomorrow are yet to be said
The chances, the changes, are all yours to make
The mold of your life is in your hands to break.

The greatest adventure is there if you're bold.
Let go of the moment that life makes you hold.
To measure the meaning can you make delay
It's time you stopped thinking and wasting the day.

A man who's a dreamer and never takes leave
Who thinks of a world that's just make-believe
Will never know passion, will never know pain
Who sits by the window will one day see rain."

- Glen Yarborough