The Tribune

By Michelle M Miller

Everywhere you turn, people are looking for change; craving an improved disposition, especially in their personal life or their outer circumstances. Yearning and wanting is how they spend most of their time. They are waiting for change to happen to them as oppose to them happening to change.

What is it about change that cause so many to retreat? It seems they are hungry for their lives to change, without realising that before things can change, they need to change.

James Allen puts it well, ‘Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound.’   

And remaining bound by the chains of fear is how many choose to live their lives. In time, they buy into the habit of the blame game, blaming someone else for their life outcome.  

Fact is, you are always first cause. Your life belongs to you and you have full responsibility. Whether you choose to act responsibly or not is up to you.  Taking control means being responsible.

You must decide what you desire or need to change to make your life work and then get to work making those changes.  Before you address it – be willing to assess it.  Do you have the capacity to be the change you are looking for? Nothing happens without the capacity to make it happen.  

When you assess the person in your mirror objectively, you will find the courage to leave the blame game and take ownership of your life. 

You have the power and you are ultimately in control.

Yes, change takes courage and commitment, but it also takes heart. 

To reap the rewards of change, you must invest in your personal development to live a life that is continuously improving.   

Get busy living or get busy dying – the words of Morgan Freeman in the movie “The Shawshank Redemption”. 

Too many are not sure whether they are busy living or dying. Do not allow yourself to fall in this trap. Get busy living by facing the fears of your life and making the changes needed to move to a new and improved level.

Move beyond the emotional fixation with material things. All the shoes, cars, bags, and clothes in the world cannot give you self-value. They cannot grow, they cannot change. 

You however, can. You can get better. Be willing to put your money where your mind eyes rather than on your feet.

Change requires reprioritising your life. You cannot improve outwardly without first improving inwardly. The 98 per cent of the people run on and on about making changes in their life, but most never get it done, whereas those in the top two per cent are always change-ready and activate their power to make it happen.

Real change is not a microwavable function. Change takes work and process, which must be respected if improvement is to be realised.  

Stop looking out there for someone else to change or ‘fix’ your life. It is your life and you are the one, you are the change you are looking for.  

Leader to leader, make today the day that you begin to believe that you have the power to be the change. Being the change is the door to living the life you love.

What do you think? Please send your comments to coaching242@yahoo.com or 429-6770.

• Michelle M Miller is a certified life coach and leadership expert.