Embracing change begins with desire. Without the desire to change it is inevitable that change will not occur. Desire is the first step in the 7 rules for positive change (more about the remaining rules to come.)  This desire needs to spring up from you and you alone-no one can do it for you.  It lies deep with in the recesses of your own heart and soul.

I have found that desire can come from:

1. A bold vision of a better future

2. You’re unhappy with where you are right now (emotional pain)

3. Learning from your behavior and evaluating the results (trying to get better)

Let’s explore each of these.

A bold vision of a better future:

What will be your life long contribution be?  What talents do you have?  Where are your passions in life? What opportunities are within your grasp? What do you love to do?  How can you leverage your talent, passion and market opportunities to make money and thrive in your life?  

Spending time deeply thinking about these questions will eventually give you the “the long view” or the vision you need in order to change.

Remember, you and you alone have certain skills and talents you can develop to reach your full potential and make amazing contributions in life, regardless of your race, economic status, or interest.

Your vision should be strong enough to ignite your desire to change and do things differently.

You’re unhappy with where you are right now:

Pain, over time can numb the senses and cause great sorrow and a loss of direction.  Wanting something different than you have right now can be a great motivator to change.

This can lead to important self-evaluation or pinpointing your exact location in life.  Every journey to change has a beginning, middle and end.  With a clear starting point and a vision of where you want to go, putting together a plan to change can start to work.

Transform your pain into something productive by evaluating where you are at now and explore possible long-term opportunities or ways to overcome your trials or obstacles.  Take an inventory of your life right now of where you are. Consider your current status: physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

Learning from your behavior and evaluating the results:

We tend to be perfectly aligned to the results we are getting in our life.  If we are not happy with our life results we need to change our behavior.  Want new results, well it requires new and better behavior.

We have the choice to learn from life’s experiences or to ignore them.  In the mist of troubling times we can “call out” what is happening to us, label it, and then choose how we act because of it and what we will learn from it.

Everyone has challenges, suffers and makes mistakes. However, not everyone learns from their mistakes.

Make learning a life long journey.  The greater your learning the greater your awareness and the greater freedom you have to choose and ultimately change.

How have you learned to create a vision? What helps you when evaluating your current state and motivating yourself to change? What have you learned from your life experiences?

I would love to hear your insights.

Take care and  engage.

Author: Sam Bracken, Global Director of Product Management Marketing, FranklinCovey

You’re not alone.

I mean, there are still other people in your organization, right?

Tip#2: Embrace Others

Odds are, when you’re working fast and furious, there is probably someone, somewhere in your organization that may have some downtime, or they’re worried about not being aligned with strategic projects. Find them. Grab them. Capitalize on their skills. And have them chip in. People are generally happier when they’re engaged and contributing. Sure, quality might slip a bit and it might take longer for you to get that project done. But there is a huge feeling of relief when you delegate a task to someone and you go back to your office and are able to tackle something else. And there is an even better feeling when they come back to you and the project is finished and better than if you did it yourself.

 In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey outlines the principle of abundance. What this means is that there is always enough work for me and you, and the person in the office down the hall. Don’t be afraid to relinquish a bit of control over your projects. It will only benefit you and the people you bring into your circle. Your projects will get done better than before and you’ll be helping other people become engaged.

In my next post I’ll cover Tip #3: Plan or Perish.

Author: Matt Murdoch, FranklinCovey

 Tip #1: Eliminate Chaos

When everything around you is moving fast it’s hard to get organized. Does this sound like your typical day? You return from one meeting only to go to another and yet another throughout the day; you don’t have time to focus strategically on one project because your time is spread so thin over a dozen; you have three people at your door waiting for a decisions on three different projects.

Unless you gain control over the madness of your days, it will control you. You need to do whatever it takes to prepare yourself for these tornadic days – because they’re not going to stop. You need time management. You need to get organized.

• Come in 30 minutes early and straighten your desk and reply to urgent e-mails: It’s amazing how much quality work you can do when nobody else is in the office.
• Organize your files so you know where everything is: It’s a great feeling to be called into a last minute meeting and be able to grab the appropriate file.
• Block out chunks of your days to ensure you have time to get your work done: I find that I’m most productive on Monday-my brain is fresh and I’m still thinking clearly. After my morning meetings I’ve blocked out a few hours in the afternoon to actually work.
• Take time to help others: You’ll find that when you’re organized, you’ll be better able to help others and help them with things they need.

I’ve learned that when my life is chaotic, I work minute-by-minute. I can’t see the horizon and I start to feel overwhelmed and stressed. So, take some time and eliminate the chaos by getting organized.

 In my next post I’ll talk about Tip #2: Embrace Others

Author: Matt Murdoch, FranklinCovey