Author: Shauna McVeigh, M.Sc., CSCS
Psychology of change
Change your life drastically in just 10 minutes a day!
Most of us have at least one thing in life we want to change, whether it be our physical health or appearance, our relationships, career satisfaction, or our bank balance. I am going to give you some keys on how to bring about the change you desire in your life. Keys are only useful if you use them in the right doors, so I encourage you to examine how you can apply the following keys to change your life for the better.
Look at yourself and the current situation you want to change. Look at the things which have got you there, your thoughts, your attitude or beliefs, your habits, your words.
Now look at where you want to be. Look at the things that would need to change to get you there. What thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, habits and words would need to change for you to achieve your desire? The good news is you can change. The agent of change, the catalyst is you. If you want a different outcome, you have to change something. It requires the hunger and passion for your dream to be greater than the satisfaction with your current circumstance, so choose one area of your life you want to change the most.
Vision
We are all born with desires. Some are healthy, some not so healthy. Whether your desire is to have a trimmed and toned midsection, to win a sports competition, go on holidays to the Caribbean, own your dream car, or fulfill God’s plan for your life, you first need to have a vision of it imprinted in your mind. If you don’t, I strongly encourage you to create a vivid image of the outcome you want. Just like an architect, spend time planning and creating the vision in detail. A useful tool is to have a vision board, or inspiring pictures or words around you that you will see on a daily basis. If your vision is strong enough and you focus on it, you will have a much greater chance of achieving it. See yourself as having already achieved it. In Mark 11:24, Jesus says “Therefore I tell you whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Spend time thinking and meditating on having already got it. The same chemicals are actually released in your brain when you imagine yourself doing something and when you physically do it.
Thoughts
Your brain is magnificently designed with the amazing capability to view yourself from outside, something no other animal can do. You can see where you are and if it’s not where you want to be, you have the power and ability to make choices that synch your desires with your reality. Your mind is extremely powerful, and it can be your best weapon if you learn to use it to control your thoughts and actions, and I encourage you to learn to use it to your advantage.
Thoughts are physical things. Brain scientist, Dr. Caroline Leaf says “Your thoughts are real and take up mental real estate in your brain, and positive thoughts look very different to negative thoughts.” She explains that we are all ‘neuroplasticians’ with the ability to create physical changes in our brain by simply changing our thoughts. I find it amazing that positive, healthy thoughts actually create physical neurons or brain connections, just as negative thoughts cause connections in our brain to die! I interviewed world champion golfer Danielle McVeigh in the pursuit of powerful keys to success. As golf is such a mental game, she has learned how to master her mind and emotions. When I asked her to explain how to best deal with negative thoughts, she replied, “It is important to pay attention to your thoughts. Everybody has negative thoughts at times. When an unhealthy thought enters your mind, you can simply let it go and choose not to act on it. Instead, replace it with a healthy thought.” This is crucial in being successful in any area of life. When you spend time listening to and speaking positive healthy thoughts, they will become automatic, even during times of testing. Be intentional with the healthy thoughts you create and know and line up with God’s word and your identity in Christ.
In addition, when you meditate on having achieved success already, your thoughts and actions will naturally start to line up. Then it will be much easier to exercise discipline, making choices that lead to your success. It will become a new habit to push yourself the extra mile when no one is watching, to say no to the things which have been holding you back, and to apply the positive change you need to succeed.
If this is something new for you, I suggest you start with 5 minutes a day, intentionally focusing on visualizing yourself with your desire as a reality. Think about how you would look, what you would wear, how confident you would feel, who would be with you, where would you go, and also what other opportunities this success would create. The time you invest in high quality focus will be directly related to the outcome. Be aware of the problem, but focus on the solution. You have the choice whether to operate from a place of fear or faith. Know that all of God’s promises come by faith, so I encourage you to focus your faith and expect to receive what God says.
-What you focus on, you empower – Patricia King www.xpmedia.com
Words
Your words are extremely powerful, and are a creative substance. Think of a time when someone spoke something to you, whether it was positive or negative. How did it make you feel? And did you give it power to create your reality by believing it? Made in the image of God who created the world with his words as it says in Psalm 33:9 “For he spoke and it came to be,”, you also have the power to create your world. You have the ability to refuse to believe negative words and to believe the positive.
Now you can start to line your words up with your thoughts. Decree over yourself and your life that you have it in the present. Use your faith to pull your dreams into your present. Spend time creating the decrees that would work for you, and start speaking them over your circumstance.
If this is something new for you, again I suggest spending 5 minutes a day making decrees over your life. When you are proclaiming your decrees, speak them with passion and belief from the heart. You can repeat the same statement, or speak life into every area of your vision.
Learning to get the most out of less than ideal situations
“No day is perfect,” says Danielle McVeigh, and she views what others may call failures as simply a learning opportunity. She has learned to enjoy each day and relax, whether in pressure situations on the golf course or in business meetings, as well as life in general. To deal with a circumstance in which she didn’t achieve the desired outcome, she simply writes down anything in her control that she could have done better and makes a point to learn from it. You can use every situation to your advantage. Do not get discouraged or down on yourself, but study what went wrong, learn from it, and simply apply the new wisdom you acquired from the experience to the next opportunity. Paul says in Philippians 3:13-14, “Forgetting what lies behind, and reaching forward to the things which lay ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
On focusing on winning in the midst of trials, the words of Sylvester Stallone are encouraging. “It’s not how hard you can hit, it’s how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward!”
Take action
Now that you are aligning your thoughts and words up with your desires, decide upon what actions will need to change. I suggest you replace the limiting action with a positive action. For you, it may be simply choosing to replace thoughts of fear of success with faith and confidence, or it may involve getting up 10 minutes earlier to prepare you for the day ahead, putting an extra $50 from your paycheck into a savings account, or replacing your morning coffee with a green tea or protein shake. Take time to determine which action or actions would be the most beneficial and realistic for you. In addition, don’t be discouraged or feel guilty if you fail. Simply learn from it and get back on track.
In summary, become aware of the area in your life you want to change. Be intentional as you focus your thoughts, words and actions on success. Get into the habit of spending 5 minutes a day visualizing success, and 5 minutes on speaking the success into being, and applying the relevant actions. Get excited and passionate about making your dreams a reality!
I hope you will be able to use the keys I have given you to change circumstances your life and live out the reality of your dreams! I welcome your feedback and testimonials.
Shauna McVeigh, M.Sc., CSCS
References
Dr. Caroline Leaf, Brain Scientist
Patricia King
www.patriciakinglifecoaching.com
Danielle McVeigh, World champion golfer
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