Essential Components of Personal Transformation

Maybe you’re sick of your life, your waistline, or the person you’ve become. You’re more flexible than you think! You can become just about anything or anyone you like. Whether you want to get fit, build wealth, or revamp your social life, you can do it!

It’s far from easy, but where there’s a will, there’s a way.

These strategies can help you become the person you’ve always wanted to be:

1.   Identify your core values. You won’t be happy if you create a big change that puts you in conflict with your values. Most people have never really taken the time to identify their values. Take a day to consider the values that are most important to you. Write them down.

2.   Create a vision of the future. Think about the end result of the transformation you want to make. For example, if you're going to drop weight and become fit, think about how you would look and feel. On the other hand, maybe you're more interested in becoming abundantly prosperous. What would that look like? What kind of house would you own? How would you spend your day?

•   Is your transformation reasonable for you? For example, you might not be able to make a trillion dollars, but you could still build great wealth.

3.   Determine why. Why do you want to make this change? Create a long list of reasons why you want to transform. Get excited.

4.   Identify the qualities and skills you’ll need to develop. If you want to transform your body, you might need to learn more about exercise physiology, nutrition, and develop some discipline. Consider what it will take to accomplish your transformation.

5.   Identify the resources you’ll require. Do you need a personal trainer, gym membership, and a blender? Maybe you need money and a mentor for your transformation. Figure out the resources you’ll need.

6.   Make a plan. Start at the end and keep working backwards until you reach a step that you can do today. Avoid worrying about the details of step 11. You can worry about that when you’re finishing up step 10. You don’t need to see 10 miles down the road to back out of your driveway.

7.   Audit your plan. Imagine following your plan and note how you feel at each step. You’re bound to feel some emotional resistance at one or more points. If you didn’t, you would have made the transformation long ago.

•   It’s important to address each of the issues that create emotional discomfort. You’re likely to quit if you don’t.

•   Either come up with a plan to work around those issues or just relax and let the negative feelings go.

•   You’ll know you’re in a good place when you find yourself chomping at the bit to get started. Procrastination is a sign that something is awry.

8.   Don’t quit! This is the most challenging part for most people. You won’t move forward if you quit. You can’t fail if you don’t. Keep on going no matter how bleak things seem. You can always do better tomorrow than you did today. A little bit of progress each day or week is all you need.

You can transform yourself starting today. Build a vision and create a plan. Stay the course until you’re satisfied with the changes you’ve made.