All About Women | Women

Here is some sound advice on changing your beliefs by Ariane de Bonvoisin of First 30 Days:

If you find yourself stuck in the middle of a change, work on changing any beliefs that might be holding you back. Just as you created your current beliefs, you can replace them with new ones.

1. Write down any negative beliefs about the current change—for example, I'll never get well, I don’t have what it takes to succeed and so on.

2. Imagine that you're sitting with the most optimistic person you know, ready to choose better beliefs about this change. What would they be? Write these down—for example, I'm strong enough to get well, I have what it takes, etc.

3. Put these ideas someplace visible and read them once or twice a day.

Don't be discouraged if your mind resists initially. Research has shown that it takes between 21 and 28 days for something to become a habit. Stick with it, and these new beliefs will eventually become a part of you.

Read more advice on getting through change in Ariane's book, The First 30 Days: Your Guide to Making Any Change Easier.

Coach Carolyn

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." ~ Aristotle

One of my mantras for this year has been, BE CONSISTENT. I write it every day in my daily planner, in my journal, and in my weekly SWOT Analysis. And know what? It is working! I am being consistent.

I have always been of the ilk that will try something for about a week, then decide that it just isn’t working for me, or something will distract me from continuing. Of course, there have been things that I have been consistent with, such as showering and brushing my teeth. Yet, I tend to overlook those things and chalk them up to necessities of life. My spiritual and emotional well being are also necessities of life. They are something more ~ they contribute to my quality of life. I may not offend anyone if I decide not to meditate, yet, in the end it does affect my quality of life, which offends me.

One key to being consistent: be consistent with one new task at a time, and do it for 30 days straight. Then add on one new task for 30 days. If you happen to miss one day, please do not beat yourself up. Simply begin again. Yes, as if from Day One. Trust me, it doesn’t work the other way. I have tried all of the shortcuts. They do not work!

Personally, I am astonished at my level of consistency with certain tasks ~ this blog, for example. I would post and feel good about posting. Then, I wouldn’t feeeeeeel like it. So, I wouldn’t post. What did it get me? A stagnant blog!

Develop a plan to be consistent.
*Decide what you want to do.
*Create a plan to do it.
*Write down the steps in your planner, or somewhere you tend to look... consistently. If you write it down, you have more incentive to complete it than if you simply try to remember to do it. Trust me on this as well. Remember, I was the master of delay, distraction, forgetting, and excuses. Now, I am Sister Consistency!

Have I arrived? Only if I am consistent…

"We are all living; we are all dying. In between, we have the gift of deciding how." ~ Suzy Welch

Be consistent!
Coach Carolyn