Making the Change - Being the Change
Martha Beahm, Pinnacle Associate
“Out of clutter find simplicity;
from discord, find harmony;
in the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”
Albert Einstein’s Three Rules of Work
Albert Einstein, who is considered the father of modern physics and the one who discovered E=mc2 and the quantum theory in the world of early 1900s. He believed in something that hadn’t been found, and was willing to seek and take risks toward his beliefs. He set goals to discover and seek what wasn’t yet known or found. What a visionary! I love his “Three Rules of Work”!
Even though we may not have that same kind of profound vision, we each carry beliefs and a desire for something in our worldview and experience. What do you seek? Are you needing change or entering a time of transition? Change is one of the things we are pretty much promised in this in this fast-changing world. Day-to-day, even moment-to-moment. So, what does it take to move towards that change?
Prochaska’s “Readiness to Change” Model can give us some insight into being intentional about how to make, to take some control of the direction you go:
Precontemplation-You are not even aware of the need for change, much less ready to make the change
Contemplation-You recognize that change needs to happen and are considering it, but you may not know what to do to make the change, or are ambivalent about making the change.
Preparation-You have decided to make the change and are making preparations for it by assembling resources, checking out possibilities and gathering information.
Action-You are ready to take action, to practice new behaviors, to step out into something new.
Maintenance-You have established new actions towards your goals in the change and have begun to integrate it into your life.
Termination-You no longer have to focus with intentionality on the new action as “change” because it is well integrated into your normal activities. A programmatic approach is no longer needed.
What is the change you are looking for? Or perhaps one has been imposed upon you. Whatever the reason, you can choose to face it with intentionality.
-Awareness of the need or goal is the first step.
-Then consider all the possibilities.
-Next explore the benefits and risks of each.
-Then make your decision.
-The decision can be changed at any time. Putting a decision to action is the point!
I have found that having a life coach is so helpful in staying focused on what is most important to me in difficult decisions and transitions. A coach both helps me stay true to myself and stay accountable to going forward with my dreams by encouraging me to think beyond what I would do by myself, yet keep it realistic and faithful to who I am.
“…in the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” What lies ahead for you? Are you making the decisions for your life? Or are you letting life happen to you?
Contact Martha for more information about Life Coaching can help you create the change you desire. marthab@pinnaclelead.com or 803-603-6085.