How to Change

Change isn’t easy. Sometimes you know you need to change but don’t know how or where to start.  It’s a lot like planning a trip: you have a starting point and a destination; all you need to do is figure out the route.

Here are three little things you can do to get moving:

1. Understand where you are first.  Take a good look at your current environment, the situation in which you find yourself, and your attitude, knowledge, skills and abilities.  You need to clearly define your starting point.
2. Figure out where you want to go.  Define 3-5 goals for yourself.  Put some dates on them and make them specific enough so that you’ll know when you’ve reached them.
3. Make a plan to get you there.  Design a road map that is as detailed as you need it to be.  If you’ve set yourself a big, hairy, audacious goal, you may find it easier to break it down into smaller goals.  Keep working away at your goals and check your progress from time to time.

Don’t forget to celebrate successes!  You may not end up where you thought you wanted to go, but most of the time the journey is what’s important.  As one of my favorite philosophers, Buckaroo Banzai once said, “Wherever you go, there you are.”