If You Want to Change Your Life...Change Your Life

It's not that difficult, really. While the whole 'baby steps' routine has become a pop-culture joke, it's the only way you'll be able to successfully change your life - and 'baby steps' are easy to take. Here's why:

Your life isn't a single entity. It is an ongoing series of small actions, thoughts and phenomena. By changing a single attitude, a single habit, you are changing your life.

Lose that pair of shoes that pinches the little toe of your left foot. You've changed your life. Buy a pint of cherries and some snap peas instead of the usual bag of chips and chocolate bar for your TV snack. You've changed your life. Call an old friend and tell them you love them. You've changed your life, and made somebody's day. Every decision, no matter how small, that you make to improve your lot and the lot of those around you changes your life for the better.

It may be that you're looking for Big Change. Sorry pal, no can do. I'd love to "change the world" in one fell swoop, eliminate hunger, disease, war and the music of Nickelback all at once but life doesn't work that way. What I can do is sponsor a family in the developing world, donate time or money to a sexual health clinic that distributes free condoms and information, support organizations that work for social justice in war-torn or at-risk countries and call my local rock station, requesting that they stop playing cheese. Baby steps, but I'll still have affected positive change in the world.

It's time to see the forest for its trees. If you are fat, figure out why you are fat. It does no good to make 'lose weight' your generalized goal, unless you know why that excess weight is there. Limit your time in front of the television, if that's what it takes. If your problem is bad food, choose good food. If work stress is draining your energy, change jobs. It's that simple.

There's one more means of improving your life that's even simpler than implementing baby steps toward change. It's taking stock of what doesn't need to change. What already works for you? What already brings you pleasure? What are you proud of? What's worth keeping?

By identifying the positive aspects of your life, you'll come to realize that your life isn't so bad to begin with. This will give you the strength to affect necessary change, while enjoying and appreciating the awesome person that you already are. by David Brooke