So many of us long for change in our lives, we dream of change, we talk about change, we think about making changes in certain areas of our lives. The big question is ‘How do you actually mobilise all your inner resources and make that move towards change?’

The starting place of any change is the ‘why’ question. ‘Why do I want this change?’. The ‘why’ is essential in order to initiate any change or achieve any goal. It is important to keep the why at the forefront of your mind. It is the original motive for desiring the change. 

Change is something that we have to engage with in the different seasons of our lives. However, to actually make, that move that leads to change is scary and unsettling. Even as I write this blog, there is a twinge of uncertainty in my tummy, I call it the feeling of good anxiety. Anxiety that is good mobilises us to take a step even though we are afraid. The anxious feelings that immobilise us into inaction is not good for us. It stops us from doing or taking any positive action. When it comes to anxiety, ask yourself ‘Is this anxious feeling making me take a step, or is it breaking me down? Learn to distinguish between anxiety that propels you to action versus anxiety that makes you feel fearful. You change the feelings by your self-talk when you feel anxiety is making you unable to take a step. You change the anxious feelings by your self-talk, tell yourself, ‘I can do this, I have what it takes to make that happen….’. 

The Comfort Zone

Remember that for any change to happen in your life, you have to leave your comfort zone. The comfort zone feels safe, it is familiar it is your safety blanket of habits and patterns developed over time. Leaving the comfort zone is scary; you will feel unsafe when you are venturing into the unknown. The way to navigate any change is by starting small, and take baby steps. If it is applying for a new job in a new area, start by filling the application or ask yourself what is the smallest step you can take toward this change?

Fear 

Fear will naturally be a part of any process of change. Instead of running from fear you externalise the fear naming exactly what it is you are afraid of, bring it to the forefront of your mind. Ask yourself, ‘what is my worst fear in this situation? What if I fail?’ But what if you fly? Failure is a part of every success story. ‘Failure is an event it is not a person’. Acknowledge the fear, it is there and then take that step. That is courage; courage is fear that is able to take a step. In prayer, bring your fears to God. The Psalmist says, ‘I sought the Lord in all my fears and He delivered me’. 

(Psalm 34:4)

The Time Factor

Making changes that will be long-lasting and a part of your life will take time. Any change too quickly and too soon can be overwhelming, remember to pace yourself and take small steps, allow the process to be embedded in you. Assimilate the change and take it in. Give yourself time to get used to the new changes until it becomes a part of your life.

We live in a fast-paced world and the concept of slow and patience are alien. Sometimes it feels like you are behind in comparison to others, or certain things have taken too long to happen, or it feels like you’ve lost years. But I want to encourage you, God is able to accelerate and redeem our time when we commit our lives and our dreams, goals and desires to Him. In God’s economy, things work differently from the world system we are in “But many who [now] are first will be last [then], and many who [now] are last will be first [then]. (Matthew 19:30)

It is time to embrace that change- small or big. Shake off that feeling of fear, take that step today. I’m rooting for you.