Here we are nearly at the end of January – one month into a new year. What’s different in your life? What’s different in your relationships? What’s different in your business or career? What’s different in your results? If you’re like most people, the answer is not much. You may have started out the year with resolutions and goals, but they quickly succumbed to old habits, routine and the busyness of life.
Let’s be honest – it’s easy (in fact always easier) to do things the way you’ve always done them. It’s easy to do things the way you’re supposed to. It’s easy to stay on the path you chose long ago because it’s familiar and comfortable. It’s easy to think the way you’ve always thought. It’s easy to take the road that others already took. And that’s the trouble with change – there are many obstacles to change and staying the same is always easier. That’s why change often requires that you shake things up.
Imagine a snow globe – perhaps a picturesque scene in the country or a big city skyline. It looks great when it’s calm – even beautiful – but it’s only magical when it gets shaken up. It’s the act of shaking the snow globe that opens up the possibility for more than what meets the eye – for more than appears possible – for more than what is. It’s also the act of shaking the snow globe that knocks loose what was previously settled. And life can be the same for all of us.
It’s easy to settle in to the ways things are and have always been. It’s easy to let your business, relationships and life settle in – to passively and sometimes unconsciously settle for what is. It’s easy to believe that what already is (and has been) is all that’s possible for you. That’s why it’s important to periodically shake things up, and it’s a mistake to wait for someone else or circumstances to shake things up for you. That might be too late for you to achieve the shifts you desire and it leaves you in the role of the victim – waiting for life to change for you.
Yes, set new goals and objectives, commit to them and lean into the changes you seek. AND, be willing to shake things up – whatever that means for you – in order to shake off the old ways, move beyond old habits and knock the edges off your comfort zone. The great thing about snow globes is that you don’t need anyone else’s permission to shake it, and the same is true with your life. The question is not whether you can shake things up in 2017, but whether or not you will choose to shake things up.
If you’re ready to shake up the snow globe of your life, now is the time. Before another day or week or month passes you by. If you want different outcomes, grab your life like a snow globe and shake it up – and watch the magic happen!
