Are You Open To Doing Things Differently In Your Life?

Is it time to do things differently in your life?

Have you been working and struggling to be, do or have something that you can’t seem to make happen?

Are you feeling frustrated and discouraged because all the “things” that used to work, no longer work?

I totally get it. We’ve all been there.

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Albert Einstein

Sometimes the problem isn’t in what we want, but in the “how” we’re trying to make it happen.

We can get fixated on trying to make what worked yesterday, work today. We can get so caught up in our ideas of how we want things to go that we don’t recognize any other options or opportunities.

Yet, there is always more than one way to get to the same place.

We just need to be willing to let go of the old to make room for the new.  We need to stop, reflect, assess and ask for the guidance on “how”.

Here’s are four examples of what doing things differently can look like in real life.

Have you ever been so focused on seeing only one solution that it’s blinded you from the answers that you crave?

I experienced this very thing last week.

I needed to change a setting in my Pinterest Business account to get my stats and it wasn’t working. I tried everything I could think of, asked my Social Media Manager and emailed Pinterest for support. Yet, none of their suggestions were able to fix the problem.

I’d been focused on trying to fix the issue through my lap top because that’s where I do my work. By Friday afternoon, I’d become so frustrated and obsessed that I had to walk away.

Not to get to “woo,” but I decided to pause and pray for clarity about my next steps.

Praying and listening usually works for me and this time was no different.  Within a few minutes, the idea of using my iPhone to change the settings popped into my mind.

I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t seen that as an option sooner. And it worked! Again, I was reminded how the smallest shift of focus can give me a new perspective and the answers or solutions that I need.

Notice where you are stuck. Have you been fixating on a specific solution to your problem? Maybe it’s time to see things differently. Quiet your mind, ask for guidance and try looking in another direction.

You may find you’ve had the answers all along but just couldn’t see them.

Doing Things Differently: Different Ways of Getting There

A couple of years ago, my husband and I went to Austin, Texas on a vacation. Every summer, we travel to different places in June with our grown sons, their significant others and Hudson, our dog.

In the past, we’d always driven from Connecticut to our destinations; 12-17 hours each way. I prefer driving because we can bring Hudson on vacation with us and he loves hotels. However, this time, we decided to do things differently. We flew and left Hudson with friends.

Talking about traveling is a great way to illustrate that there are so many ways to get to the same place. There are at least four different ways to get to Austin from where we live: driving, taking the bus, taking the train, and flying.

Driving is just one way; not the only way. If our car broke down, we could choose another way to travel and still get to where we wanted to go. We wouldn’t be stuck.

When we are stuck or struggling, the destination is not always the problem.  Sometimes, the issue is how we think we should travel. If we are willing to get “there” differently, we can usually find a way.

Think about where you’re stuck and trying to go in life or business.

Identify all the facts surrounding your situation.

Ask yourself if there’s anything that you could do differently to get unstuck and move towards your destination?

Keep writing down ideas until you come up with one that feels right for you.

Doing Things Differently: Different Ways of Thinking

I used to be an all or nothing; either-or type of thinker. Things were good or bad; right or wrong; happy or sad; easy or hard. It never occurred to me that different thoughts, emotions and beliefs could exist together at the same time.

I used to think that I had to choose between caring for myself and caring for others; between fulfilling my calling and making money; between making my happiness a priority and making my kid’s happiness a priority. You get the idea.

One of the greatest gifts I’ve received from my own spiritual and mindset journey has been freedom from the bondage of self. I’ve realized that so much of my past thinking had set me up for failure and as I began to think differently, I began to do things differently.

Now, I can find joy and sadness amidst the storms of life. I can regret my mistakes and be grateful for the lessons and blessings that came from them. I can serve myself and serve others at the same time.

What about you? Do you have attitudes and beliefs that are keeping you stuck? Think about one area of your life that you can start to think about differently. Write down your old belief and then write down a new, more empowering one to meditate on moving forward. Read it to yourself everyday and watch what happens.

Doing Things Differently: Different Ways of Being

I have transformed my life many times over the years and one thing I know for sure is; I start the journey as one person and become another as I get to the other side.

When I decided I wanted to create a healthier life for myself, I had to become a healthier person. The woman who ate ice cream for breakfast, didn’t move her body, spent hours in Borders reading cookbooks with recipes she never made could not have created a healthy life.

I had to learn to be different. I had to become a person who valued my well-being, planned my meals in advance, made time to chop vegetables and saw food as fuel to energize my body. I had to become a person who responded to life rather than reacted to it.

Here’s what I learned. It’s not enough to know what you want, create a detailed plan, and started implementing. That may work for a short period of time, but the change won’t be sustainable. You need to become different on the inside to create different on the outside.

Who do you need to become to create the life you want to live? How can you choose to be different on the inside today?

It may be time for a new perspective in your life.

Now that I’ve shared some examples from my own life, I want you to think about how you can see, think and do things differently in yours.

It’s true that our old routines, habits, ways of thinking and doing feel comfortable and safe; but they can also block us from receiving the answers we seek. Then they just keep us stuck.

They can become blind spots that prevent us from seeing the truth and the best way for us to go.

I’ve learned that the smallest shift in focus can often open our eyes to those “Aha” solutions, possibilities, and opportunities that are right in front of us.

What about you? Do you have any blind spots that block your view from seeing the answers, solutions, possibilities, or opportunities for your life?

YOUR TURN……….

Take some time to challenge your old ways of being, thinking, doing and living to make room for the new. Ask yourself if you are open to doing things differently and then commit to taking one action step this week.

Leave a comment below and share what’s on your mind.

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Remember, you were made to thrive,

Eleni

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