I'm re-reading a book I've read a couple of times before called "This Year I Will..." by M.J. Ryan. It's a readable little book and I find it always helps to give me a good swift kick in the butt when I need it!
The idea is that whatever it is you've been putting off... or thinking about doing... or stopped doing, but want to get back to... you can actually do it...
She says there are 5 stages we go through in life when we want to change a habit or follow a dream:
1. Pre-contemplation - don't even know we need to or want to change
2. Contemplation - we say "someday I'll do that"
3. Preparation - we are getting ready to do it "soon"
4. Action - we are starting it "right now"
5. Maintenance - we keep going until we get to where we want and stay there...
Now, if you're anything like me... we can spend years... and years... in stages 1 and 2 and 3... Actually, even 4 too when it comes down to that... But that's mostly because if we do start something, it can get hung up for a while on the back burner where it slips back into stages 2 and 3... So, really, it's stages 2 and 3 that are the real sticking points... at least for me... I do love that "someday"... which is usually "tomorrow" by the time I get to stage 3 and tomorrow, as we know, can last a lifetime...
So, Ryan, presumes we've gotten past stage 1 and at least recognize what it is we want to change or do or accomplish... Maybe it's a dream you've always had... or a desire or something else...Whatever it is, it's sitting there, in your life, smiling at you, waiting for you to get around to it... And you keep guiltily ignoring it... Time to suck it up and bite the bullet and do it...
Ryan divvies her book into 4 sections:
1. Introduction - The Adventure of Living your Dreams
2. Preparing to Change
3. Getting into Action
4. Keeping Going
So... let's take a look and see what we find...
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