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This blogpost was inspired by @chbartist's post https://steemit.com/life/@chbartist/how-to-make-a-change-to-your-routine-that-is-everlasting
I really enjoyed reading this post and all the comments as well. @chbartist's post gave me the incentive to create my own post on the subject of instigating change in your life. I really enjoy reading #steemians posts especially when they give me the direction to write, because I have been a little stuck with writers block since starting my #steemit blog.

Change is a Wonderful Part of Life

For many years I have used The Yi Ching or Book of Change to help me make decisions about change in my life. Its an ancient Chninese oracle which uses three coins to give you a reading or answer to a question you ask about your future. It has been used in China for a few thousand years and it contains every possibility represented by 64 hexagrams, built from the trigrams shown in the bagua diagram above.

I love change and without it I feel like my life becomes stagnant. Change excites me and I become very enthusiastic about new endeavours in my life. The problem I have though is that I probably have too much going on in my life already and each new thing I introduce makes my life busier and busier. Routine is how many of us keep our lives on an even keel and change often needs to disrupt the routine, making room for something new.

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Learning Something NEW

I play music everyday and am learning two new instruments at the moment so I have had to really change my daily routine, to fit in the practice time. I play with others twice a week and I was so keen to play fiddle at these music sessions but of course the first few weeks I was so scratchy and squeaky that It would have scared them away.
Every day when I got home I spent several hours practicing and getting myself familar with this new landscape that was at first so alien to me. I waited for 1 month before I took it out to the sessions. Now it’s about 6 weeks I think since I started and it’s coming along nicely, the other musicians didn’t throw anything at me.

Start in your mind

When I make a big change in my life I first do it in my mind, thinking about how I will usher in the change and I create some expectations in my mind. I also usually talk about it a bit which some say is not a good idea until the change is properly established. I can’t help myself though, I always say what is on my mind so I get a lot of feedback from others about the change before it actually happens. I also find that telling others is a good way to commit yourself to the change, because it makes it harder to go back on your word. Many people will say negative stuff like “ oh you will find the novalty will wear off before you achieve your goal” or “ you are too old to start something new” I just ignore these comments and actually they make me even more determined to succeed.

Positive Affirmations

For the more difficult changes in my life I like to compose positive affirmations to help to keep my spirits hig. I write these down on small pieces of paper, onthe front of my notbook, and I repeat them in my mind and out aloud. This really heps to establish commitmentin my mind.

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Giving up something

Change that entails giving up something that has been your habit for a very long time is probably the hardest type of change there is. Giving up smoking, drinking, drugs, swearing, sloppy driving habits to name a few examples. I also find this type of change difficult and challenging but @chbartist’s advice to take it slow I think is the best way for sure. Slowly cut down on the activity reducing each day your dependence. It is easy to make a small change in your activity, but a big one is disfficult and a shock to the system. Always give yourself credit for the small steps each day and then after a week or so review your progress and give yourself a reward for your success.

Rewarding Success

You deserve recognition for your success. Rewards are a great way to give yourself incentive to carry on when the going gets tough. During difficult periods remember the next reward and look forward to that. Rewards will lessen the likeliness of failure and give you something to work towards.
I like to reward myself with quality time out from work, allowing myself to chill out and enjoy having some time to myself. i might go see a movie, go to the beach or for a long drive in the mountains. Chocolate is another reward I give myself. (maybe too often!)

Milestones

Calendar or wall chart

Another great way I have found to measure my success at instigating changes in my life has been to set definite milestones and to set a date that I would like to achieve each milestone.
Using a calendar can be a great way to set up your milestones. Put the calendar on your fridge or somewhere you can't help seeing it often during the day. it can be a constant reminder to you of the goals you are achieving. When you pass a milestone, celebrate this event, with rewards, sharing the news with close friends and family members and crossing off the milestone on the calendar.

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