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Dare to Change Challenge 9/29/2007: Just Say No (and mean it)

As we entered the New Year many of us made resolutions that we were determined to fulfill; but the thing that many of us lacked was the commitment to get them all done. As the year progressed, most of us slipped into the comfort of our old patterns of behavior, and many of our resolutions were undone within mere weeks of their declaration. The list of resolutions that started out as an expression of our passion, positivity, and optimism increasingly became just another list of broken promises and failures. However, today is where you can reclaim your power to transform the nature of your life by learning how to say no to that which does not serve you.

Today’s dare to change challenge is about deciding one thing that you are going to say no to for the rest of the year. Pick one habit or action that you currently do that you know is diminishing the quality of your life, and then commit to not doing that thing for the rest of the year.

This is not a resolution, because you don’t follow up on those. I want an iron clad commitment; a commitment to something that you will not do no matter what, because you know that the improvement of the quality of your life is the reward of your success.

Examples: You can choose to not eat after 9pm, or cut back to one glass of wine a night instead of three. It can be the choice to watch one less hour of television per night, or learning to say no to someone who takes your time or your kindness for granted.

What you choose is not nearly as important as making the firm commitment to stick to your commitment to yourself no matter what. Keeping your word to yourself regarding that which matters is the foundation of self confidence, and self confidence is the engine that will transform your life for the better for each day that you live.

If you are going to make this commitment with me, please post a comment indicating what you are going to say no to for the rest of the year. Then each morning get up and remind yourself what your ‘til the end of the year no” is, and why it is so important to you.

As you have never been perfect in the past, you will slip somewhere along the way, but unlike the past you are not going to dwell in your failure, but instead dust yourself off, and get your head and your heart back into your plan. Don’t give up, or plan to restart on Monday or tomorrow.

When you do slip (not if), I want you to either post a comment or email me, and let me know that you slipped and that you are recommitting in that moment to do better from that point forward.

That being said, I choose to forgo pizza for the rest of the year, no matter what, because right now I am working on improving my physical fitness. What are you willing to say no to? Remember just pick one, because I don’t want a wish list. I want to know what you must and will get done.

Add comment September 29th, 2007

Dare to Change Challenge 9/3/07

Change is an active process that requires focus, commitment, and presence. With the advent of cable, and the internet, and other modern conveniences, the time that defines our lives can be filled with infinite distractions that if indulged in, can make it difficult to maintain any of the requirements of change.

The Dare to Change Challenge is your opportunity to be coached through a change that you have been putting off. The goal of the Challenge is to create change through small incremental steps, so that at no one can have the excuse that they do not have enough time.

The Challenge: Improve your environment (by 1% or in 5-10 minutes; whichever comes first)

As you look around the room you are currently in, what distracts you? What do you look at and feel bad about? What do you complain about? It can be something that you know you (or a loved one) should clean up, or something you have been meaning to organize, donate, recycle, or get rid of. What is something you can do to make your environment feel 1% better than it does right now? What is something you can do within 5 to 10 minutes that will make the room feel less cluttered, and therefore more relaxing?

Once you have identified something that can be done, do it. Don’t listen to your inner voice that says, “That isn’t enough.” or “You should do more” or “I’ll do it on the weekend”. Most people spend more time thinking change than being change, and here is where you listen to your inner nag, and thank him or her for the lovely feedback, and then get started anyway.

Whatever you choose to do is probably more than you have often done, so get over the need for contemplating completion or perfection and get more accustomed to acting. Changing and improving the quality of your life is a process that is accomplished in fits and starts, so you might as well get started improving your experience today.

By improving the quality of your day-to-day life experience on a consistent basis, you will be better able to focus on the things that you want, because you will have fewer things to focus upon that you do not. Like a race, a well-lived life will always have a clear goal in sight, but once that goal is identified, the true master focuses on the individual steps that will get you there.

Once you identify your action, and have done it, please post a comment on the blog and tell me what you have done. You deserve recognition as well as accountability, and I want to help provide both.

1 comment September 3rd, 2007