17 Steps to Help You Make Changes In Your Life

Ever wanted to make serious changes in your life, but didn’t know where to start?

Knowing you need to do something and doing it, are two different things.

It’s easy to know what you have to do, but doing it can be quite overwhelming and in some cases, just exhausting.

So, how can you make needed changes in your life?

Here are 17 steps you can take to make necessary changes right now that can lead to extraordinary changes for your future.

Step #1- Think Small

First, you need to take some pressure off yourself by thinking small. I know you don’t normally hear that but when it comes to making real changes in your life, you have to take it one step at a time.

If you're the type of person that procrastinates, it may be because you're trying to take on too much and when you start, you get so overwhelmed, that you stop.

Pushing the task back further and further until you just don’t get it done. Taking one thing at a time can help.

Even if the task has many parts, starting on one small thing, still means you started. Then the next day, take another small part.

Before you know it, your small parts have become one huge task.

Don’t feel you have to finish it all at once. Especially, if it’s a change you're making in your life and it’s not affecting others. Take the time you need to gradually make the change.

Step #2 - Get a Planner

Having a planner allows you to solidify your ideas and tasks by putting them in writing.

This is a cool mental trick to help you get things done. Putting your ideas and tasks in writing makes your mind understand that these things have to get done.

Remember in school, when your teacher told you that taking notes helps you remember the information better and you tried it one time and you passed your test.

Well, that’s because it does, note taking is just a way of inviting more senses (sight, touch, taste, hearing, smell) along for the ride that makes up your thoughts. The more senses involved, the more your brain realizes this must be important.

Having a planner is like notetaking, you’re not only thinking of the idea or task, but you're writing it, and seeing it. You’re telling your brain more than one sense agrees, this idea or task should happen.

Heck, you're even smelling it, because the paper and pen you use have a smell to them. With that in mind, try to get a planner and writing tools that you enjoy.

It’s the little things. Right?

Don’t knock a good planner and what it can help you accomplish in your life. You can start today, by deciding how you like to plan.

If you struggle with procrastination, a monthly planner may be overwhelming, so try a daily or weekly planner. Remember, start small.

Step#3 - Tell a Friend

Another great way to make changes in your life is to tell a friend. Speaking out loud and telling others what you want to accomplish is a helpful way to solidify your ideas.

You want a positive response, so you want to tell a trusted friend that’s going to just listen as you explain how you plan to accomplish your goal.

No "Debbie Downers" allowed!

Telling others your plans is another mental exercise that works. It invites two other senses ( hearing and speaking) into your plans and again tells your mind that this is something you have to get done.

Another thing that happens when you do this is accountability. When you invite others into your mind and tell them your plans, it’s as though you're not only holding yourself accountable for what you have to do, but you're also allowing someone else to support you.

We all need cheerleaders to pump us up and remind us of what we said we're going to do. Remember, in a positive way.

Step #4 - Have a Plan A-Z

When deciding to change, it's also important to think about the failures that come with that change.

Failure is not a bad thing when you’re mentally prepared to face it. So how do you prepare to fail?

One way is by thinking about the possibility. Once you think about it, you realize it could happen, then you can think about what to do if it does happen.

It's less of a shock and you can regroup. You regroup by having a plan B, then if that doesn’t work have a plan C, and so on. Keep planning until you find what works for you.

Many successful people will tell you, the plan they have at first doesn’t always work out the way they think.

They had to take another route to get down the road of success. But one thing that remains the same, although the plans changed, they succeeded because they didn't give up.

When it comes to changes, no one thing way is correct all the time. You can have different roads leading to the same place.