There Is No Magic Pill But There is Help

I know, I know, I want one too.

There are so many quick fixes offered. They come in colorful pills, drinks, books, jewelry, gadgets etc. Are you attracted to any of the items that offer quick fixes with no work required on your part? Do you buy into the fantasy of a miracle cure? Do you shy away from anything that requires real work and change on your part?

The truth is there is no magic pill available. Sorry! Change is a process that requires daily work. The real trick is doing the work on a daily basis, being consistent. How many self help books have you read that offered great exercises and information? Did you use any of them? If you are like me, you thought to yourself, “This is great; I am going to start doing this”. Then for the next few days the great new information and advice passes through your mind and you think “oh I am going to do that”. By the end of the week you have forgotten what it was and by the end of the month you forgot you ever read the book or heard the information. So what do you do if you want to create change in your life? You need a system of daily practices that are easy enough to do on a daily basis and a reminder system to do them.

If you want to lose weight, you know that it will not happen overnight. You know that it will require changing your food, regular exercise and dealing with why you over eat in the first place. Most of us know what to do, we don’t need yet another diet book or exercise trick. What we do need is a way to be consistent, to be accountable, to be patient, to accept the small incremental changes and away to stick to our program when it gets difficult and when it is no longer a new novel idea or toy. We need structure, daily attention and daily repetition. I know it is not as sexy as an immediate fix, but it will be more reliable and the changes will be permanent rather than short lived.

Another important factor to consider is whether the change you are after is coming from motivation or inspiration. Motivation means that you are doing it because there is a risk or a reward at the end. The force is coming from outside of you. You may be motivated by your boss, your salary, by wanting to look good, by doing the right thing so others will like you etc. There is an incentive involved. Inspiration means that it is intrinsic to you. You are drawn into it rather than driven to do it. It puts a whole different spin on the action. Something within you moves toward this and pushes for it to happen. The energy in it is about creation. Inspiration comes from strength and wanting where motivation comes from fear of not getting. Inspiration is from the soul.

And what about conflict? If you want something so badly, why haven’t you gotten it? Whenever we strive to be better and to change, we awaken that monster of self doubt and limiting beliefs. How do you do to handle that? Some people will act as if that doesn’t exist for them. They will forge ahead and dampen their feelings. They may even believe they have no feelings around it. They may live by the credo “just do it”. We need balance. We need to find the way to do it while also acknowledging our fears, our feelings and our humanness. Some give up too soon. The first sign of difficulty and they drop their dreams. They will find many ways to place the blame outside of themselves for things not happening. Others will decide nothing needs to change, everything is just fine. All of these are defense against moving into the unknown.

Think about what it is you want to change and ask yourself the following questions. What are your desires? Where is your energy? Is the change you seek motivated or inspired? What is your definition of success? On a scale of 1-10 rate your willingness to take action. What are the consequences of taking the action and what are the consequences of not taking the action?

If you would like to create a system of daily action and accountability you can take a look at The Portable Self Help Coach. It is a system designed to accelerate change in your life. Visit www.innercorecoaching.com for more information.

Build the future you want. Evaluate what is needed for you to proceed. Talk it over with someone else. Thoughts that run around in our own heads can get fuzzy. We can lose perspective. It is important to talk with someone who can be objective, someone who has the proper skills to listen and ask helpful questions. Someone who can let you be you and let you unfold in the way you need to. My wish for you is that you are inspired to create the changes that will fulfill you.