#76 - Change One Thing

We used to sleep in the loft. The previous owners had it converted into a beautiful bedroom space that many our visitors have made appreciative noises about. However, the designers neglected to include heating so for four years we shivered through cold winter nights. This week we finally admitted that much as we'd tried, it just wasn't working for us. It was time for a change, time to take ownership so we pulled the bed apart and moved it down to the first floor. Other rooms had to be gutted and rearranged to compensate which was hard work but very much worth it. Our primary goal has been attained - we're cosier and more comfortable - and there have been extra benefits too. We want to invite people round more, it's better for our relationship, and I've got a more organised office space.The house just makes more sense this way round, with rooms having more appropriate roles, and we've felt much more inclined to tidy and clean (I've turned into a super-proud domestic goddess, in fact).

Change isn't always easy, pleasant or beautiful. Sometimes we have to create a mess before we get things in order. If you'd taken a snapshot of us trying to squeeze the mattress down our spiralling staircase or the two of us attempting a four-burly-men reassembly job, then you'd have thought we were worse off than if we'd still been in that cold bedroom. My clients experience this too. Sometimes they risk a change and things don't go brilliantly at first: a new kind of work is far more exhausting than the previous one, they take brave moves and others don't respond well or they sell their house and the eco-community they dreamed of finding doesn't emerge.

This is why it's so important to remember that finding and following our passion is a journey. There will be wrong turns... and also right turns which go up hills before we can sail down the other side. There may be chaos initially and things can look worse before they get better. This is why I love the metaphor of a sliding puzzle which you'll see as the image above. The picture could look 90% right but if we want the picture to be complete, something has to give. We have to change some thing, make the move and risk dismantling and rearranging if we want to really go for what we want.

Do Things Differently

What one thing could you change? What could be reallocated or rearranged to get things moving in the direction you want? For example, reallocating ten minutes of your day to meditation or planning, asking to reduce your employed hours to four days a week or turning the corner of a room into a mini home office. Make a list of options and then do one. What happens when you change one thing? Let us know....

** Want to change something... but scared of failing? ** Every time we change something, there's a chance we'll fail. How are you with that possibility? For many of us, failing is not an option we embrace and so we stay stuck, not taking that risk. The impact? Stagnation, abandoned projects, bottom line = not achieving what we want to achieve or being as happy or fulfilled as we know we can be.

Click here to find out more about a workshop that will change this for you. NB The early-bird deadline of 30th April is getting closer so if you'd like to join us, save £10 by booking in the next couple of weeks.

(c) Corrina Gordon-Barnes, 2009.