Do One Thing Different

 

Have you ever considered changing something in your life?  Bill O’Hanlon has written a manual on how to do exactly that in his book entitled The Change Your Life Book.

O’Hanlon’s premise is that making changes can be a difficult thing, but even a small change can be impactful in changing the course of your life. 

He begins with three ways to make changes:

Change the Doing

Change the Viewing

Change the Setting

Under each category he gives a list of tips to encourage you to make the changes you have been wanting to make. 

I’ve included a few to get you started if you are considering a change.

Change the Doing

Sometimes we actually need to “Stop doing something.” Instead of changing what we do, or starting something new we might need to consider just stopping what we have been doing. O’Hanlon asks, “What do you need to stop doing to find more time or change the quality of your life?”

For me what comes immediately to mind is to stop watching mindless tv shows. If I’m going to watch tv at all I’d rather they be of some value or substance even when strictly looking for entertainment. How many times have I wasted time scrolling through You Tube videos looking for that “just right” video?

Another idea is to “Stretch your brain.” Identity something you are interested in or are wanting to learn. Research shows that allowing the brain the opportunity to learn something novel or even hard helps prevent mental decline. O’Hanlon states when it comes to stretching your brain that you should, “Spend time regularly pushing yourself to engage in the learning process.”

Change the Viewing

O’Hanlon’s advice for accomplishing this is to “Change perspectives.” One fun way to do this is to ask yourself how someone else might solve a problem. Get creative here and consider how your favorite superhero, author, family member or your future self might tackle a situation you are having a problem solving.  “Sometimes we get stuck with one view of the situation, which doesn’t help us resolve it, get through it, or feel very good about it,” states O’Hanlon. 

Challenge yourself to “Ask different questions or notice something differently.” Again if we get stuck asking the same questions or not looking for a different point of view we might not be able to make any progress in solving our dilemma. One question to consider might be, “Is this where I want to put my energy or attention?”

Change the Setting

Actually “Changing the location” might be the key to resolution. Many years ago I made a decision to move to another apartment complex to kick start some changes in my life. I knew instinctively that if I stayed nothing would change, and I would be left with nothing but regrets. It was one of the best decisions I ever made. 

Finally “Change the timing” might be just what you need to push yourself forward. This can be done quite literally by setting a timer for the exact amount of time to dwell on a problem. After that time period move on, and come back to it again for the same amount of time the next day. Our minds can begin to ruminate in a destructive way if we allow them to. 

If you know you are needing to change either your  actions, or your circumstances hopefully one of these ideas will resonate with you as a possible first step toward change.