goals, positive action, positive change, stress management
Until recently, I have spent a great deal of time on political fora. I have joined others in discussing the woes of my country (Ireland) and, in general, just complaining about the current state of affairs. Like many, I would like to see some positive change occur in the country. However, as time came to pass, I became tired and bored with the fora. It took me some time to realise, but I eventually did, that the reason for my boredom lay in the fact that talking alone never achieves anything. The majority of people who join these fora will never make any attempt to change the issues which cause their upset. Now think about that for a minute. How can you fail to do anything about an issue which upsets you? Surely the appropriate action is to (a) take some positive action to create positive change, or (b) Accept things the way they are, stop complaining and move on.
Change cannot happen without action
This whole experience has made me think about a course I attended a number of years ago. The subject matter was coaching and personal development. At the end of the course our instructor asked us to perform a special exercise to demonstrate the power of visualisation. She lit a candle at the top of the room and asked us, as a class, to close our eyes and visualise the extinguishing of the candle. We closed our eyes and began to visualise until, after about 2 minutes, we were instructed to open our eyes again. At the top of the room the candle was now burning brighter than before. The instructor then said:
‘Visualisation is an excellent tool. It helps you to establish a clear goal, to know what it is that you really want to achieve. But without positive action [and she blew out the candle] it will not help you to achieve anything.’
Stress management requires positive action and positive change
Complaining about the current state of affairs or talking about the way you wish the world to be, will not help you to create the positive change you desire. In fact, constant complaining forces you to focus on the negatives and discount the positives in your life. This type of thinking only serves to increase stress, worry and anxiety.
You can either spend all your time talking or you can decide on a course of action and get working on it. So, if there is a goal that you really want to achieve, why not take some action today? Set the ball rolling. Send that email, make that call, visit the gym, book that flight. Whatever the necessary action may be, bring that goal one step closer today.
If you want to make positive changes in your life, check out the
Ultimate Guide to Goal Setting.
What positive changes would like to make to your life?
What positive action can you take now to help bring about these changes?