Are you afraid of change? I’m not. In fact, I give ‘em a cuddle. What would my life be like if things didn’t change?
Stale, boring, stagnant.
Oh yessss, some of the changes are messy, some annoying (I’m looking at you HOT FLASHES!) and some utterly dreadful.
But others are pleasurable, lovely and delightful. (discovering cheddar jalapeño polenta fries—yummm!)
I get why people are all excited for a new year…it seems like some sort of reset, second chance, do-over and perhaps “THIS YEAR all my dreams will finally come true”. So they make new year’s resolutions.
Resolution means decision or determination. Making changes that will affect your life for the better. Saying goodbye to being afraid of change.
But I’ve gotten to the point that going to sleep and waking up the next day is my reset, redo, RENEW.
A few years ago, I determined/decided or resolved that I would CHANGE the way I spend the last 10 minutes before falling asleep and the first 10 minutes of waking up.
This CHANGE was difficult at first. Oh those drat-ful thoughts that wait til right when you lay down and close your eyes to come out and scamper around your brain. It seems like someone forgot to close the gate, and the flood of worry thoughts just whooshes on in.
But I was resolved to do something about it. I crowded out the worries with simple affirmations. Instead of “Omg, what about that bill”, “Why did I eat all those cookies?”, “my shoulder freakin hurts” or “What is wrong with me?” I just kept forcing my thoughts to the bright side;
As Monty Python lyrically explains
“Always look on the bright side of life, de dah, de dum de da da da de dah”
I would just run them over and over; “I am strong”, “I am beautiful”, “I am abundant”, “I am radiantly healthy”, “I am vital and energetic”, etc etc
Get it?
Eventually, it began to drown out the fear of change and close that insipid negative gate.
It sounds too simple, but it is very effective. I am so in the new habit now that once I close my eyes and snuggle under the marshmallow down comforter, my mind automatically searches for new ways of saying “I am…
Spectacular, loving, compassionate, feisty, funny, inspiring, excited, adventurous, flowing
Then I was determined to start waking up on the RIGHT side of the bed.
With the first glimmer of consciousness, instead of thinking “ugh, I gotta get up, “morning already?”, I didn’t sleep very good”, “too much to do today”, “BLAH”
Waah waah, woe is me
I tried to immediately catch myself and just say “thank-you”, “happy morning beautiful”, “I am so lucky, “This bed is cozy”, “what do I get to do today?”, “I am grateful for indoor plumbing”(cause I gotta pee!) and my favorite “Everything is always working out for me”.
Yeah yeah yeah…it sounds ridiculous and super positive fluff. But I am here to tell ya these two simple CHANGES affected my whole life. Now, I am no longer afraid of change!
FER REALSIES.
In 2020…
Be fierce. Be badass. Be kind.
Shelly Dax
“Use your imagination to create an image, a picture, that will help you focus on the life you want to achieve. As you go to sleep, don’t review bad feelings, fears, worries—instead assume the good feeling of your wishes fulfilled. Go to sleep with visions of what you love. Let your dream vision marinate overnight. Wake up with your positive, hopeful thoughts in place, ready to guide you through a day in which you step ever closer to the life you dream of.” ~Dr. Wayne Dyer, author
