The Journey Of Transformation
When I hear the word journey, I immediately think about someone or something going from one place to another. Sometimes this can occur over a long period of time and in some instances there may be obstacles which are encountered along the way. This reminds me of an animated movie which I watched when I was younger called the Prince of Egypt. In this movie, as the captives were being led to freedom, they had a long journey ahead of them and along the way, they encountered numerous obstacles. This is similar to our lives.
I believe that all of us are on a journey. But on this journey we must constantly seek to grow, develop and transform our lives. It doesn’t matter your age as there is always room for growth in our lives. However, you must note that this growth will not automatically happen. It will take daily intentional actions.
The ability to take one’s life to higher and greater levels first entails the process of transforming one’s life and mindset. But how exactly do we do that? Well, that’s what I will share with you today.
The Process Of Transformation
Before we can see the evidence of transformation occurring in our lives, we must first go through a process. Below are the following stages which have helped me along my personal journey. But please understand that transformation won’t happen overnight. It is a journey. The person you are at the beginning of the journey isn’t the same person you are going to be at the end of it. Why, you may ask. Because along the way you would have learnt many lessons, encountered and overcome various challenges/hurdles.
In my first book which is a devotional, entitled, A NEW LOOK AT LIFE: Journey Into Your Best Life, I first introduced to my readers the below concepts. Please understand that there may be a few other principles which you can apply to your life, that may not necessarily be listed below. Nonetheless, having carefully evaluated, researched and applied the below processes to my life, here are the ones which stood out the most to me:
1. Recognise It Is Time For A Change
Before you can change and transform your life from what it is now, to what you desire it to be, you must first identify what exactly it is that you want to change. I call this the recognition stage. Without first recognising that there are particular areas in your life that need changing, it would become challenging to see development and improvement. Think of it this way, would you just go to the doctor’s office and request a cure or medicine to help you, without first recognising that there was a problem that needed addressing or diagnosing? If all you said to the doctor, “there is a problem” without identifying what the problem/symptoms you are experiencing, how can you be best treated? It would be very difficult.
The same is applicable to our life. A couple years ago when I was going through a difficult season, I had to first become aware of what was causing my life to feel unsatisfied and unfulfilled before I could make any necessary adjustments.
If you need help trying to discover the areas of your life that need changing, start by answering the questions below; and if you already know what it is you want changed in your life, you can proceed to the next step.
Here are some questions that can assist you in identifying those mystery areas in your life that may need changing:
· What activities do you engage in which leave you feeling unsatisfied and unfulfilled? (It could include: habits, your thoughts, the environments that you are in, etc)
· What are the things in your life that you struggle with? (For example: not having enough funds or resources to sustain your household, difficulty trusting others after a previous hurt, challenges in your studies, battling with an addiction, feeling distanced from God, etc).
· What is the vision you have for your life? Having identified that, what are the things which may be holding you back from living/achieving your dream?
· Which relationships or things are you holding on to which are not helping you to grow?
After you have identified the area (s) in your life that need changing, give yourself some grace and don’t be too hard on yourself.
2. Create A Growth Plan & Strategy
Next you must create a strategy and a plan on how you will target those areas. This is the phase where you decide what you will do differently going forward. While assessing your unique situation, you must think of specific, actionable, achievable and realistic objectives that you can implement in your life to assist you in facilitating the desired change. This may include, letting go of anything that doesn’t add value to your life and/or making new choices to nurture your mind, life and relationships.
Take some personal time to do an analysis on yourself and create a clear strategy to help with your unique situation. In this strategy, make clear all the things you would be required to do, to assist you in getting to where you would like to be. For example, if the area you wish to see transformation and growth in is your mental wellness, then one of the things that you may need to include in your strategy is, spending time doing activities which bring you inner peace and joy or it may include seeking therapy. If the area you want to see growth and improvement in is overcoming an addiction, you may need to find a trusted accountability partner who will provide you with wise counsel and the tools needed as you navigate through your recovery journey or you may need to consider completely removing your triggers. If you want to see change in your professional life, then you may need to find opportunities to network with other professionals in your industry, educate yourself in the field or improve and upgrade your skillsets. Whatever the area you desire to see change in, create a strategy and a plan to target it. Benjamin Franklin once penned, “by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail”.
3. Focus On Growing And Improving In All Areas Of Your Life
(Spiritually, Personally, Mentally, Professionally, etc)
After you have created the strategy, it’s time to put the plan into action and you must stay committed and consistent in executing it. In doing such, each day you must focus on growing and improving in those areas you have identified, as well as all the major areas of your life. These include your spiritual life, personal life, professional life and your mental health.
If you truly want to transform your life, you must invest into all those areas of your life on a daily basis. Too often persons just focus most of their attention on one area of their life. But if you want to see overall transformation, each day you must seek to grow, improve and develop in all those areas of your life. Life is all about progression and not perfection. Thus as long as we are here on this earth, there is always room for growth.
4. Face The Giants
Along the journey of transformation, it is important to know that you will face challenges along the way. There will be some days when obstacles may be encountered, but that is all a part of the process. These obstacles may include and are not limited to: old habits trying to rise to the surface, past limiting beliefs, opinions of others or unexpected incidents. But the key is to face the “giants” and keep pressing forward. Each obstacle you face, will be an opportunity for you to grow and to become stronger. A person who seeks to overcome challenges, will create a forum and a means for growth, resilience and strength to face the next challenge.
5. Embrace The Change Within Yourself
The final stage I will share with you today is, embracing the change you see within yourself. As you start to see the positive changes occurring in your life, take some time to embrace them and be grateful for the progress you see in your life. Sometimes we may focus more on the things that might not be working out rather than taking a small step to the side and looking to see how far we have come and how much we have grown.
Always remember, this transformation journey is a lifelong one and each day, we must seek to grow and develop in all areas of our life. This life is all about making progression, not perfection.
