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8 Steps to a Better Life!
Written by Elizabeth Strange

Many of us have dreams of accomplishing something meaningful and important in the world. We have all felt stuck, anxious, scared or immobilized at the thought of going after a dream, by limitations placed upon us by others, ourselves or by a lack of availability of resources, teachers, coaches or models.

Transforming your life and living your dreams sounds like a lofty goal, but many have come before you and been bold enough to embrace their dreams and be successful in accomplishing just that!

Having a better life means you must be strongly motivated, courageous and have a deep desire to change yourself or your life. Be prepared to be persistent. Small incremental and consistent changes over time are the key. No Olympic athlete becomes that over night and your goals will be no different, when shooting for the stars!

Here are 8 STEPS that you can take to move you along and start creating profound results.

1. Live Consciously!

You can only start to change a negative result in your life when you have a conscious awareness of what is causing that result and the adverse impact on your life.

Write out what the problem is, the cause(s) and why. Include any patterns that you can see to help you understand the depth of the problem you will resolve.

2. Assess Your Resources

Everyone needs strong resources to overcome the obstacles and challenges in their lives. Here’s an exercise to help you assess your resources:

Write out the names of people or things that you use as a resource when you need help in the following categories: Physical, Emotional, Mental, Financial, and Spiritual. For example; under Physical… working out, yoga, hugs from your kids, partner or family members. Under Emotional…therapist, coach, friends, etc. Under Mental…reading, classes, self help workshops….and so on.

Take a look for voids in sufficient resources and research new people or activities to add to that area. If you see that you are too dependent on an individual(s), consider taking the burden off them and instead spread it out over other individuals or activities.

3. Hire The Best

Research and hire the best people that you feel understand and support you in the way that you want to be supported.

Here are a few things to look for that will help ensure that you choose the best Life Coach to support you in making important life changes.

Is my coach certified, experienced, accredited and trained through a recognized program with the International Coaching Federation?
Do they have a coaching designation after their name to show that they have completed coach training? (I.e. CTACC – Coach Training Alliance)
Do they walk-the-talk and bring a deep, rich diversity of life experience to help me in the area(s) of my life?
Will they provide me with a FREE Sample Session so that I can try them before I hire them?
Do their core values (i.e. integrity, service to others, etc.) match mine or those I wish to aspire to?
Does their coaching style offer concrete strategies and ways that I will be able to measure my success over time with them?
Will my coach challenge me to consistently do my homework or when I get stuck, in a gentle, supportive way?

4. Become More Attractive

One of the most powerful ways to attract the life and people you want is to truly possess self confidence and a positive attitude about who you are and what you are about.

Use positive affirmations as a supportive tool to re-train your mind and beliefs to a more positive and empowering mindset. Try this one…. “I am a powerful, positive and conscious being, manifesting my deepest desires in every action and thought each every day.”

Positive affirmations are powerful and coupled with focused work on your self-esteem with professionals is the best way to increase your confidence, permanently.

5. Create A Clear Pathway To Success

Chaos breeds more chaos! To attract the life you truly desire, you must clear the path of chaotic obstacles.

If you have an environmental mess (in the basement or garage or mounds of paperwork), set aside small amounts of time, 15-30 minutes twice a week and start clearing it up gradually over time. Recruit a friend or resource to help you.

If your chaos is coming from your emotions, (behaviour such as anxiety, impatience, avoidance or procrastination), work on reducing your stress and increasing your stress management coping strategies, such as exercise (walking, running, yoga) or relaxation techniques; meditation, deep breathing exercises. Ensure that you are eating properly and getting enough sleep, especially during times of change and high stress!

6. Set Yourself Up For Success

Feeling and believing that you are a success is a powerful way to increase your self worth. Thinking of your goals and actions in simpler terms is a sure way to continually see and feel your successes and to know and believe that you are a powerful manifester!

Create small, simple goals and action plans with deadlines and clear measurements so that you will know when you have accomplished your goal. Make your action plan commitments small and easy to achieve to reinforce your belief that you are successful in your life. Remember, if you achieve that action, you can always add another to keep you moving forward!

7. Acknowledge Your Successes

This seems to be one of most difficult areas for many, but is actually very easy to turn around.

Buy a journal and label it My Success Journal. Every day, before going to bed, write 5 things that you did each day. They can be simple in the beginning to get you started; got out of bed, hugged my kids, kissed my partner, went to work or called my parents to say high.

8. Accept ‘Healthy’ as Your Standard

Strive to be a ‘healthy’ person at every level! Having a winning mindset is a critical part of big success. This is one of most difficult things about living consciously, however, ultimately the most rewarding. Being a person with ‘Healthy’ as your standard of living really means that you are:

An interdependent (not co-dependent) person with a strong pool of resources, a mind of your own
Able to stand up for what you believe in without taking power from others in order to accomplish what you wish in life
Respectful of others and have the ability to clearly communicate and ask for what you need
Living from your truest nature and lend a hand to others in need when compelled to do so
A Thriver not Survivor! Thriver’s accept ownership and responsibility for their choices and the outcomes and see life from a perspective of choice. Survivors have a victim and powerless perspective and wait for someone else to bring them what they want instead of being a full participant in the creation of their life.

This may require that you renegotiate your relationships or choose different work.

Commit to making conscious choices that will keep you surrounded by healthy friends, resources, work and activities that are in alignment with your deepest desires and life mission.

Congratulations on taking the first step to bring your dreams closer to your reality!

Keep these 8 steps and review them every 6 months to remind you of what you need to do to continually move forward. Keep being bold and don’t let anyone or anything stand in your way. Be kind (with boundaries) to yourself and others along the way and have a dream-filled life!

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About The Author:

Soulful Living
Get Unstuck Now, Let’s Talk About How!

Strategic Life Coaching is a deep holistic excavation of your authentic self!

Dr. Bach’s natural flower remedies are used to clear the emotional blocks to your success. Goals, practical, measurable action plans, a Life Mission statement and a Life Plan are used to help you create a more well-balanced, orderly life. An evaluation process ensures that you know how you are being successful and why. Strategies increase your ability to consistently move forward to transform your life and live your dreams!

Contact: Elizabeth Strange

Address: 2384 Yonge St. PO BOX 1439
Toronto ON, M4P 3J7
Phone: 416-671-5026
E-mail: elizabeth@soulfulliving.ca
Website: www.soulfulliving.ca