Support Yourself: How to Create A Life You Love, part 4

Support Yourself is part 4 in the series about change and  creating a life you love. Read part 1,  part 2, and part 3.In previous parts of this series, we talked about clarifying the vision of what you want to create, creating a map to get there, and then setting your feet on that path by taking action. In this post I want to talk about what is perhaps the very most important part of the process - supporting yourself in change.All of us get rocked by change. Some truly hate it, others just find it uncomfortable. But the truth is that we are hardwired to resist it. Our bodies and our brains like comfort - and similarity is comfortable. We eat the same foods, go to the same places, interact with the same people in the same ways. Sameness feels really good. Change feels scary. And being scared is really tiring.

The only way through...is through

If you really want change in your life, you are going to have to live in discomfort for a while. For some people that discomfort can feel exhilarating, and for others it is kind of exhausting. I’m personally in the exhausted camp. And that exhaustion is what has made me quit at change over and over again."This is too hard.""I have too many other things on  my plate.""I don't think I can do this."Do any of those sound familiar? I've said all of them. But I've also learned that  to get around those voices, and hang in through the discomfort of change, there are things you can do.

Support yourself

If you're committed to the life on the other side of these changes, then you need to know how to manage the exhaustion and strain that will ensue.So when you're working through making a change, be a little extra gentle with yourself. Give yourself a little more room for feeling emotional. Go to bed a little earlier. Make sure you're connecting with the people who fill you up, and lean on your self care practices. Spend a little time thinking about how you will care for yourself. What will you do when this feels hard? How will you support yourself if if you have a setback? What will you do if someone in your life criticizes or doesn’t support the change you are making? How will you care for yourself, and how will you keep your commitment and your forward motion?

Read part 5 in this series next.