Six simple practices to effect meaningful change in your life

“The power to change your life lies in the simplest of steps.” – Steve Maraboli

It’s now May. Most people have, by now, forgotten or lost interest in their New Year’s Resolutions. But that’s perfectly okay. You don’t need grandiose New Year’s Resolutions to kick off your plans for self-improvement. You don’t have to ‘go big’ to effect meaningful change. Smaller, simpler practices might just work better. Professors (and authors) Hirotaka Takeuchi and Ikujiro Nonaka have come up with these six simple practices you can use to effect meaningful change: 1. Develop specific routines As technological advancements grow, so too does the need for more human reasoning and creativity – two strengths that structure our technology. Problem-solving and decision-making become more and more challenging despite (or perhaps because of ) the amount of data that has become increasingly available. So how do you remain centred so as to apply these strengths and skills effectively? By developing specific routines/katas to keep your thoughts and action steps in line with your purpose or mission. For example, a specific routine could be asking yourself: ‘How is this action step helping me fulfil my purpose/mission? I have a 15 minutes routine/kata of starting my day with priming my body and mind and then taking a cold shower for at least 2 minutes. 2. Ask quality questions A strong sense of purpose is key to navigating challenging times. To remain true to your purpose, have easy-to-apply practices. I use the practice of equilibrating my mind by observing both sides of the coin/what I am dealing with. While you might have identified your mission, vision, and values (things that help you stay on purpose), it wise to consider the following questions.

1. What do you believe you were born to do? (mission)
2. What does the future you envision look like? (vision)
3. What is most important/of highest value to you? (values)

3. Consider ‘both/and’ People have the habit of looking at things in terms of ‘either/or’ – for example, mind versus body, machines versus humans, etc. When you consider things from a ‘both/and’ perspective, you begin to see everything as being ONE. Through this lens of oneness, something is good only when it is good for both individual/business AND society. I remind myself to move from either/or to both/and. 4. Empathize more Empathy helps maintain strong relationships, be it in your professional or personal life. You can grow your ability to empathize by reading works of fiction. Fictional works allow you to step into others’ shoes. You get to feel what they feel and experience things from different perspectives. 5. Listen to/watch the best speeches Telling stories is a great way to convey ideas as well as persuade people and increase their understanding. You can improve your storytelling abilities by learning from the top 10 speeches ever delivered or the 10 most popular TED talks.

https://www.realclearhistory.com/articles/2018/03/07/top_10_speeches_in_history_274.html

https://www.ted.com/playlists/180/the_10_most_popular_tedx_talks

6. Engage with nature As we face environmental challenges such as global warming and resource scarcity (amongst others), we each carry a greater responsibility to implement more and more nature-friendly practices. By fully engaging with nature, we can grow our appreciation of it as well as our desire to live in harmony with it. Connect with nature by taking a stroll in the outdoors, basking in the beauty of your immediate surroundings. I personally love an energizing hike in the mountains where I live. I know it can sometimes be difficult to make meaningful changes in your life. So, if you’ve been feeling as if you’re running in the same circles, coming back to the same place after you’ve tried to implement better habits/practices, you are certainly not alone. We have all been there at some point in our lives. The good news is that we don’t have to stay there. Drop me an email at ilze@ilzealberts.com or send me a WhatsApp if you are saying, ‘Yes. I want to effect meaningful change in my life. I want to live my best life.’ I will have a chat with you over a no-strings-attached discovery call to help you decide on your next step. From my heart to yours, Ilze