Initiating positive pivots can be challenging and requires commitment and planning. Has the pandemic caused you to make shifts in your daily habits? How’s it going?

Changes that have staying power are the ones we have personally invested in, not the ones that are forced on us. What strategies are you using to nourish your spirit and make you a better person? If you have been searching for a way to experience sustainable transformations in a specific area of your life, here’s a process that may help you achieve success.

Here are four steps that support lasting personal change.

Step One: Declare Your Intention

What new change would you like to make? Do you want to add more physical activity to your week? Eat healthier? Become a lifelong learner? Dedicate sacred time for a consistent spiritual practice? Nurture loving relationships?

Once you know your intention, say it aloud, write it in a notebook and affirm it daily. And most importantly, believe that you can accomplish this or any other goal you set your mind to. Practice by adding a personal touch to this example: “I am committed to creating space for being present with myself fifteen minutes each day.”

We become what we think about. Energy flows where attention goes.

— Rhonda Byrne

Thoughts and words matter! You must change your inner programming in order to achieve the results you want. Focus on small, life-altering shifts that are achievable. Well-thought-out intentions can yield amazing results.

Step Two: State Your Why

Why do you want to make this lifestyle change? How will it improve your life and overall well-being? Will it enhance your interactions with others and how you see yourself in the world?

For example, “I am committed to lifelong learning because it will keep me relevant in particular areas of interest.” Or make this next example your own by filling in the blank: “I am committed to eating fresh, wholesome meals daily because _______________.”

He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.

— Friedrich Nietzsche

The “why” will shift your thinking and emotionally tether you to your goal. It’s the heart of your objective. Without the “why” there’s no real purpose or strength behind your intention.

Step Three: Walk It Out

Thinking about your intention and believing you will be successful are critical pieces to the process, but they are not enough to get you where you want to go. In order to make critical changes that will elevate you to new heights, you must take action.

Discover new ways to reach what you preach. Transitions take practice. New habits are formed by doing your daily constitutional. For instance, if you want to build strong muscles, you will need to customize a plan to incorporate fun exercise sessions into your weekly routine. And then quit your comfy couch for the types of crunches and lunges that you’ll look forward to.

A dream becomes a goal when action is taken towards its achievement.

— Bo Bennett

In order to achieve the results you want, you must engage your feet and hands. Have you been dreaming of earning an advanced certificate? Register for classes that will lead to your coveted prize. Pick up your mouse and begin the registration process.

Step Four: Become the Change

When will the change you seek become your reality? Once you start to live and breathe your new way of being, your change will become automatic as if you and it are one.

Success will be within your reach only when you start reaching out for it.

— Stephen Richards

For me, spending time in nature is such an integral part of my life that when I skip my immersion sessions in the great outdoors, I feel out of balance – as if something is missing on that particular day.

Acknowledging these feelings verifies that my chosen practice is an essential component to my well-being. Becoming the change is like having an internal gauge that lights up when all your efforts are celebrated at the cellular level.

Dream big! Never stop improving. Stay in touch with yourself. Commit to positive pivots that will elevate you beyond perceived limits. Set your intention, declare your why, move your feet, and become all you were meant to be.

When was the last time you initiated a lifestyle change? What obstacles did you encounter and what kept you on track? Please share your success story.