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Are you looking for a sign that it is time to make some changes in your life? Have you been thinking about how you can make some positive improvements? Well, wham! This is your sign! After reading this blog, you will have three steps you can start today to begin your transformation and personal growth journey.

#1) Reflection

Take time out of your day to be intentional on self-reflection. Reflect on who you are and have been as a person. Do you notice any habits that you wish to change? Are there areas within your relationships that you can improve on? Here are some examples of questions you might want to ask yourself to get started:

- In what areas of my life do I need the most growth?

- What are unhealthy or unhelpful traits that I have?

- What type of impact do I have on other people?

- If I was the best version of myself, what would be different? How would I know I’ve made changes? What would other people witness due to my changes?

You might be reading these questions and have an immediate answer that came to mind. Or maybe you read through these questions and your brain went blank. If so, that’s okay too. But if you spent time truly reflecting on yourself and came to the conclusion that you have no room for growth, well, this is your sign that perhaps you should keep on reading this blog. For more perspective, it may be helpful to process these questions with someone who knows you best. How would someone else answer these questions for you if they had to speak on your behalf?

#2) Stop Making Excuses

So now you’ve taken some time for step one. You’ve reflected, you’ve processed, and you have at least a vague idea of areas of growth. Great! But... what are you going to do about it?

“Ugh, there’s just no time.” “I’m just too busy.” “I’ve got way too much going on.” “No one understands my specific problem.” “My case if different because...”

Nope!

If you want something enough, you will find a way. It’s easy to press snooze for five more minutes when we have “no time in the day.” Sometimes we grab that fast-food when we have “no money” or wait 20 minutes in the Starbucks drive thru when we have “too much going on.” You get the point.

It is up to you to break a cycle. It is up to you to make yourself a priority. It is up to you to take the initiatives to address areas in your life and within yourself that need growth or improvement.

#3) Come Up with a Game Plan

Everyone loves a quick fix. Wouldn’t it be amazing to just snap our fingers and have something? But personal growth is not a quick fix. It is not realistic or fair to expect others to make life change overnight, so the same should be true for you. Make a plan of action. What are simple, realistic, and doable steps that you can take?

Notice I didn’t include "easy" in that list. Change is not easy. In fact, change is actually really hard for most of us; expect that creating, executing, and maintaining your plan might take some perseverance.

Whatever the topic or categories are that you chose in step one, there is going to be someone or something out there to help you. It might just take a little bit of work to find it.

If you are ready to take your next step towards starting your journey of personal growth, I would love to partner with you. Visit my website at www.thrive-wellnessandcounseling.com or reach out for a consultation at [email protected] to see if we would be a good fit.

Darcy Pare is a Mental Health Counselor Website