1. Limiting believes and patterns
I have spent most of my life not being aware of what limiting believes are and how bad they can affect us. Once I got introduced to spirituality, manifestation, law of attraction and similar topics, slowly I started to recognize patterns I grew up with, all my limiting believes and the way I was thinking. Changing that is not easy at all, especially things that were engraved in my brain since childhood but over the past few years I did take action to work on that. I do lack full on dedication and I feel I still have a lot of work to do but looking back at where I was mentally, spiritually and emotionally and where I am now - there's is difference and progress for sure.
Some of the actions I took to make a positive change were:
- reflecting and addressing my limiting believes, being fully aware of them and then think of the opposite, positive believes that I would like to adopt
- read or write down positive affirmations and really feel them, relate to them
- journal - just write whatever is on my mind, answer some specific questions etc.
- expressing gratitude - I do this mentally as much as I can but I also love writing it down, lately in a form of "10 things I am grateful for today"
- just realize that we are not our thoughts nor limiting believes and we have freedom and power to be whoever we want to be - it might not be easy and we might experiences ups and downs but as long as we rise on the positive side, we can take our power back and create the life we desire
2. Getting out of my comfort zone
This one is more tangible I guess and something I had to mention as it really had a huge positive impact on my life. I was always shy, quiet and socially awkward/anxious person which led to a lot of missed opportunities, lost potential friendships, often feeling left out and socially not included. There's also a lot of things I never did because of my fears and anxiety that are not connected to socializing and sometimes I feel like I wasted so much potential and chances just because I didn't get out of my comfort zone. Same as with limiting believes, this is also something that I will constantly have to work on, there's is no magic trick or switch and chances are I will fall into the old patterns/ways of thinking but I just need to remind myself of how far I have come and where I want to be.
Some of the actions I took to make a positive change were:
- join a free, one month guitar course and perform at the end of it - even though it was a group performance, I was still extremely nervous and I practiced so much just because I was afraid of making a mistake, I practiced until it became my second nature to perform the melody we were learning. I really wanted to learn some guitar basics and I really had to step out of my comfort zone for this one but I am so glad I did it as it was such a great experience. If I get a chance to do it again, I will definitely take it
- going to a concert to another city by myself - going to a concert alone was out of my comfort zone by itself but going to another city just added to it. Again, my wish to see John Newman perform was bigger than comfort zone so I went for it and once again, I do not regret it at all! It's one of those things I always remember, not only because of the amazing concert, but also as a small personal win and a reminder how great things can happen when we step out of our comfort zone
- moving out from my family home - this one happened recently and what better comfort than a family home, right? It was a big change but I was actually very excited for it so there was no anxiety or fear that usually follow up. Even though this is just short term move out, it still counts as one of the biggest steps out of my comfort zone so far
- traveling alone - I never really did a full on solo traveling so what I mean by this is being by myself on the transport to another country where I would stay with family members for example. I did this by long bus rides and planes and I would really like to go for a solo trip one day.
- taking myself out on a date - I did this for the first time this summer and recently again, both were coffee dates, just me, myself and I. After the initial awkward feeling that didn't last long at all, I realized how nice it is to do this every now and then
I still have a lot of work to do, a lot of actions to take, not only in these two areas of my life but even more. Still, taking some kind of action, no matter how small and insignificant it might seem, definitely counts and adds up to positive changes. Sometimes I can think of a million excuses that come from my fear, anxiety or limiting believes instead of just taking that action step.
