I have been thinking a lot about change over the last few months. It started on a walking trip in the Lake District over Christmas and hasn’t stopped. A motivational speaker on YouTube said,

“At some point, you have to look at your life and say, do I accept this or do I not?”

This message stuck with me, and I couldn’t get it out of my head. I kept asking myself whether I should accept my current situation? Will it ever change? I was tossing and turning. Backwards and forwards I went. Have you found yourself in a similar dilemma?

Should you change jobs? End a relationship? Find a partner? Move to a new house? Lose some weight?  Start getting fit? Spend more time with your kids? It’s hard to look in the mirror when doubt and uncertainty take over your thoughts — asking yourself if this is the right path towards your dreams.

When I feel like this, I find it helpful to push my body physically. I will cycle or walk or run long distances. Never very fast, it’s not about speed or competition or winning races. It’s a form of meditation. I need to push my body hard enough so that I can feel the effort, but too hard that it cries out to stop. The benefit seems to come through achieving a kind of inner peace, to be in the zone. My heart rate is raised but not too much, and in this state, I can exercise for hours.

You can build up to these times. Concentrate on time completed not the distance covered. Keep the intensity low enough so that you can do it for your target time. Don’t try and increase this time every time you exercise. That will lead to burn out and failure. Instead, do one longer session each week, and gradually push the time out.

Maybe your standard exercise time is 30 mins. So, then you do most sessions at 30 mins, but once per week, you do it for 45 mins. Then the following week the single “go-long” session might be 60 mins and then 90 mins and then 2 hours and so on. I’m using exercise in its loosest sense here. You could be walking the dog for example.

Here in this quiet time of challenge and endurance, you can think and dwell. There are no distractions. The phone doesn’t ring; there is no email, no Facebook and no demands on your time. You can shut everything else out to think and feel, learn and grow. Your body and mind will thank you. They will reward you with the peace and answers you need.

You can’t stay where you are and get where you want to go! The life you live is in your hands. We must change to grow. I know change is scary; I feel it every day too. But we must face up to our fears.

First stand your ground by committing to making change. Then smash through by taking daily action.  Your dreams are a reality on the other side. Long before others believe, you must believe it’s possible. Remember, we climb the mountain, not in giant leaps but one small step at a time.