I was watching Oprah the other day and saw an amazing show.
Oprah has been running a series called ‘The Debt Diet’
for a period of time. Financial experts had advised couples
who are severely in debt and given each a very rigorous
road map to follow in order to pay down their debt and recover
financially. When I saw the first few segments of the show
several months ago, I remember seeing grown men and women
having temper tantrums at the thought of having to give up some
of the things they had been doing that had cost them their
financial health… shopping sprees, expensive hobbies, frivolous
dining out, frequent and unlimited ‘handouts’ to their grown children,
and on and on…When they were first put on their debt diet, they
saw their lives taking a turn for the worse. They simply couldn’t
imagine living without these costly things. They were sure this was
the fast pass to misery.

But today, after some period of time (I don’t know exactly
how long it has been), some of the successful couples are
back on the show and they look physically different. They
look happy and relaxed. Each couple described how they
have not only substantially improved their financial health
but they have turned around strained relationships, discovered
new, cost free interests, spent more time with friends. They
are simply delighted with their results. All aspects of their lives
changed dramatically for the better!

I’ve seen similar things time and again. My clients come to me
to work on one particular change, say find time to take care of
themselves rather than always putting others first or to change
how they react to their boss when they feel stressed or to manage
their time better and, in the process of making that one change, they
experience so many unexpected and delightful benefits. In thinking
about making the change, they anticipate that they will have to give
up too many pleasures or that people will be upset with them if they
change their familiar patterns. They resist making the changes for fear
it will rock the boat. But, those that find the courage and stamina,
experience unexpected results. They discover a passion for something
they didn’t know anything about, they meet some unbelievably great people,
they find a fabulous new job, even though they weren’t looking for one, they
feel more confident and have more intimate conversations with others.
They share stories with a common theme… they had no idea that
making one change in one particular area of their life could have
such a broad and extraordinary impact on their entire lives.

What is the change you want to make and what are you afraid
you’ll have to give up in order to make the change?

You’ll never know the full extent of what you’ll gain if you go through
the process of making the change unless you commit and go for it!