Do you know that if you take an alcoholic off the street, clean him up, feed him daily, treat him well, and house him, he is still likely to get drunk and waste himself away. Because you’ve only changed things externally, but he’s the same inside.
Change is temporary—transformation is eternal.
This also is true of you (and me). If you relocate to a new city or even to an island, get a new job, find a new boyfriend/girlfriend, get plastic surgery, or perform any other external change, if you don’t transform on the inside, you’ll recreate the same toxic dysfunction or environment that you said you’d never return to.
Transformation is an inside job.
Transformation is hard work. And, just like the work a caterpillar does to change to a butterfly, it’s the work that creates lasting conversion. But it’s worth it for long-term, lasting gains.
Do you long to change from being: gullible, passive, angry, manipulative, controlling, over-indulgent, gossipy, inhibited, withdrawn, overbearing, intimidating, naive, or other negative characteristics?
Are there patterns in your relationships that you’d like to see change and you’re hoping the other person makes the first move? Or, are you thinking: if external factors would change—like more money, different environment, kids grow up and leave, or something else would change—then life will be better?
Truth is, you have very little—if any—control on external factors. Or, at best, you’re kept waiting with baited anticipation and high hopes that the external factors will change and have an impact on your situation.
Why wait? You can have different and better now. Because, what you can influence today is YOU.
That’s encouraging! You have the power to impact your environment by changing YOU.
It’s time to refocus and see the results you’ve been seeking for a long time.
Vicky Renee Hunter, Life Transformation Coach