By Lila Pettyjohn
Change is inevitable. Change is the only constant in life. Be the change you wish to see. We are all intimately familiar with change. Some of us embrace change. Some of us avoid it like the plague. Some of us are resistant at first but once we take the initial steps we charge ahead (I’m in this last group!). The one thing we can all agree on though is that change is a process and that it can be difficult to tell why some changes stay with us and some do not. You have probably wondered to yourself why someone you know made a big life change, practiced that new way of life for months—or even years—and then, one day, went right back to their old behavior. This may have even happened to you.
There is an easy explanation. While altering you behavior plays an integral role in achieving a life-long change, it is not enough. You literally have to change your mind in order for the change to stick permanently. There are pathways in your brain that were created by your habitual thoughts. You can actually start to think new thoughts and, with enough repetition, you will replace the old thought pathways with new ones. Without changing what you habitually think, you will eventually revert back to your old behaviors.
Once you have changed the pathways, you will actually start to feel differently and feelings are what will change the outcome you are experiencing. Let’s take an example—you want a new car. You have wanted this car for some time but just don’t see that it happening. Then someone gives you this “formula” to try and they tell you that you can manifest anything you desire. Figuring you have nothing to lose because you have a perfectly good car as it is, you decide to try this formula and see if it works (at the time, you actually don’t believe that it will but you are still curious). So, each day you start telling yourself you have this dream car. You imagine yourself driving it. What it feels like to hold the steering wheel. How happy you feel when you are walking toward it in a parking lot. How your hair blows in the wind on a beautiful summer day. After a few days, you are really engrossed in this process because it is fun to visualize your dreams; it feels good! Before you know it, that new car is sitting in your driveway! This is my story. I wanted my car for three years but didn’t really believe I could have it…I didn’t really need it, after all. So I tried this formula mostly out of sheer wonderment and to my amazement, it worked!
What is this formula? Change Your Thoughts which Changes Your Feelings which Changes Your Outcome! How do you go about making this formula work for you? Start with creating an affirmation (saying, phrase, mantra—call it whatever feels right for you) around a topic in which you want something different than what you have. Affirmations are strongest when stated in the positive and in the present moment (example: I have a new Pontiac Solstice). When you feel as if you already have what you want, you actually change your feelings. Think of this process in terms of magnets; magnets draw themselves to each other. In life, whatever you believe is what you draw to you. In other words, you have to believe it before you see it.
You can use this formula at whatever pace feels comfortable. I can tell you though, the more you focus on what you want, the quicker it will manifest. I practice (and have my clients practice) thinking, saying, and/or writing the affirmation 100 times per day because this speeds the process along. Having a goal of 100 times per day keeps you focused on completing your affirmations instead of just saying you will do them. The more you think something, the quicker you will actually begin to believe it and when you believe it, you feel it and it’s our feelings that create our life experiences. When you do this 100 times a day for 30 days you will make new pathways in your brain; when you do this 100 times a day for 90 days you will permanently change the pathway so the old thought pattern will not occur again.
This process does take focus and dedication but the payoff is huge! And, once you use this process and see how well it works you will realize that it is so easy to change your life. The more I use it the more I want to use it (just like the magnets). I have changed many areas of my life. And I have clients who have seen amazing results in very short periods of time using this method. It is the simplest way to manifest the ideal life you have always wanted. And all it really takes is changing the thought; the rest of the process takes care of itself.
Lila Shanti Pettyjohn is a Certified Professional Coach, Certified Wellness Coach, Licensed Aesthetician, and Certified Reiki Practitioner. Lila believes that true wellness comes from a balance of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual energies. She helps clients develop and maintain wellness through action plans that create lasting results.
For information/appointments: www.anewleafwellness.com, 318-294-5926, or lisha93000@yahoo.com.
