3316: Ready For Change: Just Take the First Step by Krista O'Reilly-Davi-Digui of A Life in Progress on Personal Growth

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_00]: This is Optimal Living Daily, Ready for Change, Just Take the First Step by Krista OReilly-Davi-Digui of alifeinprogress.ca

[00:00:09] [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm Justin Malik, your personal narrator reading to you every day, hoping to help both you and me find a little more happiness, inspiration, and motivation in our day.

[00:00:19] [SPEAKER_00]: So with that, let's get right to our next article and continue optimizing your life.

[00:00:27] [SPEAKER_00]: Ready for Change, Just Take the First Step by Krista OReilly-Davi-Digui of alifeinprogress.ca

[00:00:35] [SPEAKER_00]: I think we often know when it is time to step out into change or when change is coming unbidden.

[00:00:42] [SPEAKER_00]: We need something different, a seismic shift. The details may be cloudy and we may feel afraid, but deep down we often know.

[00:00:51] [SPEAKER_00]: When I was 20 years old and living in England, unhappy, needing a hip replacement, binge eating and treating myself with disdain, I knew I was ready for change.

[00:01:02] [SPEAKER_00]: I couldn't yet bear to think about what that might look like to hope for better. I just knew I couldn't stay as I was.

[00:01:09] [SPEAKER_00]: Pouring my alcohol down the drain was my first step into the unknown.

[00:01:13] [SPEAKER_00]: I returned to Canada, never touched drugs again, paid off my credit card debt. Why do banks give 19-year-olds credit cards?

[00:01:19] [SPEAKER_00]: I was a young man, upgraded to get into college and tentatively began a new life.

[00:01:24] [SPEAKER_00]: When I was 25, my son was born. I struggled with anxiety but loved being married and was so excited to meet my baby.

[00:01:32] [SPEAKER_00]: I had plans to work full-time as a teacher and my husband and I dreamed of traveling and teaching in South Korea.

[00:01:38] [SPEAKER_00]: But the moment I held my tiny son, I knew that my whole world had shifted.

[00:01:43] [SPEAKER_00]: I had no idea what that would look like or the beautiful family I would help grow.

[00:01:48] [SPEAKER_00]: But I knew that all my well-laid plans just flew out the window. Acknowledging this was my first step into the unknown.

[00:01:57] [SPEAKER_00]: We ended up moving to a small town, homeschooling and putting most travel on hold for years to come.

[00:02:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Before my 40th birthday, I had it deep down knowing that change was coming.

[00:02:09] [SPEAKER_00]: I had no idea what it would look like and surprisingly wasn't afraid but suspected it would not all be pleasant.

[00:02:16] [SPEAKER_00]: Shortly after my birthday, I made the decision to finally go through the hip replacement I had held off the past 20 years.

[00:02:23] [SPEAKER_00]: This was my first step into the unknown.

[00:02:26] [SPEAKER_00]: A few months later, I could barely walk even with a cane.

[00:02:30] [SPEAKER_00]: I began studying again at this most inopportune moment and my dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Change had come.

[00:02:38] [SPEAKER_00]: Five short years later, I am again on the cusp of change.

[00:02:43] [SPEAKER_00]: I feel it deep down in my bones and have but a foggy idea of what it will look like.

[00:02:47] [SPEAKER_00]: But I've agreed to my youngest heading to public school next year, big first step for us into the unknown.

[00:02:52] [SPEAKER_00]: I've decided to take a gap year of sorts to rest and read.

[00:02:56] [SPEAKER_00]: I will help launch my second born out of the nest in a year and ideas around writing are percolating in my head and heart.

[00:03:03] [SPEAKER_00]: None of these examples are extraordinary of course.

[00:03:06] [SPEAKER_00]: They're simply reminders to me that if we quiet ourselves enough to listen, we can hear the call of change.

[00:03:13] [SPEAKER_00]: Reminders that while change can be hard, it is usually or at least often good.

[00:03:20] [SPEAKER_00]: Even the horribly painful parts can be fertile ground for the unfolding of incredible growth and beauty

[00:03:26] [SPEAKER_00]: if we remain open to the lessons they can teach us along the way.

[00:03:31] [SPEAKER_00]: Most of us like comfort and seek stability. I certainly do.

[00:03:35] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm no visionary or natural risk taker, but I've learned to hold everything I know, all my hopes and plans, very loosely.

[00:03:44] [SPEAKER_00]: Knowing that what I see and understand is so limited, I only see in part.

[00:03:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Change always comes and rather than living in fear of it as I have done throughout much of my past,

[00:03:56] [SPEAKER_00]: I now understand that it is a healthy and critical part of the journey.

[00:04:00] [SPEAKER_00]: I get excited when potential clients contact me and tell me, I'm ready for change.

[00:04:06] [SPEAKER_00]: I understand the transformative power behind these words.

[00:04:10] [SPEAKER_00]: I celebrate when my friend makes a hard decision, pushing through the grief to let go of what was in order to care for herself well.

[00:04:19] [SPEAKER_00]: When a family member refuses to take the easy road as he pursues a long-held dream

[00:04:23] [SPEAKER_00]: and he can clearly articulate the why behind his decision, I am proud of him.

[00:04:28] [SPEAKER_00]: When people private message me and share how their struggles have helped them become kinder to themselves than others,

[00:04:35] [SPEAKER_00]: it solidifies my belief that change is healthy.

[00:04:38] [SPEAKER_00]: I listen to a good friend walking bravely through an incredibly difficult season

[00:04:42] [SPEAKER_00]: and know that in a year's time she will no longer be the same person.

[00:04:47] [SPEAKER_00]: She will have metamorphosed into something yet more beautiful with new strength and compassion to offer the world.

[00:04:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Is it time for change in your life?

[00:04:57] [SPEAKER_00]: Listen, I think deep down you already know.

[00:05:01] [SPEAKER_00]: Is it time to go back to school or is your heart calling you home?

[00:05:05] [SPEAKER_00]: Are you ready to release that relationship or that addiction that has held you down for far too long?

[00:05:11] [SPEAKER_00]: Can you sense that you are no longer the same person that you were yesterday

[00:05:14] [SPEAKER_00]: and you're ready to become a fuller, more vivid picture of who you dream of being?

[00:05:19] [SPEAKER_00]: Take that lesson, dive into risk if that is what you need to do

[00:05:23] [SPEAKER_00]: or jump off the hamster wheel and simplify your life.

[00:05:27] [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe it is time to dance through life with joy even if you don't quite know the steps

[00:05:31] [SPEAKER_00]: and the whole wide world thinks you're weird.

[00:05:35] [SPEAKER_00]: I want to challenge you today to release your tight hold on whatever it is that is causing you fear.

[00:05:40] [SPEAKER_00]: Remind yourself that it is okay if the path before you is only lit a bit of the way.

[00:05:46] [SPEAKER_00]: That's all you need for now.

[00:05:49] [SPEAKER_00]: Then take your first step into the unknown.

[00:05:56] [SPEAKER_00]: You just listened to the post titled

[00:05:58] [SPEAKER_00]: Ready for Change, Just Take the First Step by Krista O'Reilly Davy DeGee of alifeinprogress.ca

[00:06:05] [SPEAKER_00]: and I'll be right back with my commentary.

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[00:07:22] [SPEAKER_00]: Big thanks to Krista. Hopefully an inspiring one for you today.

[00:07:26] [SPEAKER_00]: I can definitely relate when she mentioned how exciting it is to hear from others that they're ready for change

[00:07:31] [SPEAKER_00]: or actually taking steps to make their lives better in some way.

[00:07:35] [SPEAKER_00]: I get those emails occasionally too and it really keeps me going.

[00:07:38] [SPEAKER_00]: It makes me happy that something so simple as reading an article to you a day can have that kind of impact.

[00:07:46] [SPEAKER_00]: But you're the one doing the work, the great work.

[00:07:49] [SPEAKER_00]: I just like to think I'm helping to give you a little push.

[00:07:52] [SPEAKER_00]: So keep it up. Thank you for being here and listening.

[00:07:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Have a great rest of your day and I'll be back tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.