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SPELL SUCCESS IN YOUR LIFE>
SPELL SUCCESS - THE CHALLENGE OF CHANGE
Spell SUCCESS E-Zine, © 2005, Motivational Magic
by Peter Colwell
ISSUE 11
Welcome to the "Spell SUCCESS" e-newsletter, your free
monthly dose of motivation! Thank you for being a
subscriber and reader. Please feel free to forward this
newsletter to family, friends, and colleagues who are
interested in self-improvement!
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QUOTE OF THE MONTH:
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"Change is chance, which favors the mind that is prepared."
LOUIS PASTEUR
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THE CHALLENGE OF CHANGE
For the last two months, during every spare moment we’ve
gotten, my wife and I have spent endless hours wrapping,
boxing, packing, taping, maneuvering, measuring, and
visualizing in preparation for our move to a 3-bedroom
apartment next week.
The real challenge in all of this was not the hard labor of
moving heavy furniture, deciding what to keep and what to
toss (or what to sell on eBay), or even determining how
many boxes we could squeeze into our living space. The real
challenge was maintaining a fun, safe, and livable
environment for our soon-to-be 2-year-old son, Peter.
Change can be many things to many people: exciting, fun,
scary, adventurous, daunting, and even liberating.
Throughout the process, as our living quarters began to
look more like a "warehouse," we explained to our son why
these changes were happening, and painted a picture in his
mind of what our new place would look like. We’ve done our
best to keep his room decorated enough for him to still
enjoy the comfort of his books, Hotwheel cars, and stuffed
animals – gradually packing things away, piece by piece.
Sometimes, change is more acceptable when we can swallow it
in small doses. Our goals are more likely to be achieved
when we approach them with patience, steadiness, and a
long-term commitment, rather than hastily making plans and
expecting immediate and perfect results.
COMMITMENT TO CHANGE
What are you committed to change about your life? What one
area of your life could use a tune-up, a re-alignment, or
perhaps a little more tender loving care?
One commitment I have made recently is to take better care
of myself. Self-care seems like a pretty basic concept, but
it is often overlooked. I know many people who devote their
time, energy, and money to helping others, but rarely – if
ever – devote a fraction of that time to helping
themselves. If we are reluctant to take care of ourselves
because we are too busy with life, work, relationships,
etc., eventually our health will suffer.
A few years ago, I found myself in this exact position. I
had allowed stress from work to build up without doing
anything about it. Instead of confronting the problem, I
ignored it and figured everything would work itself out. In
addition to my work-related stress, I had experienced a
personal tragedy with the loss of a beloved family member,
who had been suffering from anorexia and depression. Grief
combined with stress can be lethal to your health and
well-being. You can only hold those emotions inside for so
long. Eventually, they manifested themselves physically
into chest pains while riding the Metro to work one
morning. After a doctor’s visit, it was revealed that I had
developed an ulcer, which was believed to be caused by the
stress.
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“Those things that hurt, instruct.”
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
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That scary episode was a wake-up call to make some changes.
The first order of business was to quit my job, which I did
in a matter of days, and get paid to do something I really
enjoy (like speaking and writing, for instance!). The
second priority on my list was to take better care of
myself – not just physically, but also emotionally. Knowing
the grief would not go away by itself, I joined a support
group of people who had lost loved ones, and saw
improvements in my life within a matter of weeks. Hearing
similar experiences from people who had known the same kind
of pain helped me to filter what had happened, to deal with
the raw emotions, and begin the process of healing.
I learned that when life overwhelms you, you don’t have to
go it alone. Ask for help, and you will receive it. It’s
like a story that I often read to my son before he goes to
bed about Clifford the Big Red Dog. Clifford’s friends are
on a boat, playing with an ice cream maker, while one of
their dads (who owns the machine) is away. They have a
little party and serve ice cream to all their friends,
until something happens – they find themselves unable to
turn off the machine. Instead of asking for help, they
panic, and end up literally swimming in ice cream (not the
worst predicament to be in, I suppose!). When the Dad
arrives, he shuts off the machine and calmly asks them why
they didn’t ask another grown-up there for help. Lesson
learned!
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CLOSING THOUGHTS
Decide to change one area of your life that needs
improvement. Commit yourself to taking gradual, steady, and
consistent steps to get there. And be sure to ask for help
if you need it!
See you next month,
Peter
Peter Colwell motivates others to motivate themselves!
Peter is the author of Spell SUCCESS in Your Life, a
popular motivational book that has been published in seven
languages worldwide. Peter offers professional keynote
speeches, seminars, and workshops to corporations,
associations, and nonprofit groups. For more details about
his book and speeches, visit http://www.PeterColwell.com.
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