Where to Begin?

January is the king of months for those looking to make new beginnings. After the reflections and indulgences of December, the excitement of a new year unfolding brings contemplation of better days ahead.

Unfortunately for many, contemplation is where the party ends. As the clock ticks over into February and then unwinds into March, hopes of transformation begin to fade, the habits of old return, together with the routines of years past. Not because of a lack of enthusiasm or good intentions mind you, but rather a lack of knowing where to start.

The best place to start.

What I am going to say now may sound radical as well as a little simplistic, but the best place for you to start is from exactly where you are right now. Take some time to actually let these words sink in, as they contain the seeds of your own personal greatness.

'If only'.

You've probably caught yourself contemplating at one stage or another what it would be like 'if only' you could start somewhere else. I know that I have felt this way at various stages in the past. The type of internal ponderings I am talking about here are things such as 'if only I'd gone to University', 'if only my parents hadn't got divorced', 'if only I had more experience', then maybe, just maybe I'd have what it takes to go after my dreams.

If you find yourself engaging in this kind of dialogue, then start to build your awareness around it. Regardless of the experiences that you've either had to relish or endure in the past, they have given you one magical ingredient. They have prepared you for now. All your disappointments, triumphs, hopes and fears have brought you to this moment. In acknowledging and accepting them as they are, you consciously begin to reclaim your power to take control of your own life.

Know where you want to go.

Once you have accepted where you are, you have to decide where it is you want to go. If no particular course of action immediately resonates with you, then begin to more fully explore the things that you enjoy doing most. Think about what your life would be like if you spent more of your life experiencing the things that you really love. We all have the power to achieve this within us, you just have to be prepared to be open to it.

If on the other hand you're not enjoying anything at this present time in life then it is time for you to start being a little more experimental. Begin to do things that you've never done before. Enroll on a photography course, strike up a conservation with someone you don't know or go and spend some time in nature. Make sure whatever you choose to do is outside of your present comfort zone. When you continually broaden your experience of life, you create the opportunities necessary to re-ignite your passion for living.

What are you prepared to change?

To get from where you are now to where you want to go you have to go through a process of transformation. It doesn't mean you have to change everything all at once but it does mean you have to change. Take some to time to think about what it is you are 'prepared' to change in order to move in the direction of your dreams. So many of us focus on what we feel we 'should' change. For example, if you are a smoker and for whatever reason you feel it is something you 'should' change, just ask yourself whether it is something you are 'prepared' to change. As soon as you are 'prepared' to change, you will find a way to give up smoking forever.

Find support.

When you are making changes in your life one of the most important things you can do is find yourself support. Support can come in many different forms. It may come in the form of an inspirational book, a workshop, a community group, an evening class, a trusted friend or family member, a work mentor, a personal trainer, a website forum or even a coach. Whatever the source, make sure that it feels comfortable for you, not just at an intellectual level but also from an intuitive level as well.

Having your essential support structures in place will give you the confidence to stride boldly in the direction of your dreams. All you have to do next is start from exactly where you are.

Copyright Damien Senn 2005. All rights reserved.

About the Author: Damien Senn is a Life and Business Coach as well as a fully qualified Chartered Accountant. He helps professionals, artists and entrepreneurs create compelling futures.

He is the author of the 'Senn-Sational Success Journal' and has developed his own coaching model called the 'Senn-Sational Success System'.

For more information see http://www.senn-sational.com or email ezines@senn-sational.com.

More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More Coaching Information:

Related Articles

Mentors and Coaches: How to Be a Great Mentee or Learner
When you invest your time in being a mentee you will be rewarded with accelerated learning and experiences from your mentor. You will learn from and avoid the mistakes that they may have made, learn about your industry, meet great people, form valuable relationships and be able to mentor someone in your future.
Why a Self Help Book May Not Help You
For a self help book to work, we have to read right it through to the end. While this may seem like a no-brainer, many people never finish reading books that they buy.
The Great Marketing Reframe
From grimaces to stomach knots, talking about marketing seems to take on the sound of Charlie Brown's teacher, with so many syllables of "wah WAaah, wah WAah, wah." What does this mean? For starters, I find it terrifying ironic that, when it boils down to it, truly - marketing and coaching are actually ONE.
Personal Strategic Planning
I have a few questions for you ---What if we as individuals adapted and utilized some of the same tried and true processes and methods that have given businesses the edge they need to succeed over their competition? My sense is that understood and implemented correctly professionals would be able to gain the same competitive advantage. Remarkably, this is not anything overly complicated or new and I can't take credit for developing it.
4 Underused Hot Spots for Your Personal Branding Iron
I'll never forget what my mentor told me: "Don't communicate in any way to any person without the stamp of your personal brand."Everyone has a personal brand, whether they know it or not.
Guilt: Is it Getting in the Way of Your Self-Care?
When Do We Usually Feel Guilty? When:We're not feeling ok about who we are.We're not feeling ok about the choices we're making.
4 Steps to Successful Goal-Setting
Successful people have always had clear, focused goals that guide them to greatness.It took Thomas Edison thousands of attempts and thousands of failures over many years to invent the electric light bulb, but he new exactly what he wanted, and his goal kept him going until he achieved it The rest, as they say, is history.
A Quick Checklist for Improving Your Life
1. Learn About YouIf you don't know who you are and why you think and act the way you do, it's gonna be really difficult to make any positive changes in your life.
Top Ten Reasons to Hire a Personal Coach
Have you considered hiring a personal coach? Jack Canfield, in The Success Principles says hiring a "personal coach is one of the best-kept secrets of the successful."1.
Getting Unstuck: Moving Forward To Success
Ever find yourself stuck in that awful loop of inactivity? You circle around and around between wanting to move forward and then apathy? Covering the same ground and never moving forward? It could be that you are stuck in the web of your own comfort zone. It's a place we hang out at that's routine, predicable and safe.
Are You Seduced by The Dark Side of Wealth Creation? Get-Rich-Quick Scammers
With the growing number of expert business people, consultants and coaches keen to make money from multiple streams of income I thought I'd share a WARNING to help you spot genuinely useful information from dangerous scams.There's a very simple seduction trick that is deadly powerful when it comes to parting the masses (whether they consider themselves highly intelligent or not) with their cash.
Get Coached!
Coaching is a hot trend at a growing number of companies, from IBM and Dow Chemical to entrepreneurial start ups. According to a recent survey by The Hay Group, an international human resources consultancy, between 25 percent and 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies use executive coaches.
Choosing The Right Coach
Coaching has become a very popular way for people to get the ongoing support they need to accomplish their goals. However, choosing a coach can be tricky.
Sheep Do Not Start Out Lost
Have you ever thought about how sheep get lost? Even with a shepherd, they still get lost. How does this happen? The one thing I know for sure is that they did not start out lost.
Voice Care for Coaches
Coaches rely heavily on their voice to service clients.If you also give teleclasses or workshops, voicemaintenance needs to be one of their top self-carepriorities.
We Are Exactly Where We Choose to Be
The idea for this month's newsletter came from an unlikely encounter: I recently had lunch with a new friend named Rick Rockwell. You may remember him as the bachelor from the first-ever reality TV show, "Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire?"During our meeting, Rick described some of the knowledge he gained from doing the show, along with a few of past his experiences in business, ethics, and of course, primetime romance.
Your Personal Treasure Chest
Sometimes it is helpful to review several of the basic components of THE ENCHANTED SELF. That's what I've decided to do this time.
7 Steps to Take Control of Your Life
Taking control of your life is getting in touch with your values, setting meaningful goals and identifying your vision. To be in control of where life is taking you means being more productive, dealing more effectively with stress, having the ability to solve problems, handing change and developing healthy optimism.
The American Dream - Are We Really Free?
The promises of THE AMERICAN DREAM (to have it all and enjoy it all, based on materialistic values system) has been holding us captive and threatening to take our power and freedom away- without our awareness, like a thief in the night.Consciously or unconsciously we make daily decisions to either be a master of our own ship or destiny, if you will, or be a slave to our own circumstances and to other people*s expectations and belief systems that don*t serve our highest good and purpose.
It's All To Do With The Way You Wake Up
Do you start your day with anger, frustration and annoyance at the alarm and the need to get up? Do you wake up hoping the day will go away and you can get back to sleep? Have you lost the fun? The confidence to have a go at things. Are you struggling along? Are you just going through the rituals of life? Are you just doing enough at work? Doing what is necessary because you think you 'ought, should, must do this for the sake of others? Do you feel all washed up and no one is interested in you? Do you feel devoid of vibrancy, and sense of purpose, an aimless victim buffeted by the winds of change? It's all to do with the way you wake up.