As Winter rolls into Spring and the days grow longer, I feel inspired to push my own personal boundaries and maybe get on my small cyber soapbox to wax lyrical about change for good.
Are you happy with your life and current living situation or are you feeling the need for a change?
Spring is a great time to take stock of where you are and where you want to be. As we come out of Winter hibernation, channel the energy of Spring to push forward in positive change in our lives.
WHERE AM I?
Sit down and begin an honest assessment of where you are at. Form a personal balance sheet with columns for the good and bad bits, the bits you’d like to change or eliminate and the bits you want to reinforce. This should encompass all the parts of your life that make you the person you are. Do you need to exercise more? Lose a couple kilos? Spend more time with your kids? Is your work/life balance out of kilter? How are your relationships? How does your bank balance look? And what about your home – does it still fulfill the changing needs of you and your family?
WHAT RESOURCES DO I HAVE?
Having an understanding not only of where you are in your life, but also of the resources available to you, helps keep you realistic and grounded when looking to push your boundaries and make changes for the better. These resources include your personal health, motivation, energy, and skill set, your earning potential, and your ability to leverage what you have or own to propel yourself onward in a positive direction.
Do you need to upskill in parts of your life? This can be in the form of continuing education, work on better communication with important people in your life, hone your work skills, pursue a passion and make it into a business, or what about better time management (Did you know that according to recent stats – the average person in NZ spends around two hours a day watching TV? – Imagine if you could harness even a quarter of this and use the freed up 30 mins a day to learn a new skill or focus on doing activities that are positive to your situation and wellbeing)
When it comes to your home – Are you aware of its current value? Do you know which bits need tweaking or tidying to keep your biggest asset protected and looking polished? Would your life be better if you upgraded it or moved to a different home? Have you got a feel for what lenders have to offer you and how much you can afford if you are looking at expanding or upgrading?
REALISTICALLY ACHIEVABLE GOALS
Once you know where you are, where you want to be, and what you have available to you, then the next step is to set some small incremental and achievable goals that lead you towards the person and place you want to be.
For example, if your end goal is being fitter and healthier and five kilos lighter in order to feel better about yourself or keep up with the kids, then break this goal down into chunks - 30 mins extra exercise a day (taking the stairs, walking after dinner instead of blobbing in front of the tv) - cutting back on things you know are calorific like cheese and pre dinner snacks or that glass or two of wine - a six month membership at your local gym (that you actually use!) and the motivation to be strict with yourself when you are in a weak moment.
If you are considering moving house or upgrading. Take an hour a week and actually go and look at what your money can buy you. Visit homes in your area that are similar to yours to get a feel for the market and for the competition. Talk to people active in the market place (agents, other buyers or sellers) to gain an understanding of the current conditions.
STEP OUT
This seems pretty basic, but failure to act is what holds most of us in situations, houses, relationships, and jobs that are not the best that we can have. Inertia decides our course of action for us much of the time. Drifting along in our lives following the path of least resistance rather than a plan will never get us to where we want to go, it may get us to where others want us to go though. As humans we often feel that what we know is safer than embracing change, this is not necessarily the case.
Form a plan for change, break it into manageable chunks, and start!
There is never a better day than today to make positive change in your life and situation. You may also find that change in one area of your life brings about positive change in other areas.
There is something about people in home buying mode that I love to be around. They have an extra level of energy, motivation, and forward momentum. They fit in house viewing amongst all the other busyness in their lives, working with a focus that builds till a purchase is made. Be one of these people. Make a decision for change and carry through until the change becomes a reality.
If I can help you out on any of the house stuff, please feel free to get in touch either by email or by phone/text 0274374351.
