A Change Will Do You Good

I read an article yesterday about how sometimes a change in your life is all you need for a new perspective, new beginning, new you. Change can be a powerful thing for your outlook on life. Maybe like how getting married, turning 30, or cutting off all your hair makes you stop and look at things just that much differently. The article stressed that you have to change for the right reasons (that is, you want to do it), not change to appease someone else.

It really spoke to me because in the last six months or so, I've made lot of changes in my life and I believe they have been positive and helped me get to a place where I am happier. Even the seemingly little things have had a bigger impact than I ever would have imagined. I grew my hair quite long for my wedding. Now, I've always had long hair and have cut it shorter at various stages (like the morning of my sister's wedding). But this time, I went pretty short. A cute bob with bangs. I haven't had bangs since I was 12 or so. A pretty dramatic change to my look, but in the grand scheme of life, not a big deal, right? Surprisingly, no. Months later I'm still getting compliments from people I see regularly. My attitude at work is a little more professional since I feel a little more pulled together in how I look. I even feel more confident shopping for clothes. Is it all the hair? Probably not, but I do feel the hair started some other little changes that collectively brought me to Happyville.

The article references a website, First30Days.com, designed to help you make a transition. Everything from how to manage your finances, get healthy or master your iPod are topics with advice and tips on moving through the first 30 days of that change with success. What a great idea! I've only skimmed through a couple of the topics, but the information is incredibly valuable. I moved to Massachusetts just over four years ago. D and I wanted to be at the next level of our relationship, but the long distance wasn't making that an option. So I moved. And that was hard. The moving advice on this website really woke me up to why it was so hard. According to their experts (and you'll find they have real experts in each area), "Among the first three things you need to plan for are finding a place to live, arranging your finances and finding new friends."

What a wake up call. It seems like such a simple thing, but 'finding new friends' was the hardest part of me moving and I didn't make it a priority. So the transition was clouded by the fact that I missed my friends. Don't get me wrong--I was excited about moving, being with D and starting a new path. I just wish someone would have said to me, "When you move, make sure you find a doctor, know where the grocery store is and make new friends."

Four years later, I have friends I adore (although I'm still not a fan of MA) and have gone through many more changes. And thinking about them (the article suggests making a list of all the changes you made or lived through--like moving, recovering from an accident, starting a new career--to see how much you have accomplished), has really solidified my new perspective and reminded me that I make the decisions in my life that impact my happiness.