Everything you ever needed, has been inside of you this whole time

Change. The dreaded word. It gets thrown around a lot but when push comes to shove, how willing are you to actually change?

I understand that change can be scary and no one ever feels ‘ready’.

Change is difficult for most, not for the obvious reason of moving into the unknown or the uncertainty it brings. Change is absolutely terrifying because quite often it is a process of loss. Of letting go. Much like experiencing the death of someone you know, change signals that a part of you, a label you have been given, a part of your identity, is no longer in existence.

I experienced anxiety and depression for much of my life after a series of traumatic events. When I had hit rock bottom, I wanted to change. So badly. I wasn’t ready at that point to let go of my comfortable container I had labelled myself with yet. It was my safety net. I had an excuse for bad behaviour, staying in bed, for the lack of control I felt over my emotions and for flaking out on people when I wasn’t prepared to show up.

When the time comes to truly change, it dawns on you that you can no longer slip behind the veil of excuses. It is no longer who you fundamentally are.

The new responsibility of ‘being’ can be overwhelming and intimidating which is why this perpetual cycle of ill mental health seems to have an unbreakable hold over so many.

What I have come to understand intimately, is that we self-impose limiting beliefs about ourselves and the world around us. We pick up on other people’s beliefs, habits and attitudes. Perhaps someone said something nasty to you and you have taken that up like a sponge, and now believe that about yourself.

These beliefs sit so deeply within our subconscious mind. They flavour our daily lives and put forward excuses for why we are they way we are. The cushion us and protect us from the scary outer world.

The truth is, they are LIES. They are not really you. We allow our mind to bully us into believing them to be fact. They are layers on top of the real you, the authentic you. They hold you in your comfort zone and coax you into feeling unworthy or not enough, when the truth is, you are more than enough!

Something that I heard that really hit home for me was that we are the thinkers of our thoughts. Therefore, we are in control at all times over what we think. We are not at the mercy of our thoughts. It may sound oversimplified, but no one is controlling your brain, except you. When you look at it like this, it hands back the reigns to you, it hands you back your power.

It’s time to take a stand. It’s time to be assertive and stop taking shit from your inner bullies.

Yes, change is not easy. It requires real work. It requires you to pay attention and question your thoughts. It requires you to take responsibility of your thoughts.

You must start to question yourself. Ask yourself, “is that real/true?

Start to understand where those thoughts originated from. Most limiting beliefs will have stemmed from somewhere, with specific questioning, you can start to disentangle the false from the true.

This is where real change occurs. On the ground floor. It takes time and will not happen overnight. It is a process and tool that is available to you at all times. YOU are the thinker of your thoughts, you get to DECIDE what you think.

It is through this simplified way of looking at change, that you can start to make real change.