What I CAN Change

• You can't change your entire life, you can only change your next action

• You can't change a relationship with a loved one, you can only change your next interaction

• You can't change your entire job, you can only change your next task

• You can't change your body composition, you can only change your next meal

• You can't change your fitness level, you can only start moving

• You can't de-clutter your entire life, you can only choose to get rid of one thing right now

• You can't eliminate your entire debt, you can only make one payment, or buy one less unnecessary item

• You can't change the past, or control the future, you can only change what you are doing now

• You can't change everything, you can only change one, small thing...and that's all it takes

Here are a few things you can do to practice living one-step-at-a-time: 

1. Make a list of some of the things you want to change, alter, or improve in your life right now.  First of all, it's important to remember that none of these changes will, in and of themselves, make you happy (only you can do that for yourself).  That being said, positive change can be a wonderfully exciting and empowering thing for us to engage in and experience.  Identifying what you want to change specifically is an essential first step.
2. With each of these important things you want to change, think of some simple, small steps you can take (today or this week) that will move you in the direction you truly want.  If you get stuck with any of them, ask for help.  And, if you start to get overwhelmed, take a break and remember to keep things simple.  These are what my friend Susan calls "micro-movements," don't let your ego take over and judge them as too small.
3. Celebrate each step of the way.  As you notice yourself making different choices, having new thoughts, and taking small, positive steps towards the changes you want; celebrate.  And, if you find yourself forgetting, falling back into old patterns, or unable to take some of these simple actions, celebrate yourself for your awareness and honor your desire to change.  Either way, celebrating and appreciating yourself is essential to the process.

By remembering what we can actually change and how change truly works, we're able to create true miracles in our lives - one-step-at-a-time!

Invictus by Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds, and shall find, me unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll. I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul. William Ernest Henley