ADVICE WEDNESDAY: Are You a Personal Transformation Tortoise or Hare?

by JONATHAN 
(Repost from http://advancedlifeskills.com/blog/ )

When it comes to making transformations in your life, what approach do you favor? Do you like to rush right in and shake things up, or do you prefer to ease into it at a slower pace?

Both of these approaches to personal transformation can produce good results. However, understanding and using the one that actually works for you can greatly increase those results. Let’s take a closer look at these two techniques.

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The Personal Transformation Tortoise

This is usually the choice of those who are uncomfortable with change. They like the sense of security that comes from making small, calculated adjustments in a measured way. Rather than disrupting the orderliness of their world, they change one thing at a time and then evaluate.

If you reflect on the story of the tortoise and the hare, you will recall that this approach won the race. There are definite advantages to “slow and steady,” and in some situations this is the most reasonable approach for everyone.

For example, if you are out of shape and you want to take up running, it wouldn’t be very wise to run ten miles your first day. Slow and steady is obviously the better choice. And this same principal applies to many areas of life. So we should never underestimate the power of “slow and steady” when it comes to transforming your life.

The Personal Transformation Hare

For those who are more comfortable with radical change, this will often be the preferred approach. It’s a way of really shaking things up that basically amounts to a giant pattern interrupt. Instead of trying to maintain orderliness, this method approaches personal transformation with a more adventurous spirit.

Changing our established response patterns often requires this type of planned disruption. When attempting to break out of familiar or customary behavior, we may need to introduce a number of new elements into the picture to avoid responding “as usual.”

Don’t automatically assume that this approach is more haphazard or reckless. In reality, both approaches require preparation and forethought to be successful. It is always in our best interest to be adaptable enough to use whichever approach is likely be most effective in any given set of circumstances.

What works best for me!

As you can tell by the title of my book, I’m into Simple Steps to Quickly Transform Your Life. I like fast results where possible, but I am also after those long term benefits that come only with time. In other words, I use a combined approach whenever I can.

We have already established that both approaches have their strong points. Where possible, I use a system that allows me to enjoy the best of both worlds. Using this approach has allowed me to successfully transform many areas of my life in the shortest possible time, without sacrificing long term results. Here’s how I do it.

The interval approach to personal transformation

If you have ever used interval fitness training, then you know that it involves moving from one thing to another. That’s the approach I like to use when transforming any aspect of my life. If the situation allows for it, I will use some kind of disruptive approach to produce rapid change. Then I will adopt a more “steady as she goes” approach while I get my bearings.

Once I have adapted to my new level of change, I look for my next opportunity to make another quantum leap. To illustrate, if I were traveling on foot toward a predetermined destination, this is what I would do. I would run for awhile, then I would switch to walking just long enough to catch my breath and asses my progress. When I was ready, I would go back to running, followed by more walking.

The beauty of this approach is that my forward momentum never stops. I simply go from rapid progress to steady progress, and repeat.

The benefits of rapid transformation

Anytime you can experience fast results, it will encourage you to keep moving forward. I don’t care whether you are starting a new business, trying to lose weight, or mastering some new skill. The faster you see a reward for you efforts, the more likely you are to keep going.

Meaningful results are usually cumulative and require consistent effort. Anything that helps you hang in there for the long haul is going to raise your chances of success. Seeing positive results after a short period of focused effort can provide all the motivation you need to make it to the next milestone. This process is progressive, and is fueled by positive feedback in the form of continued results.

Personal transformation by design

Whatever your approach to creating a personal transformation, your preparation and forethought will have a direct influence on your results. So, before you take any action at all, I encourage you to design a tentative plan of action. I say tentative because you will need the flexibility to make adjustments as you progress.

Here are a five questions to consider when designing your personal transformation:

1) What exactly do you want to transform? You may have a good idea of what you want to change, but what will that change look like? If you want to get in better shape physically, for example, you need to specify what that means. If it means losing weight, then how much? If it means increasing your skill level in some activity, then how will you measure it?

2) How long will this transformation take? Time frames motivate us to take action. You need to assign a time limit to the transformational process. The only transformation that takes place without your input is aging, everything else happens by design. Give yourself the advantage that comes from creating a time frame and your results will increase exponentially.

3) How important is this transformation to you personally? We all have a variety of things demanding our attention. As a consequence, most of us operate on a priority system. In other words, we do whatever is most important at the time. To make a meaningful transformation in some important area of your life, you will need to assign it a high priority.

4) Why are you doing it? I always say that a person can do anything if they have a good enough reason. So, what’s your reason? Make sure youunderstand why making this transformation is important to you. Without a good reason you might give up when you encounter obstacles. Get clear on your reasons “why” before you start.

5) What approach are you going to use? Are you going to be a tortoise, a hare, or some combination of the two? If you are looking for rapid change then how will you accomplish that? Even if you are using the “slow and steady” approach, you will still need a way to measure progress against your time frame. If you choose intervals, what are they going to be.

Get some help if you need it

One of the main reasons why people are unable to transform different areas of their lives, is they simply don’t understand the process. Positive transformations do not happen by accident, they happen by design. Skills are involved, and these are not the kind of skills we were taught in school.

Transformational skills are not difficult, but they are highly specialized. If you don’t know these skills, then it can seem almost impossible to change the things you want to change. That’s why I wrote 7 Simple Steps, it is a step by step life transformation guide. It’s easy to follow and produces remarkable results.

The important point here is this; if you need to learn these skills so you can transform various areas of your life, then take the time to do so. Find a reputable source of reliable information and learn the skills you need to create the life you want. Please don’t settle for ordinary, because you really can have extraordinary.

What’s your favorite transformation technique?
How successful are you in this area of life?
The lines are open!

*Please visit Jonathan's website for even more great advice: http://advancedlifeskills.com/blog/