Waves of Change

Today’s blog is the next in the Path of Healing Series where I’ve been guiding on ten essential steps for personal growth. Today I’ll be covering step ten, Sustain. I’ll explore the benefits of making positive changes and provide methods to help you sustain them for long-term success.

Key Topics Include:

- Five key benefits to personal growth.
  - Enhanced Self-Awareness
  - Improved mental, emotional and physical health
  - Better Relationships
  - Increase confidence and resilience
  - Alignment with life purpose
- Success method for sustaining lasting change.
  - Break the process down into small steps
  - Celebrate your wins, big and small
  - Create a supportive environment with self-care and relations
  - Practice mindful self-awareness
  - Embrace self-compassion
  - Choose positive habits
  - Stay flexible and open to change

Personal growth is one of the most rewarding journeys you can undertake. It’s about becoming the best version of yourself – mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. But lasting change doesn’t happen overnight. It takes commitment, self-awareness and the right strategies to ensure your efforts stick over time. Today I’ll explore the benefits of making positive changes and provide methods to help you sustain them for long-term success.

There are many forms of personal growth such as 1:1 therapy, group work, weekend retreats, self-help courses and more. Many people feel it’s a sign of weakness to ask for help or feel fear of making changes which holds them back from doing personal growth work. Others throw themselves in fully to the personal growth process eager to discover the deeper meaning of who they are and their true purpose in life. Some people make personal growth a life path, devoted to staying true to themselves and raising their conscious awareness throughout their lifetime.

Near as I can tell in my years of clinical experience, even if your parents were loving and supportive of you in childhood, we all have some fine-tuning we can do to reach our full potential in life. Most people who go into a personal growth process are drawn to heal the imprints of their less-than-optimal childhood experiences which can include abuse, illness or trauma. No matter what the circumstances for stepping onto the Healing Path the rewards are guaranteed.

The top five benefits of personal growth are:

Enhanced Self-Awareness: Personal growth helps you develop a deeper understanding of yourself-your strengths, weaknesses, desires and fears.This heightened self-awareness give you the power to make decisions that align with your true self, rather than simply reacting to external circumstances.
Improved mental, emotional and physical health.When you work on self-development you can release limiting beliefs, heal old wounds and build healthier habits. This can significantly reduce stress, anxiety and negative thinking leaving you with a clearer mind and more peaceful, balanced and joyful emotional state.
Better Relationships. As you grow, your relationships evolve in positive ways.You’ll find yourseld setting healthier boundaries, communicating more effectively and showing up more authentically in your interactions with yourself and others. Healthy relationships are important to foster happiness and personal fulfillment.
Increase confidence and resilience.Each step forward in personal growth boosts your self-esteem. Whether you’re learning new skills, breaking unhelpful habits, or overcoming obstacles, the journey builds resilience and strengthens your confidence in facing future challenges.
Alignment with life purpose.As you continue growing, you grow to feel more in tune with your life’s purpose as you uncover the truth of who you really are. A clearer sense of purpose motivates you to set meaningful goals and lead a life that reflects your deepest values.

The 10-step Healing Path is based on the milestones I’ve seen most people go through, independent of what their healing intention is. The 10 steps are ones you can use as a method for making lasting changes in your life. This method will help you in setting SMART goals, ones that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. You need to get specific with your goals since vague intentions only bring vague results.

Being successful in making lasting change is best done by breaking the process down into smaller steps. Change can bring with it fear and resistance, it is wired into our human nature. A great way to work with this natural response to change rather than become overwhelming, is to understand that small steady steps will always get you to the goal. Maybe not as quickly as you’d like, but in the divine timing you’ve asked for. Have patience and enjoy the process. Taking the time to stay present in every moment of the journey (rather than being in a rush to get to the destination) will reap the best rewards. Smaller steps also allow you to track your progress and give you more opportunities to celebrate your achievements for building self-confidence, empowerment and love.

A supportive environment is important for making lasting personal growth changes. In this healing path series, you’ve created and implemented self-care practices to support yourself. This is so important and should be part of your daily routine. On the days you feel happy and well, self-care can be meditating on what you are grateful for. On days when you feel less than optimal, you can use other self-care approaches that you know will bring relaxation, renewal and recovery. Having a list of a minimum of 10 solid self-care approaches to choose from will help you create a supportive environment for yourself.

Then by surrounding yourself with people who uplift and support your journey is another layer of self-care. Seek out mentors, and join communities that align with your values. A supportive network can provide encouragement, advice, perspective and motivation when you’re feeling stuck or having a setback.

Practising mindfulness and self-awareness is important to sustaining positive change. Mindfulness is a practice of staying present and aware of your thoughts, feelings and behaviours. By practicing mindfulness you can identify old ways of being that might resurface and make conscious choices that align with your goals. Journaling, meditation and self-reflection are great tools for cultivating mindfulness and staying in tune with your inner world.

Embracing self-compassion is needed to stay the course toward creating lasting change. Growth doesn’t happen in a straight line and setbacks are a natural part of the process. Practicing self-compassion means being kind to yourself when you encounter obstacles or make mistakes. This mindset helps you stay resilient and committed to your goals, even if things don’t go perfectly.

Choose Positive Habits. The key to long-lasting change is building sustainable habits. When you have installed a new healthy habit, you need to choose it consistently. If you want to eat healthier, then getting into the habit of having quick and healthy options available to you will help you stay on track. Rather than reaching for processed or junk food when you’re hungry. Reflect on the benefits of the positive habit at the moment as you are making the decision. The junk food might soothe your emotional appetite for a moment, but in the long run, it will deplete your energy, focus and mood. Choosing delayed gratification over immediate gratification is often the best way to sustain healthy habits.

Track your progress as you move forward in life living the new way of being. This will help you stay accountable and motivated. Seeing your growth over time reinforces positive behaviour and keeps you focused on your long-term goals. It also gives you the opportunity to celebrate your achievements. One of the most common pitfalls I see my clients get into is to stay so focused on the outcome they forget to celebrate their wins along the way. This is one of the best parts of my job is to celebrate when a client achieves their goals. Bringing their attention to it and allowing them to receive celebration and access their own pride within themselves is something every practitioner should add to their practice.

Stay flexible and open to change. Evolution is part of the process so we must adapt to new circumstances as we move forward. Once you have reached a healing goal, be sure to take time to enjoy this state you have worked so hard to achieve. It’s best not to set a new goal or healing intention for a little while, to allow yourself to deeply habituate the change. Stay present and observe how things are in this changed place. Stay flexible and adapt to where you are now. The next goal will appear from this place, but remember to give yourself the celebration time you’ve earned.

Personal growth is about creating positive and lasting changes that elevate your life. It requires commitment, consistency and a willingness to reflect and adjust along the way. By setting clear goals, practising self-awareness and surrounding yourself with a supportive environment, you’ll be well on your way to a life filled with purpose, fulfilment and joy. Remember the journey itself is the reward – so be patient with yourself and celebrate each step forward, no matter how small.

You can enjoy listening to this article on a Healing Codes Podcast episode by clicking on the link below.

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