The 5 TRAILS of Personal Transformation
Maybe you are just about ready to take on the task of personal transformation or maybe you’re in the middle of it. Wherever you are in this journey, there are times when you need to recall (without the help of a book or a laptop) what the basic principles of personal transformation are.
Here is TRAILS 5, an acronym for you to call to mind whenever you need a quick reminder.
- Take your past hurts where they belong. Bring them to the place in your heart that allows you to accept that you were wronged; realize that you are greater than the sum of all your hurts and gather strength to move on. This is not going to be easy but nothing worthwhile ever is. You don’t need to forget the hurt because that is sometimes not possible but you need to put it someplace where it cannot hurt you and you need to be able to tell yourself that it will not determine how you live the rest of your life.
- Reflection is part of your life. Reflect everyday on what has happened during the day and think of where you are going. Give this a regular schedule. Begin your day with it and end your day with it. People are not supposed to live their lives in a constant whirl of action; you need quiet time to center your thoughts and to pray. With reflection you have assessment and analysis. You try to find out where you are in terms of how far you have progressed and you take a look at what still needs to be done.
- Affirm your achievements. After reflecting on what has transpired during the day, don’t forget to affirm all the positive things that you have accomplished so far. This affirmation is an important part of transformation. You cannot simply reject all the parts of your own behavior that you like; you have to strengthen the good qualities in you.
- Internalize the lessons life has given you. Internalizing lessons means paying attention to what life is teaching you. It means doing what you need to reverse any trend or cycle that is self-defeating or counterproductive. Determine what works and what doesn’t work. For example, if you recognize impulsive shopping is the reason why you are always short of funds then promise yourself you will not go shopping without a list and you will stick to what is written on it.
- Live life as you believe you should. Be true to your principles and concentrate on doing what you think is right. If all around you people are doing things that you are uncomfortable with then either move away from their circle or pay no heed to what they are up to. This is not easy to do at all but remember that you won’t be happy either living life according to what others want.
- Straighten the way you think. Get rid of all the thoughts that limit you. Stop thinking that others are better or more talented and that you will never make things better. Every time you catch yourself thinking negatively shift your thoughts to something affirmative and positive. Remind yourself of one or two accomplishments you achieved.
- 5 priority goals. Make a list of your top 5 must-dos. Be clear about what you want and how soon you want to get things done. Break your goals down into manageable segments and time frames. For example, if your goal is a beautiful and healthy body then you could tell yourself that you want to develop the habit of exercising for thirty minutes at least four times a week at the end of four weeks. Now here’s the thing: even when you break down goals in this manner, you will sometimes meet with failure or achieve only partial success. When this happens, just get up, shake the dust off your pants and try again. You will make better progress if you do not allow yourself to be hampered by unrealistic expectations.
If you’d like to start a journey of personal transformation so that you can live a life of power, purpose and passion, but don’t know where to begin, I urge you to consider The Warrior’s Quest Intensive. This is a 3 ½ day one-on-one, private coaching and transformation experience. For more information about The Warrior’s Quest take a look HERE.