Hope is not a strategy!

You can’t just hope you will have a better life or better results. You have to make it happen. You, no one else, just you.

If you want different results in your life, you have to take action. We always need to have hope but just hoping will not make it happen.

The definition of insanity is continuing to do the same things over and over again, and expecting different results. If you don’t like the results you are getting or what is happening in your life, then you have to make changes.

Easier said than done, I know. Speaking from experience, change does not happen unless you are fundamentally unhappy with your station in life or the results you are getting. You are unhappy and you are sick and tired of being unhappy.

There can be unexpected events in your life that force you to change. You lose your job, your spouse leaves you, you have a death in the family, you meet someone who makes you want to be better, or you have a child. There are a number of external events that can occur that will force you to change, but in the end, you still can’t just hope you will change. You have to take action and make things happen.

Those unexpected events or crisis in some circumstances create the need for change. Many times you have no choice. You lose your sight; you have to change how you are living.

Those types of events, even though many are tragic, force change. In many ways though, one could say those changes we make are easier than the ones where we are not forced to make a change. You have no choice if you lose your sight, you have to make changes. You do have to make a choice sometimes to change jobs, to leave an abusive spouse, to stop drinking, to lose weight, to bring down your cholesterol, to do better on your job to improve your performance.

Nothing is forcing you to make those changes. You know you need to make a change, but you have a choice. You can keep on doing everything the same and existing day to day in this life. Life goes on and then you die. You are more comfortable staying with the known rather than saying, I deserve better and I want more from life than to just live the existence I have been living every day.

Many people live their lives that way. They exist. They allow others to make decisions on how they spend their lives. They are content just existing.

At the end of their lives, do those individuals look back and say, wow, where did the time go? What did I accomplish? What did I do to make the world a better place or did I help folks along the way?

We know one thing for sure. We are all going to die one day. That is certain. How you spend your time and what people will say at your funeral is up to you.

If you don’t want to just exist or if you are miserable, you can change your circumstances. Our higher powers did not create any junk. The power is within each of us to make the changes in our lives to allow us to live the lives we want to live.

Making change though when you really don’t have to make change, but just want to make change can be difficult. You have to have courage and determination to see your way through the change. You sometimes have to make some tough decisions.

However, changes can and will happen if you want them to happen and act with courage and determination. You have to take responsibility and ownership of your own well-being. No one else can do that for you. Unless you yourself want to change for yourself, you will not make the change long-lasting.

Oh, sure, we can want to do better for our boss, for our spouse, our teammates, etc, but that is still a change you want. You are making the changes for yourself. Sure, you boss asked you to change, but you want to make that change to make her happy or to keep your job. You are not just making that change for your boss. You are making that change yourself.

About 15 months ago, I faced this situation where I felt I needed to make some changes. No one was forcing me to make changes, but deep down inside I knew I needed to make a career change. I was making money, working with a great Regional sales and support team, and no one was asking me to leave the organization. However, physically and mentally, I was slowly killing myself. I had gained weight, the doctors had increased the medication I was taking, and were warning me that I was going in the wrong direction. I was working hard to just maintain my current weight that the doctors told me classified as obese. If you have seen the commercial where people are dragging the weight scales around with them all day, that was me. It was always on my mind, but I could not do much about it doing what I was doing everyday. I was traveling about 60% of the time over the Western third of the United States and there was always entertaining to be done. Most of my meals were in restaurants or on airplanes. Arriving in cities in the evening, I was too tired to work out. I could hope I was going to lose weight, but deep down inside, I knew I would not be able to and it was just a matter of time before I became a claim, either for disability or even worse, life insurance.

I gave up that career with the steady income to make some changes. I hated leaving the people I worked with, but I realized, I could not help them or my family if I wasn't in good health. My dad died of heart disease when he was 72. If I followed that same path, I was looking at less than 20 years to live.

I began walking my dogs twice a day and for longer distances. I joined a gym. I actually used the gym. I began eating right and eating a lot less meals out. I slept a reasonable 7 hours a night compared to the 5-6 hours I had been getting. I stopped drinking diet soda.

I established better habits as nothing good happens unless you establish the right habits. I could have gone on a diet, but off just as easily. I needed to establish habits that would insure that I took the weight off and that it stayed off. That required a change and making every day habits work for me. So, no Atkins or cabbage or any other diet fad. Just plain old eat the right stuff and exercise. The weight came off through a lot of one days at a time.

I am happy to report that to date I have lost 44 pounds. I have a lot more energy. I know longer suffer from Sleep Apnea. (I should say my wife no longer has to suffer from my Sleep Apnea)

I could hope I lost weight all day long but hope is not a strategy. It is truly what you do everyday that counts!