Everyone is dissatisfied about something in his or her life. Everyone wants to change something. Some want to change major aspects of their lives. Everyone wants to change some of the details. Most struggle their whole lives going as though they were riding on a circular track, going over the same ground again and again.......in reality, not really getting anywhere.

Many give up trying, often resigning their future happiness (the big change that they expect in the future) to winning the lottery or perhaps some fantasy about meeting the right mate, getting the right job or whatever it is that they think is really just beyond their control, doggedly determined that their future is out of their hands and assigned to some great cosmic roulette wheel. Through all of this, many are almost consumed by a burning desired to change - to be something else, to do something else, to have something else.

Unfortunately, the desire or passion to change is not enough. One must stop, step back, and look at the overall process, look at what has really been happening in their life, where they really want to go, and how they will get there.

The obstacle to this process, which on the surface seems deceptively simple, is that most people want too much, too soon. Most are dissatisfied with some aspect in their lives and want to make significant changes. They think then that everything will suddenly be okay - just like buying a new car - if these changes are suddenly made. Like buying this new car, they just have to go in, sign some papers, and - voila! - happiness has arrived. Everything is finished. Sometimes we transfer the simple mechanical processes with which we do everyday tasks to our more complex inner mechanisms and wonder why we don’t get the same results. Why can’t we just decide (like buying a new car) to change something, go ahead and do it? Then, when that is accomplished, get on with the next task. As we all know, our mental processes don’t work that way.

Our mental processes, although they may superficially appear to be otherwise, are actually quiet stable - even with those people who seem very unstable! Mental habits are deeply entrenched - both good and bad habits. The things we like about our character as well as the things we would really want to change are embedded in our consciousness. Overall, this is probably very good for us. Were it to be any other way, we would be like mental yo-yo’s continually changing for every passing whim and fancy.

To change one must decide what overall change one wants to accomplish, break that change down into "bite-size" achievable chunks, develop a plan to facilitate those chunks into ones life and implement that plan. The secret of success in this operation is to change very little at a time, hold on to the small change until it becomes a firmly established habit and then work on the next small thing.

For example, let’s say you want to become a vegetarian for optimum physical and mental health and peace of mind. You have read a few books on the subject, have some friends who are vegetarian, and you are convinced that this is the way to go. This is a major change for most people. Food is an integral part of our lives. Changing the diet on which we were raised, which our parents and grandparents fed us, could be traumatic to say the least. You have been eating your present diet for many decades and suddenly you want to change everything. No matter how much enthusiasm, determination and resolve you have, there is a good chance you won’t be successful. Remember the health club, jogging, roller blading and all the other fantastic thing you thought would improve the quality of your life?

How could one change, for example, these eating habits which have been developed over a life time, and make it work? Make a plan, something you can really live with. Maybe cut red meat down by half. Try this for two or three months. What’s the rush? You have the rest of your life! Give this a chance to become a habit. After two or three months, it will be almost painless to give up the red meat. Next, cut down on fish and chicken............and so forth.

By making a plan on whatever changes you want to make, whatever you want to get out of or add to your life, by slowing implementing the plan and creating new habits over long periods of time you can make significant changes in your life. In the beginning, it doesn’t seem like much, but over span of two, three and even ten years, you have made incredible changes in your life. In yoga, we call this evolution, NOT revolution.

New Directions for Better Living