It is always thrilling when others notice a change in us. Today, a dear friend happened to tell me how she sees a marked change in my thoughts, ideas and body in the past year or so. I was thrilled how while we are busy changing, we do not realize how the world sees us. Because the world is also constantly changing.  The essence of change comes from the need to do something differently. The need to do something differently stems from the fact that we wish to change the results we are currently manifesting. And that, in turn, comes from awareness. Awareness comes from going deep within; not from pointing at others for one’s problems like misery, failures, attitude, mindset and ultimately a lack of growth.

Over the past one year, I have worked on the process of change by reverse engineering. Just like sales teams work. You start with a macro goal in mind. And break it down into chunks of quarterly, monthly, weekly and daily goals. Make sure to tweak the goals on a monthly basis in order to stay on track. But the biggest key to one’s success lies in celebrating micro achievements. More than one friend happened to share this concept. And it made complete sense.

So, if like me, you have been in the habit of absconding from discipline, celebrate when you follow your goal for a week. Next, continue to celebrate every month. Look at the positives and the highs. Take credit for your planning, efforts and success. The habit of succeeding is rather contagious. It gives you more dopamine than any food or drug. Once you are able to sustain one habit or goal for at least a month, add another goal or habit that you wish to change. Now maintain two goals. The pressure to perform increases. But the victory is even bigger. And ultimately, it is the feeling from being victorious that counts more than reminders of failures. If you miss your daily goal for a day, make sure to acknowledge it and pick it up the next day. Do not take one miss as a catastrophe and give up. As you go on the path, remember to count your victories more than failures. Focus on the positives and forge ahead.

I went through an experience in January this year. The trekkers group that I joined organised a 40km walk. I found it rather ambitious. I did not want to do it since it was way out of my league. But peer pressure is a real thing. So, I signed up. I went on a couple of 15km walks for practise and chose to do the ultimate 40kms. In my heart, I kept thinking how I would not be able to complete it. How it was not worth it. But I took the plunge anyway. On the day of the walk, I went with lots of negativity in my head. The end result – I barely completed the halfway mark with blisters on my feet, a groggy mind and lots of anger. Add to it, the feeling of being an utter failure and comparing myself with others who workout regularly and completed the walk as their personal best. I spent the next couple of days in a lot of pain, both physical and mental.

A few days later, I realised the mistakes I had made. I noted them down and vowed never to make the same mistakes again. They mostly had to do with my mind. Last week, I had another opportunity to go for a trek that was moderately difficult. I faced a similar dilemma the night before. There was negative chatter. But this time, I did have lessons from my past. I had vowed not to make the same mistakes. So here’s what I did. I changed my narrative. I changed the story I told myself about my capabilities and my experience. I visualised a happy trek. I visualised myself at the summit. And I told myself I had been working over the past few months. The end result – my trek went exactly as my mind had visualised.

Now this is what I call a victory. The trek difficulty was certainly more than the 40km walk. Did I achieve my target? Hell yes. Was I in pain? Not at all. It is important to mention that over the past few months, I wrote down some goals in areas of health, career, money and relationships. I have been enjoying little victories in all areas. As a result, the health component with the trek benefitted from lateral positivity that kept my spirits high and gave me the confidence that I would be able to achieve it.

P.S. Change is the only constant. And being able to bring it about comes only from awareness, setting goals out of your comfort zone and putting in consistent practise, rain or shine. The consistency creates character. But the game changer here is the personal story we tell ourselves about how things are going to pan out. The mantra is – Change your story, change the outcome. There is a thin line of difference between success and failure. It is not how much talent you have, but how quickly you rebound from a fall that determines how quickly you can bring about change or success.