Running along the sides of highways taught author and psychologist Paul Smith some important things about life.
He learned how to avoid being run over by trucks and became an expert on detecting the sounds trucks made as they changed gears going up or down hills.
"What gear is your life in at this very moment?"
Paul asked on p219 of his book 1001 Questions to Change Your Life.
Paul's perception on life is that to change speed as well as direction is to listen to those wake up calls.
Whether the call is a doctor's concern about blood pressure or a child asking for a hug.
How often do you change gears in life?
Paul recognises that "changing direction in life can be tricky" and that "dreams are essential in the pursuit of success".
But he believes that change is possible because life is full of second chances where first impressions are nowhere as important as last impressions.
So why not wake up your gears by doing the following change stimulus exercise, Paul challenges.
1. List five places you would like to visit in the next five years.
2. Name five people you will greatly help in the next five months.
3. Describe five positive changes you have made in your life and in the last five years.
4. List five skills you've improved over the last five years.
5. Describe five ways you'll be a better citizen of the world in the next five years.
When Paul challenges individuals to chase excellence with more enthusiasm, he often hears the verbal side step
"It's hard to do that" and his response?
Who is stopping you from changing gears?
Dramatic increases in life expectancy are shaking the structure of societies around the world and profoundly altering human perceptions of life and death. Not only are first world country citizens living longer, but the evidence of recent decades shows that old age itself is being transformed. The latest cohorts of older people are in significantly better health than their predecessors, and in Australia and the UK this trend appears to be continuing. A revolution is taking place in the life sciences and that revolution is longevity. While every revolution has a turning point - a time when the original impetus for change has run its course, history shows that this is often a vulnerable time for political decision makers. The key ingredient distinguising ageing from other social divisions is that it affects us all.
Adapted from BBC Radio 4 Reith Lectures THE END OF AGE by Tom Kirkwood
REINVENT YOURSELF --- THE TEN RULES OF CHANGE
by Stan Goldberg.
American, Stan Goldberg PHD researched behavioural change for 25 years.
In his book, Reinvent Yourself – the Ten Rules of Change, he offers 10 principles (rules) and 23 strategies on how to achieve behavioural change. His view that behavioural change is about choice means that his advice is founded in the belief that you either chose to change or you don’t. The choice of change is in your behavior.
The principles are:
1. All behaviours are complex
2. Change is frightening
3. Change must be positive
4. Being is easier than becoming
5. Slower is better
6. Know more, do better
7. Change requires structure
8. Practice is necessary
9. New behaviours must be protected
10. Small successes are big.
The strategies are:
1. Break down the behaviour
2. Examine the consequences
3. Prepare your "observers" or friends who will help you change
4. Be realistic
5. Enjoy the act
6. Admire the outcome
7. Reward yourself
8. Take baby steps
9. Simplify the process
10. Prepare for problems
11. Establish calm
12. Appreciate the path
13. Monitor your behaviours
14. Request feedback
15. Understand the outcome
16. Identify what works
17. Revisit your plan regularly
18. Logically sequence events
19. Use helpers
20. Practice in many settings
21. Control your environment
22. Use memory aids
23. Map your success
