People often limit their opportunities. When you’re finding more reasons or excuses for why you can’t make a positive change in your life, it’s time to sit back and reflect. A lot of people can relate to limiting their opportunities because they do the same thing year after year.


People start the year with the idea to get fit, make more money or get out more.

And then by February, those ideas go to the wayside. “I’m too busy to go to the gym” or “I’m too overwhelmed to get that certification to get a promotion.” Change is good, albeit scary and uncertain at times.

Change takes time. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, all you need is the right tools (we all have them), a purpose and a little self-coaching.

If you’re tired of limiting your opportunities and finally want to make positive changes in your life, follow these steps today (the same ones I teach when coaching) to make the changes you need and with a purpose.

3 Methods to Make the Changes in Your Life That You Deserve

1. Sit Down and Create a Picture of Your Current Life


Your life is filled with a lot of good and bad elements. Some things may be going great, and you’ll want to keep these areas relatively the same. Other areas may need change. Sit down right now and really delve deep into this exercise.

A few things to ruminate on are:

  • Career
  • Relationships
  • Family
  • Fitness
  • Finances

You'll need to do a lot of soul searching and be open and honest with yourself. A lot of people have problems with this initial exercise, but I have a tool that you can use to really explore these areas.

2. Create a Picture of Your Future - Without Limitations


What future state do you want to be in? What is it that you deserve? A lot of people put limits on themselves and believe that because they don't have the resources available right this second, they’ll never reach their goals.

People often have futures that other people tell them is unattainable. Some of the world’s most influential, richest and smartest people were told that they couldn’t do something because:

  • They're not smart enough
  • No one can do that
  • They don’t have the right resources

But you need to put all of these doubts aside and really picture your future. What is a future that you would love? Write down what you want for your future and create a well-planned strategy to reach your goals.

3. Strategize and Plan to Reach Your Goals


You know what your life looks like now and in the future, and now comes the most important step: strategize and plan. A lot of people say that they want to reach a goal, maybe become fluent in a new language, but they stop there.

You need a plan.

Instead, what I want you to do is:

  • Determine how you’ll reach your goals
  • Map out manageable tasks, milestones and goals

You need to have a feeling of accountability. It's important that you push yourself to reach your goals. Coaching can help, but you need to find that desire to reach the milestones you outline in this step.

Mentality will help a lot here. A growth mindset (I’ll explain that in a second) can truly help you reach these goals to achieve the future, better you that you envision.

What is the Growth Mindset?


Dr. Carol Dweck coined the term "growth mindset” over 30 years ago when she was conducting research on thousands of children. The term is simple: when you think you can do something, you understand that putting in the time and effort can lead to higher achievement.

In children, when they believed that they could be smarter, they put in the extra effort to reach their goals.

Small setbacks devastated the children that didn’t have this mindset, while others were able to push through their failures to find success.


Fixed Mindset

Dr. Dweck states that everyone has a fixed and growth mindset. The fixed mindsets are engrained. You know that if you jump off of a cliff, your hard work will not lead to you flying. This is a normal mindset.

In many cases, individuals that have a fixed mindset believe in their talents, but they don’t put the effort into developing them.


Growth Mindset

Do you believe that your most basic abilities can be enhanced? If so, you know resilience and dedication can help you reach your goals. A growth mindset can help you reach your goals and is one of the key parts of every successful plan.

Strategize, believe and plan to reach your goals.

Your skills, habits and life can be changed with a growth mindset. Always striving to reach a new goal or find a new purpose is the key to success. Even if you find yourself needing coaching, this is just part of the growth process.

Tips to help cultivate this mindset include:

  • Apply yourself to reach your goals, and understand physical and mental energy are required to meet your goals.
  • Find excitement in challenges, and master each challenge that comes your way.
  • Don't seek the approval of others when trying to reach your goal.
  • Find a sense of purpose. Outline what the purpose of reaching your future you really means.
  • Enjoy the process and keep trying to reach milestones – don't just focus on the final goal.
  • Be realistic. Your goals take time. If you put unrealistic expectations for your goals, you’ll end up being unmotivated and unwilling to reach these milestones.