Let’s make this short, but sweet. We’ll call it the Triple A Guide.

Step 1: Awareness.

This is the somewhat easy part. I mean, we’re all aware of changes that we need to make, right? But how bloody hard is it?! Seriously, all of us have trouble changing, especially if we have traumatic backgrounds or hard-wired dysfunctional behaviors.

Nevertheless, change requires awareness. Essentially we need to have a conscious understanding that something isn’t working right, and that by changing, we’d be more aligned with who we need to be.

Step 2: Acceptance.

This is the most difficult step. Insight is great, but unless we accept that we absolutely need to change, and how to do it, then we really don’t understand the reality at all.

It is important to connect with the strategies for change before we apply them. We need to conceptualize what it will look like before proceed. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t necessary to have an exact procedure or end state that we must achieve, but we should accept the goals that we need to set and how we will potentially achieve them.

Let’s put it another way; we have a general direction that we’re heading in and as long we fall somewhere within that spectrum then that box has been ticked.

Step 3: Application.

We’ve decided which way we’ll follow the general direction of our compass, so let’s put it into action!

Commit.

Devote.

Sacrifice.

Suck it up.

Have awesome fun.

We’ll get there. At least if we had true acceptance in the first place.

So chin up, soldiers. We know it’s hard. But it’s actually quite simple too. Even though our brains stop developing at around 25 years of age, we can apply courage, strength and will to ensure that we rewire ourselves and permanently institute the change that we crave for our needed growth.

It’s worth it. We know it is.

Especially because we may as well maximize the fuck out of what we can experience in this life. Plus, we probably couldn’t put up with ourselves the way we are forever, anyway.

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Editor: Jenna Penielle Lyons

Photos: elephant archives