Welcome back to another edition of Peaceful Ponderings.Summer is drawing to a close, and I (perhaps like some of you) am looking forward to getting back into a regular routine.  It has been a wonderful summer and is starting to feel like autumn.  The days a cooler, the evenings are cooler still, the trees are already showing leaves of yellow and orange. 

Autumn, a season of change. 

Change is something we all experience daily.  Sometimes in a big way sometimes it is subtle.

This summer my youngest daughter was united in marriage with a young man I am now proud to call my son in law.  Big changes for everyone.  She chose to change her last name so she is no longer a Shanahan- that was a big one for me for some reason.  It just seemed to make her seem a little further away somehow, although, deep down I know that as we each grow and change our bond become stronger than ever.

Change can be fun - it can be stressful - one thing is certain - it is inevitable.

How do you feel about change?  How do you manage change in your day to day life? Do you think there are better ways of managing it?

Wikipedia says "Change denotes the transition that occurs between one state to another.  Change may require organisms and organizations to adapt.  Changes in society have been observed through slow, gradual modifications in mindsets and beliefs as well as through dramatic action."

Mahatma Gandhi is quoted as saying "Be the change you wish to see in the world"   

I have tended to look at that statement in very grand terms.  If I want to see global changes then I need to take steps to make that happen.  But today I am looking at it on a much more personal scale.  If I want my life to look different what am I doing day to day or moment by moment to 'be that change'?

I have many dreams - to run a B&B or Retreat Centre, to have a flourishing Coaching Practice, to facilitate workshops, to share my passion that Peace starts with each individual and can grow one spirit at a time, to change the world. 

As Mike Dooley founder of TUT.com explains in his audio series "Infinite Possibilities", our beliefs drive our thoughts which in turn create our actions/outcomes.  It serves us to check in with our beliefs when we are not achieving what we think we want to achieve.  What beliefs do we have that are holding us back?

Do you believe you deserve those things you dream of attaining?

Do you believe you are smart enough? Daring enough? Brave enough? Strong enough? Kind enough? Tough enough?  This is where, in coaching, we would be challenging you to act 'as if'.  Have you heard the statement "Fake it until you make it"?  It is the same concept.  The same idea as "Be the change you wish to see in the world".  Start by acting as if you believe you are smart enough, brave enough, strong enough- and soon you start to shift your belief, you see that maybe you are smart enough- which in turn enables you to see yourself attaining your dreams, one baby step at a time.