Lifestyle: Is it time for a change?

By: Waseema Abdool Khader


Some of you are wishing this year away and others wish it would stay a 'tad' longer...either way, the end of 2013 is here!

Year-ends usually force me to re-evaluate what I have accomplished for the year, ponder on the setbacks I experienced and if there was anything I could have done this year to avoid much of the setbacks or have accelerated myself to where I want to be. If there are some unique people out there, going "I am already where I want to be"...you probably need to read on!

The truth is I don't see the point of doing the above only at year-ends or the beginning of the year, as most of us rigidly set out our 'New Year's Resolutions'. We view life linearly, and that is a very limited way to look at life. Whilst year-ends can bring on many compulsions, opportunities present themselves when you least expect it and at any time of the year.

So when I ask, "Is it time for a change?", what I really mean is, time has nothing to do with it...Sure! time has a lot to do with a lot of things, but change is something you can decide and act upon at anytime. My point to this article is to share with you how keeping your mind wide opened to the possibilities, irrespective of time, that surround you, can dramatically influence 'your' life.

I am not saying jump to every opportunity that presents itself, you will suffer from "FOMO"- fear of missing out, but rather to just take a different approach to the way you view things and adopt a leap of faith. Sometimes, we are so set in our ways, we start to feel comfortable with the way things are....we step into our cliched 'comfort zone' and we long overstay our visit. How you view where you are and what you are doing is what causes you to either move forward or stand still.

Let's look at a general scenario, shall we?
I personally hate it when I come across people who hate their bodies, often for reasons which are in their control. They spend so much effort criticizing themselves, feeling completely insecure about how others view them and have this sort of defeated stance on life in general. It just amazes me to learn that they believe how they feel is normal,  that they can't do anything about it and most importantly, they say "Why bother?". If you spend that much effort on negativity and the above being the result, just imagine if all that effort was harnessed instead on positive efforts.

If you want to achieve anything, you have to be willing to do what you have not done before..as Eistein said"doing the same thing over again and hoping for different results is the definition of insanity!" Doing new things is what opens you up to opportunities that you would never have thought up..why would you shut yourself out from that? you in a kickboxing class? no way..why not?..if not that, then what else?..try pilates, anything as long as you are trying!Bothering my dear readers is exactly what separates you from those who are living the life you so desperately crave yet cast away.

Reminds me of getting my drivers license..I failed once because I didn't stop at a stop street concealed behind a tree and the stop sign on the ground was faded. The car in front of me also switched off, so naturally I was just eager to move again as soon as they moved(wrong move!).

Doesn't it sound a lot like I was just not to meant to get my drivers license...alas,that wasn't the only time I failed. The second time I did my parking like a pro and when the instructor yelled at me to come over to the Alley docking (I hope I said that correctly)........I was startled and he said I rolled..I didn't even feel the car rolling (oops!). I wanted that driver's license so bad, I would dream about no longer waiting on others to fetch me, when I failed, I was imagining myself as an old woman using public transport stuck between a gym bunny after a workout and someone suffering from severe postnasal and to top that off I had to tell my dad I failed again.

Before failing my drivers, I can honestly say, I had never failed anything before. I took it really badly, and thought 'that's it I'm never going to drive my own car?' and I never did...The End!




















Yeah Right!!! If you scrolled down...you have a propensity for happy endings, and I am going to give it to you. Failing is not something I ever considered the be all and end all. I began to positively assess where I had gone wrong. I knew all that stupid talk about how terrible I was at driving was going to get me nowhere. I got a new driving instructor and it turned out there were a lot of things I wasn't taught before I could go get tested.

No, I didn't take revenge on my old instructor, he went out of business eventually...Haaahaaahaa..evil laugh..hey! I don't like people who take advantage of others. Getting back, I tested soon after and passed my drivers and had an audience applauding for my parking, that was the most awesome feeling and was definitely worth the wait.

I absolutely love driving, the thought of being able to get myself to where I want to be exhilarates me. Driving has opened up other opportunities that would have otherwise been difficult or closed to me. I was able to complete Fashion Designing, Make-up Artistry, cake decor, visit clients and the list is endless!

In the end, I was a lot more confident to drive as this time I really knew how and it wasn't a methodical sort of thing but something that came naturally.......with practice!

Sometimes you will fail, and maybe a few times too, but practice really does make perfect. Research is vital, do your research and then from a place of knowledge, make informed decisions. Avoid making assumptions at all costs, it will keep you from being opened to new possibilities. Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game. Stop telling yourself it's "too late!" remember that time has nothing to do with it, if you love something enough..Make the effort or efforts!. Sometimes it will be easy and sometimes it will really test you and put you through your paces, but then we have to dig for gold and swim deep for pearls! It is ultimately your frame of mind and what you are telling yourself that influences how far you will go and how far you can get.

So......Is it TIME for a change?