The Ladies’ Guide To Changing Your Life In Six Months
We all know the adage that one can change their life in six months, yet few do. Because, like new year goal setting, the mid-year review is exciting at the time and gives you a burst of motivation but rarely does it influences lasting changes.
Usually, this occurs as a result of one of the following —
Outlandish goals chosen for external validation or because you think you should, regardless of whether you want to.
Scattered focus and discipline, no vision to devote oneself to — lack of consistency & passion.
Overestimating your abilities within a year, underestimating the power of results that compound over decades.
Yet, this doesn't mean lasting changes can't be achieved within six months — it can be. Because, with the right mindset and approach you can transform your life and complete a metamorphosis.
In maximising the next six months, we must address the aforementioned issues. To do so, consider the following —
Review your goals, consider if you genuinely want to achieve them, adjust if necessary.
Many fall victim to the idea that they must achieve specific goals for various reasons — social pressure, expectations of loved ones, or even thinking one should to appear a certain way. Yet, to actualise your goals, you need to ensure they are yours — not someone else's. Review your goals, remove any you don’t care for and prioritise those you wish to experience. Remove goals you’re pursuing for external validation and focus on the ones you truly want to accomplish.
Outline your vision, ideal life and the version of you that you wish to embody.
In maximising your goals, it helps to outline a vision you have for yourself & your future. Consider where you would like to be in a decade. Don’t limit yourself. Instead, truly consider all the elements of your ideal life and what you will need to do to become that person.
In doing this, seek a reason outside yourself to devote yourself to. Whether current or future children, making your parents or significant other proud or what have you. Give yourself enough pressure to motivate you but not so much that you overwhelm yourself — a delicate balance that must be achieved to achieve your vision.
Consider the long term, plan for years and decades.
Use these next six months to maximise both the rest of the year — and your overall vision. Consider your decisions as investments within themselves, ones that will provide dividends or decay within the portfolio of your life experiences. Acknowledge that the actions you take today can set you up for years to come in all areas of your life including your health, relationships, financial wellbeing, and overall happiness.
With the above recalibrated, consider what key actions should be taken to maximise the months ahead. Of course, those actions will be different for everyone. For the ladies especially, consider the following —
Cyclical Living —
Start learning about your menstrual cycle, know the cycle phases, hormonal fluctuations that occur, how to support your body & what symptoms may be indicating. Also, consider getting your hormones tested & working with a functional practitioner to support your overall wellbeing.
In doing so, you will likely find that menstrual cycle awareness is empowering because it allows you to reconnect to your body — where instead of condemning your natural bodily functions, you instead learn to appreciate, listen to and support the cyclical nature of your body and ultimately yourself.
If you’re new to cyclical living, use the following books & applications to help you get started —
• The Fifth Vital Sign — Lisa Hendrickson Jack
• In The Flo — Alissa Vitti
• Beyond The Pill — Dr Joelene Bright
• Women's Wellness Wisdom — Dr Libby Weaver
• 28 Wellness — Provides personalised insights on nutrition, exercise, socialising & creativity based on cycle phases.
• Flo — Helps you track cycle phases and symptoms. Also, provides education on cycle phases & symptoms.
It’s important to note the above should not replace medical guidance. Seek assistance from your healthcare practitioner. Also, do not use the calendar method (tracking via dates only) as a form of contraception. Look into other options like fertility awareness and natural family planning for more information.
Ritualise Your Routines —
If you do not set a routine one will be set for you, whether by your work, being distracted, external obligations, or life itself. Circumvent this by setting routines that fulfil you, which you genuinely enjoy following. Consider incentives to reward yourself and include rituals in your routine that nourish you mentally, physically and emotionally.
Whether it’s being more present in your shower and picturing the day wash away as the water envelops you or being mindful in your actions like appreciating each morsel as you eat. Regardless, look to slow down and be present in each moment.
For some of you, you may not need to change much about your routine, simply your mindset toward it. Unfortunately, many find routines restrictive and boring — yet when you curate one to your liking, around your strengths, which include your interests and motivating incentives, your routine can quickly become a gateway to improved insight, creativity and awareness.
Prioritise Your Health —
Our state of health reflects the state of ourselves, providing a mirror of what we need to focus on. Meaning, if you’re experiencing ailments or not feeling your best, these are not just symptoms to be treated but messages from your body that require you to listen to them.
Nurture the relationship you have with yourself by tuning into your body, identifying things that are out of alignment and looking to treat them at their root cause — physically, emotionally & mentally. Consider getting a full blood count and health check (with a functional practitioner, if possible) to see what you need to focus on & nourish within yourself.
Overarchingly, get a check-up, minimise stimulants (alcohol, caffeine, etc), prioritise nutrient-dense foods (organic if possible), minimise seed oils (replace with coconut or butter), nurture your mental health, support your gut health, actively move your body, have boundaries with social media, and take part in breath work (diaphragmatic breathing), etc.
Also, if you are unable to eat organic, wash your produce with the following vinegar mix —
1 cup distilled white vinegar or apple cider vinegar, with 4 cups of water.
Wash produce with your choice of vinegar mix, let soak.
Scoop produce into a strainer, and rinse gently under cool water.
Spread out on a towel, allow to air dry, and transfer to a storage container — glass if possible.
Note — Soaking time will differ depending on the produce, adjust accordingly.
Set Standards —
Your standards set the tone for the reality you live and the results you experience, with much of our lives being influenced by what we accept from ourselves and others. In most cases, we know what we want and what is required of us. Yet, whether we hold ourselves to those standards ultimately determines our experiences.
Review your standards, identify the ones you need, acknowledge where you should lift your standards and do so accordingly. If you want to improve your life, improve your standards.
Examples —
Outlining and following a budget.
Actions you will and won’t take part in — or accept from others.
Types of foods you eat and nourish yourself with.
Your exercise choices, and frequency in doing so.
Implementing a routine, executing it daily.
Social media channels you use, time spent using them.
Digital Boundaries —
Unknown to many, the content you consume consumes you, and your television programs program you. Not to imply avoiding them entirely, but instead to be mindful of where you’re placing your attention.
We are constantly being influenced whether by family members, society, the media or the people we follow and interact with online. Yet, that doesn’t mean we don’t have the power to actively play a role in who influences us.
Program your mind for progress by being selective in who you follow, the content you engage in, the time you spend scrolling, and the shows and media you’re watching. Review who you're following, have guidelines around how you use social media, use timers and block websites to minimise mindless scrolling, delete apps and profiles, and mute and block liberally.
Recreate Yourself —
Many of us have a vision of who we want ourselves to be. Yet, few achieve that vision because we put it on a pedestal and envision it as unachievable today but hopefully, something we get to in the future.
Yet, our ideal selves are our authentic selves — it's the version of you not impeded by others & external pressures. Meaning, instead of waiting until the future to be them, be the ideal version of yourself now by taking part in the actions, mannerisms and tasks that they would do in the present, even if on a small scale.
Outline who your ideal self is, what she wears, how she thinks, the way she interacts, her mannerisms and characteristics, a day in her life and the actions she takes part in and begin implementing them into your daily actions to build momentum.
Reflect & Reframe —
Our internal dialogue consistently plays on repeat in the back of our minds governing our reality. For some, this is to their benefit as their self-talk serves them. For others, it perpetuates unwanted experiences.
Luckily, you can shift your self-talk and self-perception so it serves you. To do so, identify, reframe and work through limiting beliefs and tendencies of self-sabotage. You can do this individually or with a practitioner to help guide you.
Challenge limiting beliefs by inverting them and looking for evidence that supports the ones that serve you — whether it’s a change in your actions, the fact others have achieved such things or by cultivating an unwavering belief in yourself & your abilities.
Alchemise Your Inner World —
Our reality reflects our inner world, making it imperative to mindfully nurture and tend to it. Cultivate your inner world with meditation, journalling and periods of silence. Such techniques are useful as they provide our minds space from the constant barrage of information intake, processing and thinking. Of course, journalling requires active thinking but it allows us to focus on sorting and processing. Further, meditation and periods of silence can help our minds take a break to clear our minds, while our subconscious reflects, sorts and processes.
Expand Your Awareness —
As the adage says, if you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backward. Avoid letting the next six months go to waste by improving yourself through taking action — whether building something out or improving yourself as a person.
Read more books, follow a course, create a product, share your knowledge, nurture your relationships, improve your social skills and what have you. Not only will such things help you immediately, but they will also compound over time, continuing to provide results for the years and decades ahead.
Don’t Waste The Next Six Months —
Avoid meeting the new year as the same you, elevate yourself so that you enter the new year proud of both yourself and your progress. Let these six months change you, to help you become more aligned with your ideal self and vision — and do so by reframing your mindset toward goal setting while prioritising the above suggestions.
Because, as in the words of Elon Musk —
If you are serious about changing your life, do something consistently for 6 months. I guarantee you'll see results. If you give up, you don't want it bad enough.
—
If you want to maximise the next six months, consider Metamorphosis — a self-directed guide with key habits selected to help you become your ideal self. Ask yourself, if you continued in the way you have for the past six months, will you achieve the goals you set for yourself? If not, let the Metamorphosis guide help you do so.