People use all kinds of excuses for not making a change, and most people list fear and lack of money as their biggest obstacles–but it’s a lack of information that usually turns out to be the culprit. Ignorance isn’t bliss, it’s scary. Since it takes no money to research your options, why not spend a little time coming up with a list of choices that will help bring you closer to solving your problem?

Take a piece of paper and describe your problem in a single sentence at the top of the page. Then list as many solutions as possible, even if some of them seem far-fetched or out of reach. Don’t let yourself reject any solutions at this point. It’s impossible to know which one will be right for you until you weigh the pros and cons of each and every opportunity. Here’s an example:

PROBLEM: I need to get into better physical condition.

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS:

Join a gym.

Buy a treadmill.

Attend an excercise class.

Sign up for a dance class.

Walk every day.

Jog every day.

Swim every day.

Ride my bicycle every day.

Go on a diet.

Join a sports team.

Eat more healthful food.

Consider all of your options and be as open-minded as possible. In order to successfully solve any problem, you’ve got to get a handle on the various solutions before moving forward.

What we’ve learned, and what we know deep in our souls, is that although fear is a powerful force, it’s critical to keep whatever we’re worried about in perspective. The best way we know how to approach fear when making a change is to understand – and be very aware – that it’s impossible to prepare in advance for everything that might happen to us down the road. It’s true that some level of risk comes with any change.  But when we worry so much about every potential problem that might arise and therefore, we never make a move, it’s time to take control.

If you’re in a position of wanting to make a change but you have a long list of “what ifs” that’s keeping you from moving forward, it’s time to change your relationship with fear. You will absolutely not be able to predict what obstacles may or may not lie ahead, so you may as well stop worrying about them now. Stop focusing on what can go wrong and start thinking about the positive affects of making a change.

Take one step – and one day – at a time. When you hit a bump in the road, you’ll find a way to deal with it. You may even take a detour and end up going in a different direction than originally planned. That’s okay. It’s actually more than okay. That’s life. Truthfully, we’ve found that those detours are usually the best part of the journey.

At the same time, we remember clearly that our most successful ventures have been started in times of crisis. When we closed our children’s stores in the early 80s due to high interest rates (we were paying 21% on an SBA loan), we found temporary jobs to keep food on the table and scraped together $4,000 to start our salad dressing business. At the time, we were 3 months behind with our mortgage payments.

In fact, we have lived through many difficult times that have forced us to gain new strength, learn new skills and adjust how we look at life. Although we now find ourselves in one of the toughest economic situations we can imagine, we’re learning more about ourselves and about how we want to live each and every day.

It’s critical for all of us to be strong and hopeful. Never give up on your dreams and goals just because times are tough. We can all use this disastrous economy as an opportunity to regroup and rethink exactly how we want to live and what we want to do. Now is the perfect time to take charge of your life.

Change, of course, is the common denominator. The big life changes, like birth and marriage and death, are easily visible yet our lives are all changing minute to minute. (Isn’t that what’s so amazing about being around little kids? You can actually see the changes from day to day, as they grow and learn.) For some reason, human beings resist change—it feels scary and stressful. But change is unavoidable. How you handle change is where choice comes in.

Successfully dealing with change depends on researching and evaluating the challenges and options at hand. Give yourself the gift of time to work on this without distractions.

1) Ask yourself what you want to do.
2) Be as focused as you can with your answers. Write them down!
3) Give careful consideration to all options, no matter how improbable they may seem.
Right now, you’re gathering information.
4) Acknowledge that change is a normal, natural part of life.

Keep coming back to this exercise until you can clearly express the changes you need to make in order to live the life you want. The insights you gain at this point will allow you to move forward. And you’ll develop the confidence that you can do more than simply endure change. You can—really and truly—learn to embrace it.

We know how overwhelming this can seem, and we also know how essential it is to think carefully before making life changes. But just as you sometimes get help repairing your possessions, there’s help available for making life repairs. Our 5-step D.R.E.A.M. guide to changing your course is one place to start.

Remember:
- Decide what you want to change
- Research your options—knowledge always trumps fear
- Evaluate the most feasible option
- Act to make your plan real
- Maintain your dream to make sure it lasts

Here’s your challenge. Find an opportunity to improve some area of your life. Whether the change is big or small, the point is to use the bad economy as a wake-up call. Instead of merely reacting to life’s events as they occur, take charge and create your own circumstances. Each time you make a change, you build the confidence and momentum you need for the next step.

You’re smart. Use your brain and your talents to your advantage. Do more than just survive the bad economy—benefit from it. Take control and make some changes!

To read more about this in the Washington Post, please click here.

1. her husband loves Boston, the cold and his work
2. she takes care of her two adorable grandchildren one day a week
3. she’s worried about leaving behind Boston’s excellent medical facilities

She can’t decide whether these are serious roadblocks to her dream of living somewhere warm or simply excuses for staying stuck. Her concerns may seem very specific to her situation but just about any life question can be tackled using the 5-step D.R.E.A.M. guide that we discuss in Changing Your Course.

To get unstuck, the first step is always to Decide whether or not your dream is important enough to warrant spending time examining your options. If so, Step 2 will help you do that Research, part of which has to do with exploring the logistics. In the case of our reader, perhaps she could start off by spending a week or two in Florida and add more time the next year. For that week or two, alternate childcare arrangements could be made for her grandchildren. Part of the necessary research also means looking at the relationships involved. If our reader is really miserable, she needs to share those feelings with her family so that together they can come up with solutions. Maybe she can go south with a friend or perhaps her husband can come for some of the time.

As always, there are choices that have to be made. Flexibility is the key. If your goals are important enough, you can find ways to achieve them even if you have to make adjustments to fit the realities of your family, income, location, etc. You have to be prepared to modify and adapt your goals but don’t let this stop you. Get unstuck and get some sun!

9. You know you aren’t performing to the best of your ability.

8. Your values don’t match those of your company.

7. You wake up Monday morning and dread going to work.

6. You’re fed up with office politics.

5. You don’t enjoy your co-workers.

4. You’re always complaining about your job to family and friends.

3. You don’t feel enthusiastic about even the fun parts of your work.

2. You have a gut feeling that your company is heading for trouble.

1. You really don’t like your boss.

We’d love to hear about your job-related issues, so please feel free to send us your concerns, stories and questions by adding a comment to our blog.

Does the thought of changing your life seem impossible and overwhelming? Give yourself a deadline. Make it reasonable and fair but make it firm. Write it down.

For instance, what would you like to accomplish this year? Or in the next six months? Or maybe in the next three years? Whatever time frame feels right for your particular goal is fine. Just come up with a realistic deadline.

Once you have an end date, work backwards in time to fill in the blanks. You can create a real action plan by using the 5-step D.R.E.A.M. guide that we discuss in our new book Changing Your Course. Step by step, chapter by chapter, you can figure out what you need to do to accomplish your goal.

And don’t just read the book! Instead, try this: assign yourself a time frame for each chapter and each step. Practice saying, “I’m going to start Step 1 on July 1st and complete everything that needs to be done to move on to Step 2 by September 1st.” And then mark your calendar with actual dates and times that you’ll set aside within those two months to work on that chapter. Keep true to those appointments. Don’t cancel them. They are important!