Expecting things to change without putting in any effort is like waiting for a ship at an airport.

What would happen if you went to an airport and waited for a ship? Nothing would happen, and you would be waiting at the airport forever. What would happen if you expected things to change but didn’t make an effort to bring about change? You would likely never see your desired changes take place.

The truth is change takes effort and will not take place unless you work to make it happen.

Change Takes Effort

Making meaningful changes in your life requires that you put in the effort to make those changes happen.

Every day, people wish that they would lose weight, get a better job, move into a nicer home, spend more time with their family, etc., but wishing for change is just that: a wish. So many of these wishes never become a reality because people aren’t willing to work to make them a reality.

Change takes effort. For example, if you want to get promoted at your company, you can’t just do the bare minimum work and hope to get noticed by your manager. You need to put in extra effort in your assigned work, go the extra mile to help with additional projects, and express your interest in getting a promotion.

What You Lose While Waiting for Change

When we wait for change to happen rather than making it happen, we waste one of our most precious resources. In today’s world, time is one of our most valuable assets. The amount of time we get to spend on Earth is limited, and we need to make the most out of the time that we have.

The time you spend waiting for change to happen could be spent making that change happen.

How to Make Change Happen

Change isn’t easy, but these five steps will help you stop waiting for change and start changing your life.

Decide to Make a Change

First, you need to decide that you want to change your life. You will never commit to making changes in your life if you don’t desire change in the first place. Ask yourself this question honestly: “Am I ready to make a change in my life?” If the answer is yes, proceed to the next step.

Identify the Change You Want to Make

The second step is to identify the specific change that you want to make. If you have multiple changes you’d like to make, pick one to focus on. Trying to make too many changes at once can often lead you to feel overwhelmed, so while it might seem tempting, try to not work on multiple changes at a single time.

Break It Down into Steps

The third step is to break the change down into more manageable pieces. Making changes in your life can be quite a large undertaking and giving yourself a roadmap of smaller steps to complete will help you stay motivated throughout the process.

Be Prepared for Challenges

The road to change is not always a walk in the park. You are likely to encounter obstacles and challenges along the way. Mentally prepare yourself for difficulties you may face before embarking on your journey.

Give It All You’ve got

Finally, you need to give it all you’ve got in order to make sure the change you desire comes to fruition. Give it 110% effort and never quit.