I’m visualizing a badass, successful day today, full of hope, beauty, laughs, and prosperity. Visualization opens doors, but action walks me through those doors and into the room. I believe in the power of affirmation, positive self-talk, and visualization to achieve my goals, and I have seen dramatic results in my life. But none of those processes can deliver without a solid action plan in the moment.
When I began my journey of kickass personal transformation, I’d been a hardcore drug addict for nine years. I was indigent, suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, and had been living much of that time as a street person. One day I experienced an epiphany. I realized how unhappy I was, and realized I couldn’t take one more moment of agony. I decided to turn my life around, and I took steps. The first step was to stop doing dope. I got connected with like-minded, supportive, positive people and cut off contact with all the negative people I’d surrounded myself with during my active addiction.
I moved on, employed an action plan to change my entire life and transform myself physically, financially, mentally and emotionally. One of the first actions I took was to “act as if,” to think, speak, behave and make plans and decisions as if I’d already achieved my goals and was surrounded with everything I needed.
My action plan became more specific and specialized as I continued my path. I began an exercise plan, using both cardio and resistance training. I’d do crunches in the morning, running one of my first mantras in my head all the while — “There’s hope after dope!” Another early mantra was, “Life is good!” And life, I began to discover, was exceedingly good. I felt invigorated, thrilled to be alive, and intensely conscious of the fact that I was lucky to be alive at all. My addiction had been so severe that my recovery seemed like a miracle, like winning a Mega Millions Lotto Jackpot. Each day, I celebrated my progress, no matter how tiny the baby step.
More quickly than I’d expected, things I needed began to show up in my life. Inspiration, energy, optimism, friends, education, opportunities, and gratitude presented themselves, as action created motivation, and motivation in turn created more action. I never want to forget where I’ve come from. For nine years I lived in a cycle of self-destruction and despair. And for sixteen years, I’ve lived in a cycle of action and motivation. I’ve experienced kickass personal transformation, and will continue to reach forward toward more and more beauty, love, prosperity, and health.
Some days my progress is slow and deliberate, and I have to push myself. I put one foot in front of the other, and I find myself trudging along. But I remind myself that trudging is progress, too, and then I laugh because “trudging” sounds like such a bummer, like I’m a drama queen, I laugh again because I know how lucky I am to be alive, with a roof over my head, a car in the garage, and food in the refrigerator — and my trudge picks up to a stroll.
Today is one of those days. I’m not exactly skipping down the path to personal transformation, but I’m on the path, and that in itself is progress. I still feel like life itself is a Mega Million Lotto Jackpot win! I’m happy. I’m grateful to have a computer to keyboard this blog post, and an internet connection to keep me hooked up. I’ve got specific goals, dreams, and aspirations. And I’ve got a shot at fulfilling them. How do I know I’ve got a shot? I’m still breathing…and visualizing, and taking action.