A friend recently told me about the way she invested in her loved one's change. She gave up a lot to give her loved one the time, space, and support he needed to make good change in his life. I was inspired by this women's ability to truly invest in her loved one, and to patiently support him as he made needed changes to his lifestyle and outlook.
No doubt about it, good change takes time and investment.
How can we invest in the kind of changes we want to make for our own lives as well as the changes we want to support in the lives of others.
What can we do?
As I think about this today, I am realizing that we don't want to crowd our schedule in ways that obstruct needed change--we need to make good time for good change. We also don't want to overlean on our areas of competence which can blind us from our areas for good growth and change. We have to schedule in our change-related activities and thoughts to truly make change.
As far as change in those we love and care about. We have to use our observation and listening skills well here. We have to be present for those we love and let them lead us as to how we can help them change in positive ways. For example, perhaps a loved one needs space from us to become who they really are. In that case, we have to give them space. In other situations, like that of my friend, we have to sometimes make space in our homes for people to simply have a cocoon-like environment to make the changes necessary.
As the world changes, we have to change with it to stay healthy and whole--how we make those changes is a personal and sensitive endeavor, but one when done well is positive for us and those we love.