Have you ever heard that cliche 'life is not a rehearsal? It's so easy to get trapped into the mundane norm of things. Now, if you're happy with your lot and everything in your life is just ticketyboo, then you have no real need to read the remainder of this article. If you're looking for a little change however, but are unsure how to go about it, then read on. Anyone can change their life and at any age if they want it badly enough. So, you're probably asking yourself how in the heck can I change my life.

Well, when the time came to change my life, I first had to get honest and ask myself some pretty blunt questions. Mainly, I needed to question my attitude and outlook upon life in general. What made me happy or content and what made me miserable or just plain fed up? Having never looked at myself from the outside-in before, I was astonished at what I discovered about me. I needed to change my life alright, as I really didn't like what I saw.

I discovered that I was a complainer. I knew I liked a bit of a moan but I wasn't aware of just how much. There wasn't a day that went by where I wasn't criticizing somebody, something, or some place. The work place was the worse. I had been protesting about the management for years (behind their backs of course!). I criticized the company ethics, the salary, the hours, and one or two of the work colleagues. I realized that this wasn't sometimes or even quite often, but every single day, but it didn't stop there.

The moment I got home I'd complain about the awful day I'd just had at work, and even if there was nothing much to grumble about I would make something up. My wife always used to ask me why I didn't change jobs if I hated it that much, but here came my second discovery. I was full of fear and I didn't even know it. Fear of change, fear of challenge, and fear of rejection. Boy did I dig some ugly defects out once I got honest with who I was. It was no wonder I wanted to change my life as I was living in a world of constant restlessness, irritability, and discontentment. Gosh, I'm amazed the family has stuck by me all those years.

I learnt that we attract those things which we think about the most. What I mean by that is that if we think about misery, we will attract (get) misery. If we think about underachieving, we will attract underachievement and so on and so forth. I heard a great motivational speaker on a CD once, and he simply said that if you always do what you've always done, then you'll always get what you've always got. What about you? Are you like I was and complaining that nothing ever changes yet you do nothing to change it? I'd lost count on how many excuses I came up with as to why I couldn't do this or wouldn't do that. I needed to change my life alright, but not only for my own peace of mind but for the good of my family too.

But not everyone is full of character defects and needs to change who they are. Others just need to change what they do, but even then, it is still you and you alone that needs to change your situation(s). To change my life I had to change the way I thought. I had to adopt an attitude of gratitude and get into a little action. I became mindful about 'not' complaining and it was almost like weaning off a drug trying to restrain my tongue, but once the habit kicked in I found I was showing patience and tolerance even to those folks I disliked.

I still live in the same house with the same family and drive the same old car, but because change was an inside job for me, I'm a real happy camper today. I like people (well most of them!), and I love my new employment. I couldn't believe getting a new job as simple as filling out a few application forms and going with the flow. The best thing I have ever done is change my life and all it took was a little honesty, humility, and practice at being nice.

The world really is your oyster, but it has to start with you. Opportunity often knocks but we have to answer the door otherwise it's just another lost cause. Don't delay, change today!