The first half of this year has been equal parts chaos and exquisite.

I’ve changed, although not overnight.

Rather it’s been a gradual process many of you have witnessed on these very pages as I’ve shared my reflective side. I’ve treasured your loving response.

However, as I return from a period of absence – I missed you, by the way – I feel a different voice, seeking release, as my fingertips hit the keyboard. So whilst I don’t believe our inner work is ever ‘done,’ I’m excited to look toward the future and share what I’m doing to propel myself forward. I hope you find what I have to say useful, starting with these powerful ways to take charge of your life.

1. Take Responsibility

If you really want something, you need to take responsibility for getting it. It doesn’t matter how much others love and support you, ultimately it’s up to you to make things happen. Regarding my entrepreneurial pursuits, I have an enormous level of support from my husband, family and friends, but ultimately, I’m the only person who can turn up and do the work necessary to reach the level of success I envision. Nobody else is going to take responsibility for getting what I want. The same principle applies to most things in life, regardless of whether you want to lose weight, take control of your finances or finally get that university degree.

2. Show up and do the work – consistently

Showing up and doing the work is necessary, although the real magic starts to happen when you show up and do the work consistently. It’s so obvious, yet it took me a long time to wake up to this – even though I’m acutely aware that eating a single salad will not make me thin – I still didn’t think to apply the consistency principle to other areas of my life. So, no more one-off attempts to get the things you really want, only to claim you tried, and it didn’t work.

3. Don’t wait for fear to go away otherwise you’ll be waiting forever

A life without fear would actually be a life without growth and when you don’t grow, you end up stuck. What are you really afraid of? Try writing your fears down; it’s amazing how different they look when written in ink on a piece of paper. Now pick which fear you’re going to face first, and step into the unknown. Each time you do this your courage will grow.

4. Give yourself permission

You could be waiting for a very long time (as in, forever) if you’re hoping that someone else is going to give you permission to do something.

When you think about permission, you probably think of being free to take action, but sometimes, in order to take action, you must first give yourself permission to take time away from your family; spend money on yourself; speak the truth you carry in your heart, or allow yourself to believe you’re smart enough, not too old, or the wrong weight, to do what you want to do. All you really ever need is permission from yourself.

I usually write fortnightly, but as this is a two-part series, I’ll be back next week!