We cannot become what we want to be by remaining what we are.

Max De Pree

As we enter Week 06 of our Routine Community Challenge, we want to explore the evolution that we've been on as a community and get clarity on what has gotten us to here and what to expect ahead. The 5 Phases of Personal Evolution provide that clarity and give us a roadmap for future evolutions –

PHASE 01. THE AWARENESS

This is where you were at before you even started the challenge. The awareness is your inner voice starting to speak up and tell you that change is something that you seek. Your awareness could spark by getting inspired by someone around you, setting goals or carving out space for genuine reflection. Being an aware person, whether that be self aware or having a heightened awareness of your surrounding, allows you to even see that the path towards evolution is the one that you want to walk. 

PHASE 02. THE DECISION

The decision is the tipping point that becomes your mental commitment to your evolution. Deciding that you not only want to change but are also capable of the change you desire are important steps in this phase. Pause to take time to get to the why of your decision so that you can ground yourself when excuses and fear arise. A very intentional decision in the design of our Routine Journals was including self affirmations and gratitude in every daily entry. Both of these sections are proven to cultivate a positive mindset resulting in daily alignment with your decision towards personal evolution.

PHASE 03. THE FEAR

Fear is the enemy of change. Fear comes in many forms when we decide to walk the path of evolution. There is internal fear that comes to fruition in the form of excuses as well as the fear of failure. There is external fear that comes from the external opinions projected onto you for walking a different path. This is the most important phase in your evolution. It's where the large majority of people give up. Change is uncomfortable. Know that each small step that you take out of your comfort zone allows fear to have less control over your actions. When you are able to reframe your mind and replace fear-driven thoughts with purpose-driven thoughts, you will start to see signs of breakthrough.

PHASE 04. THE TRANSFORMATION

This is the phase you are entering in during week 6. After staying committed to your evolution for the past 36 days, you are starting to see rays of the new you shining through. The transformation is all about taking notice of the small moments that validate your evolution is happening. These moments are tokens of gratitude for pushing though the fear and coming out the other side with newfound confidence and aligned purpose. Take time to record these moments to keep them top of mind. It can be as small as looking forward to doing your routine that day or as big as seeing a major change come to fruition that you only dreamed possible before starting.

PHASE 05. THE ARRIVAL

The final stage of evolution is the arrival. Arriving to becoming the person that you sought out to become. In the framework of the Routine Community Challenge, this will come at day 66 when your daily rituals have truly become newformed habits. The arrival is where you are no longer held back by fear and your new routine is now a part of you. Basking this moment in is one of the greatest gifts that you can give to yourself in that it is a tangible result of the strength and determination that resides within in. You are no longer the person who wants to become someone else, you are you.