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However, Lianne clearly wanted to love, support and educate her children in a way that made up for her broken marriage. In addition, both she and her children adored live music. Sadly, however, Lianne had ruled out going to gigs because she “did not have any money”.

Conversation changes lives

Lianne talks about her life with friends. One friendship develops into a strong relationship which Lianne accepts for support and guidance. Leanne tells her life story to her friend, and she begins to see how her past influences her present behaviour.

Lianne reflects on what really matters for her and her children in their conversations. This helps her realise what she needs to do to live a more fulfilled and meaningful life.

With help from her friend and others, she writes down what she wants to achieve.

New habits for old

Galvanised by this, she ditches her unhelpful habits and builds new habits that return control of her life. She prepares by taking an inventory of her life and resources, which she updates frequently.

Leanne develops the habit of writing weekly meal plans and shopping only for food, clothes and items she really needs. Then, she saves and sets aside money for fun with her children.

For Lianne, the hard slog becomes worthwhile when she saves enough money to take the girls to London to see their favourite group in concert. She and the children have a wonderful time. They can enjoy themselves because this is a way to mark their road to success, achieved without fear or guilt.

Of course, it didn’t end there. Lianne’s new habits became permanent, evolving into a new way of living. This new lifestyle enabled her to support her children through university, new jobs and new relationships. Lianne found love in a new relationship which led to her second and very happy marriage.

It happened because…

Lianne’s inspiring story of success came about because she found a relationship she could use for her benefit. She reflected on her life story and found the reasons for and solutions to her disappointments. She prepared to change. Above all, she discarded damaging habits and adopted new and fruitful habits.Lianne’s heartfelt and genuine story has much to tell us about finding meaning and fulfilment in our lives.

Photo by Daniel Robert Dinu on Unsplash