You know what it’s like – every year we make those New Year’s resolutions, with enthusiasm and determination that we will reach our goal! Woohoo! Can’t wait to get started! Right? Only to find that as each day and week passes, the further away the goal seems to be, and the more frustrated and depressed we get about it. We feel disappointed in ourselves, discouraged, and so end up starting the year on a negative tone. What the heck happened?
In my experience, there are several things that factor into what seems our inability to keep those resolutions, and they are all related to your mindset. Here are just a few:
What is the reason you are setting this goal? Are you setting this goal because you think it’s what others expect of you, or is your reason because it is something that will make you feel wonderful because you just really want to do it? You have to have a burning desire to achieve your goal, and that never comes from doing something simply because others think you should. So make sure it’s something YOU want, for you, and that the end result is going to make you feel fantastic!
Are you being realistic? I am all for stretching your goals and reaching for the moon, but when you stretch too far in your idea of what is realistic or not, sometimes rather than motivating you it ends up placing so much pressure on you that you become stressed, and your goals become a chore which you don’t look forward to.
Do you believe you can do it? You MUST believe in your ability to achieve your goal, in order to achieve it. Make sure that your sub-conscious beliefs are in alignment with what you consciously want. You will know if they are out of alignment if you find you are constantly struggling. Reaching a goal can take a lot of effort – but should never be a struggle.
One of my favorite quotes is:
“Faith is to believe what we do not see…and the reward of this faith, is to see what we believe.” St. Augustine
My interpretation of this is that you have to have a vision and believe it, BEFORE you can receive it.
Are deadlines good for you? Personally, I don’t like to set a deadline. I find that deadlines place added pressure on you, that has a negative effect. I am more motivated by my progress than a deadline, so I like to measure my progress by making a log of the positive aspects of what I’m doing. For example –
Activity: worked out for 20 minutes on treadmill
Result: felt really full of energy!!!
You can jot this down in a journal each day. The more you see activities logged in there, the better “feeling” this will give you (which we all know will increase your energy vibration), and the more likely you are to want to log more activities in your journal.
Does it feel good? Whatever your goal is, you need to ensure that you are enjoying your journey to reach it. Make sure that you pay attention to how you “feel” while you are doing the activities required to achieve your goal. If it doesn’t feel great, then switch things up a bit to make it more enjoyable. Just because people say “well that’s the way you have to do it”, doesn’t mean it is! Everything can be moderated slightly to make the experience more enjoyable. You are more likely to succeed if you are enjoying the journey.
This way of doing things is a gentler approach – you feel good, you do more. I would rather take a little longer to reach my goal, but actually reach it – than pressure myself and never reach it at all. It works for me 🙂
Wishing you goals that truly light you up inside, that are a stretch but not out of reach, that you believe you can achieve no matter what, that you enjoy the noticeable shifts along the way, and feel FANTASTIC!
Happy New Year!
Julie
