Have you ever started something and not finished it? Perhaps you had great plans for an amazing workout routine at the very beginning of this year and now you are finding yourself less and less excited about it.
With less excitement you may even find yourself skipping your workout routine commitment every now and then. Maybe on a bad week you might skip the whole thing. Then suddenly you realize that it’s been a few weeks and that workout plan you were excited about is dead.
For you it may not be a workout plan. It may be a project you were excited about and never finished. Maybe you wanted to take up a new hobby and started some classes, but you dwindled away from it. Take a moment and think about what that thing is for you. Whatever goal you set out to do will have that similar “phase out” pattern I just explained.
I know what you are thinking. It’s still January! I get it. You are likely still in full swing with your new year’s goal and, if that’s you, awesome! If it’s not you, perk your ears up, because these tips will help you break that destructive and self-defeating “phase out” pattern and get back to really creating a life that you wake up excited to live.
And, if you are steadily working on your goal with some success so far, keep going, but also know that roadblocks will come. When they do, you might want to put these tips in your back pocket for future handy use.
I know this stuff happens because I’ve been there too many times! I would start something with great fervor and forward-thinking vision, I would keep trucking along, and then I would slowly fade out my commitment either out of frustration, boredom, or lack of direction. Then I would be hard on myself, feeling weak, and just gave up on trying to do anything. Worst yet, I wouldn’t even set goals for fear of not meeting them.
I have learned a few things that have helped me shift and I want to share them with you.
~ Reflective Writing in a Journal
I’ve suggested this in other blog pieces in the past for different reasons. But here’s the thing, sometimes we aren’t clear on what our goal is because we haven’t taken the time to reflect. The world is a busy place. There are a lot of demands on us as parents, professionals, and leaders in our communities. I get that. There are also a lot of distractions. Before we know it, we have no time to do anything we really want to do much less be in a reflective state. Make this a priority. Sit down with a timer at a designated time of day that you put on your calendar as “reflective writing time” and write it out in a journal. Write anything that comes to your mind. But, particularly investigate what you may want to try and have as a goal. Reflect on it by writing in your journal. Make it a daily practice. You will get some good insights here.
~ Try New Things
This might be the hardest one because it’s hard to make change! It’s also the thing that can take you from having a lackluster attitude about your goals to having a specific vision and strategic plans in action. Read a different perspective. Try a new exercise class or special interest class. Eat new things or connect with a new group. Put yourself in different places. Why? Our brain loves to make connections with new information. This is the perfect way to give our brain that much needed juice. In the process, you just may discover some things you never thought you would like and this knowledge gathering process is golden when you apply it to making your goals a reality.
~ Get Outside
Get outside and play. Take a walk. Run. Ride a bike. Simply get outside and let the mind wander. This is a good one for those reaching some roadblocks in their goals, but still making some steady progress. Walk away from the goal for a bit. Let the mind play. Insights will come. All the great masters of the world met/meet roadblocks, too. They also get bored with their goals. What do they do? They take a break from the goal and/or roadblock they face while trying to achieve that goal by letting their mind wander. Give yourself that same time. You will be surprised what you may discover.
~ Rest
It’s hard to march forward working on our goals when our mind is fuzzy. If our mind isn’t clear, how are our goals going to be clear? We need good rest to do all the great things, to have the important conversations, and to be a force of positive light in the world. There will certainly be times that you have to work past your normal thresholds of energetic input into your goal, life, project, work, parenting, etc., but don’t forget that putting rest to the sideline will make your brain and life pretty fuzzy. It makes your mood and energy pretty fuzzy, too. If you are lacking clarity in your goal, check your rest schedule. I get you will find that you can prime this area a bit more.
It’s natural to not always be in a clear state. Getting clarity on our goal is a process. It’s not that some people have more clarity and you don’t. If they are clearer on their goal, it’s likely they’ve been committed to the process for a longer period of time. That’s it.
What’s important is that we don’t make our fuzzy state a habit. If you need clarity in your goal and, let’s be real, any goal you have is all about your life in some way, then try these tips on and watch your life, and your goal, go from static to stunning.
XO ~
