It seems to be inevitable that obstacles just so happen to occur the minute we decide to pursue a goal that is near and dear to our hearts all while we are in the thick of becoming our best possible selves. It can be easy to abandon our vision when the pathway isn’t clear and allow chaos to cloud our judgment. Anxiety usually sets in when things don’t go our way. It is easy to get overwhelmed and lose sight of our purpose when we are unfocused.
Instead of focusing on the curve balls that are thrown your way, focus on the reason you decided to pursue the goal in the first place and think about the benefits of finishing what you started.
To help facilitate this outcome, I would suggest that you create daily affirmations that will allow you focus on the bigger picture. Affirmations help project you into the future, into a world where your vision is already a reality. Affirmations promote forward thinking and help you to become solution oriented versus reactive. Affirmations help fuel your
self-confidence when uncertainty hits you. When drafting your affirmations write them as if your goal has already been achieved and make sure that you are detailed, but specific.
Example: I am physically fit because I exercise for 20 minutes daily. I wear a size 10 and I feel great. (An affirmation can pertain to anything that you want to pursue) Perhaps presently you don’t exercise at all and you desire to lose 15 pounds because you want to wear a size 10 jeans and currently your self-esteem is not up to par, but you want to feel great about yourself and your efforts to achieve your goal weight. If you read this daily, I am confidant that you will become motivated to devise a plan to make sure your goal is achieved. Words afford us the opportunity to visualize the outcome.
Let’s talk about how affirmations help you to become solution oriented. If you read your affirmations daily before you started your day, you will start to brainstorm ways to achieve your goal and organize your daily activities so that each day you move closer towards your goal. Affirmations help trigger hope and possibility which both help you to get and stay in a positive mindset. Affirmations help you to focus on what could be versus what is.
Before you pursue a new goal try thinking about all the things that could possibly go wrong. Think about ways you could proactively problem solve these potential pitfalls. Sometimes thinking about the negative can inspire positive outcomes. In the event that something does go wrong you will be more likely to focus on the solution verses the setback because you have prepared yourself for a bumpy ride.
Goals are not achieved because we are not realistic and unclear about what it takes to become a success story. Pitfalls are a part of the journey and we must be mindful that they do exist. Often times we try to multi-task verses scaling back so that we can give our undivided attention to the big picture. I am going to let you in on a big secret. Less is really more. Normally when we want to achieve a goal we start with creating a to-do list that seems to go on to infinity. To-do lists and deadlines are fine, but they should only be used as a guideline to assist you in achieving your goal. Naturally there isn’t a blueprint or manual available to us to help us achieve our goals so in essence we have to just wing it. Essentially the success formula is comprised of trial and error. Which means you have to figure it out and be relentless in your pursuit of understanding what works best for you. Multitasking doesn’t really give us a fair chance to become proficient while carving out the details of how to make our goal a reality. Multitasking is a disaster waiting to happen. I want to invite you to stay away from multitasking and start focusing on the things that really matter. Try to work on only one goal at a time, not several. Slow down so that you can speed up. Success is a process. In the meantime as you adjust to the learning curve that is required to achieve your goal here are some things that you can control:
- Attitude & Mindset- Be realistic in what you can and can not accomplish within a given amount of time. By doing this, you will save yourself a lot of heartache and wasted time. When our mind is cluttered with frustration productivity ceases.
- Daily Disciplines- Whether you believe it or not and within reason, you can control your daily disciplines. It is a matter of perspectives. Of course in a perfect world, we would all like to complete everything on our to-do list daily, but I am going to challenge you to do what makes sense and feels good. Discard anything that will result in busy work and anything that will not support the end result. Do only what is necessary and be willing to be flexible.
Your Business Systems Strategist
Wendy Nicole Anderson