HERE’S WHAT’S MISSING IN YOUR GOAL SETTING
Are you willing to commit to the monotony of success? Wait…what?
I love this concept! After hearing about this today on “The One Thing” podcast, in just a few hours, I saw it at play out in several different realms for me personally and for my clients.
Here’s the idea: If you are going to be successful at anything you do in your life…relationships, career, healthy eating, exercise, mental well-being, etc., you have to commit to doing the same thing over and over and over to get the results you want. It’s not just about doing it at the beginning of the process, but recommitting to the task at hand each and every day.
Simple enough, right? Yes, but it’s not easy and no one ever seems to be able to tell you how to recommit and keep going.
Here’s what’s missing: Locating the original motivation is more often than not the easy part. Reigniting it when it seems to have burned out is the tough part. However, THIS is the key to it all.
Unfortunately, you don’t hear much about how to get it back. Often the advice is to muscle your way through it, to hustle, to just do it. That would be great, right? But, haven’t you tried this? Did it work? Not always. Sometimes, as a result of muscling or hustling, you feel judgment, frustration and irritation at yourself when you find you still can’t it done.
Let’s tease this out a bit: Let me share a situation with you that will illustrate the process and show you exactly how to truly commit to what you want.
Typically, we begin any scenario with some great thoughts about what we want and why we want it.
Example: You want to start working out because you know you will feel better when you do and your body will be fit and healthy! This thought produces feelings of excitement and motivation. When you’re feeling this way, you create a plan and begin to implement it. This action leads to you following your workout plan and may even create an additional feeling of pride in your ability to do what you said you would do.
At this stage, you’re feeling pretty good about things and the ball is rolling. The motivation is clear, the plan is in place and you’re seeing the results of your actions. This likely continues for about 2 – 4 weeks.
You’ve been floating along, working out and following your plan, but then your thoughts begin to shift. “I’ve been so good with my plan…I can take a day off from it.” or “I’m not really seeing the results I thought I would, so maybe I won’t go today.” or “I’m a little bored with it all…maybe this isn’t for me.”
When these thoughts creep in, you are losing sight of our goal and your reason for it. Your feelings change from excited and motivated, and move to complacency, judgment, and boredom. With those feelings, there’s no possible way you will continue to move in the direction of our goal, right? So, what do you do?
Here’s the key to it all:
#1: Recognize that these thoughts are happening and that they are completely normal. It’s your brain’s way of keeping things easy and efficient. When you begin a new plan, at first your brain gets on board. It seems like fun and a good plan, but after a while (sometimes much sooner than later) it realizes that the change takes effort. If we’re not careful and if we’re not consciously and deliberately creating our thoughts, the brain will revert back to what’s easiest. It’s easier to stick with the thoughts that will take you back to what’s familiar and away from change. The brain is designed to do this.
#2: Realize this is good news! This means you’re normal and there’s nothing wrong with you or your brain. When you become aware of the thoughts and why they’re happening, you are in the perfect position to take back the control. You can control what you think, how you feel and how you act! Your brain can be retrained and YOU HAVE THE POWER TO DO IT!
#3: Don’t listen to the thoughts that are taking you away from your goal! Simply stop long enough to notice the thoughts and the feelings you’re having that are taking you away from the direction of your goal. Once you see them clearly, you can choose differently!
#4: Now is the time to hold on to your plan. Remind yourself of the goal, your reason for it and use these thoughts to reclaim your motivation to continue on with the priorities and the necessary actions. Keep repeating the thoughts that lead you to feeling motivated, excited and reignited and you’ll find yourself taking the right actions over and over and over again.
#5: You will reach the goal, in any area of your life, when you work and rework your thoughts, feelings and actions again and again.
Are you ready to do the work? To look at your thoughts? To stick to the priorities? To make them non-negotiable? To repeat the work over and over and over again? Are you willing to honor yourself?
Think, feel, act, repeat. You’ve got this!
xoxo,
Kathryn
P.S. Empowerment Life Coaching can help you learn how to do this effectively! Set up your FREE 30-minute power-session and find out how to RECLAIM YOUR LIFE! Email: mbyprogram@gmail.com or Call/Text: 1-970-227-2806