Many of us start out strong with our goals. It is the same across the board: dieting, exercise, tidying, or even working on projects—We get excited about the new things, and when the going gets tough, or we face an obstacle, we suddenly lose faith in the plan and abandon ship. Does this sound familiar?
Certain projects, exercise regimens, or chores often earn our attention until they get complicated or challenging, right? There will always be an excuse for leaving something unfinished—but we can’t afford to do that with our goals! There isn’t enough time to come back to it later. Obstacles happen, but it is how we handle them that makes all the difference.
“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated.” ~Maya Angelou
The way you live your life now sets the pace for how you will live in the future.
Are you focused? Do you reach towards your goals with the future in mind?
Each day you make a choice to stride closer to your goals, or to veer away from them. Be intentional with your spare time and pay attention to how you’re spending your energy.
Spending time and energy in areas that do not serve you is one way that you distance yourself from your goals without necessarily knowing it. Social media is one of these areas in life that soak up too much time, with little to no actual takeaway. Time spent online can easily soak up hours in the day and leave us exhausted or mentally drained for no good reason. Be cautious and intentional about your time spent here!
Spending time and thoughts on the negatives from past situations can also put a stopper on your forward momentum. It is important to your overall success that you don’t focus on things that you cannot change, and limit the time you spend mulling over the past.
If failure happens, analyze it, pick up the pieces and move on. When you feel like you’ve failed, it is important to use this as an opportunity to take back your power. Failure is a great chance for you to reframe your goals and carry on, having learned from your mistakes. Your life is still waiting for you and success is just around the corner, if you’re willing to adjust your path and keep going. Learn from the journey and use your mistakes to propel you forward!
“No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, and show up.” ~Regina Brett
Here’s some tips to help you Take Back your power and Stay the Course:
- Identify a goal that you have given up on in the past:
Were there financial constraints, time constraints, or emotional constraints? - Identify the reasons you abandoned that goal and how you could have approached it differently.
If need be, adjust your current strategies to ensure progress and success.. In other words—tighten your goals, and loosen your plans.