It is nearly that time of year again when everyone and their dog promises the earth and within 2 weeks, feels frustrated and is quickly moving on from promises they made themselves with a “Maybe next year”.
Yes - I am talking about those New Year’s Resolutions. Whilst I truly feel that the New Year offers a beautiful time and space to start a fresh, I am also keenly aware that the majority of people do not stick to those resolutions.
So what can we do? There really is no time like the present to sit down, grab a cuppa, and start to think of your Chips, Pebbles, Rocks and Boulders!
- Boulders - your 1 year goal.
- WHY Is this goal important to you?? WHAT will change or stay the same because of reaching it? HOW will meeting the goal impact you?
- Rocks - your 90 day/3-month goal
- Pebbles - your 30 day/1-month goal
- Chips - your 7-day goals.
By breaking down our goals and focussing on the small “chip-away” steps, slowly but sure we move into our pebbles, rocks and boulders. But it begins with an agreement with yourself to plan, act and reflect weekly. Or as I like to call it;
PAR
Even with all that, it is important to be prepared for the clunky-negative emotions that can crop up and sabotage your progress towards unlocking that amazing potential inside of you. It will happen, and it is the beauty of being human. But what can we understand NOW to help us in those moments?
Feeling Discouraged?
Some goals will take longer than others, and it can get discouraging when you feel like you aren’t making the amount of progress you “should” be. One way we can get discouraged is when we compare ourselves to others. Maybe you have a friend who reached a similar goal in a shorter time than you and you are beginning to wonder if you have it in you to access your full potential. You may feel that reaching the goal is taking much more effort than you expected. When you start to feel discouraged is the perfect time to go back and read over why you started this process in the first place. Looking at your big why can renew your motivation for reaching your ideal outcome.
Feeling overwhelmed?
Sometimes we have several big goals to accomplish if we want to unlock our potential. Trying to work on them all at once can leave us feeling overwhelmed. When our mind is filled with important tasks that need to be accomplished, we may lose sight of which should be done first or which one is the most vital to our success. The best thing to do is to work on one outcome at a time so this doesn’t happen. Trust me, Multi-Tasking whether Male or Female is a NO-NO! FOCUS ON ONE THING AT A TIME! Go back to the plan you made for reaching that outcome - the rocks, pebbles and chips. Maybe you need to break down the action steps into smaller bite-sized tasks? Or maybe your list is as long as your arm and we need to reduce it to just three things to begin. Or perhaps you need to only tackle one task towards your goal per day? This can be challenging when you want to reach your potential quickly, but slow and steady progress will make you more likely to succeed in the end. It’s okay to slow down and take it step-by-step. TAKE TIME TO PAUSE!!!
Self-doubt?
Different things can cause self-doubt. Hitting an unexpected obstacle or making slower progress than you’d hoped for can leave you wondering if the goal is attainable. Ways to re-engage in your goal is to tap into your support system. Get a little encouragement from people who believe in your abilities. You might also want to pull out your journal and do some freewriting about your feelings or complete a morning and evening reflective journal. This is a great way to discover the root of the issue, but also by REFLECTING DAILY we see the slow steps of progress WHICH builds self-confidence. We often feel we need to wait for confidence to arrive in order for us to do something. Unfortunately, confidence only turns up AFTER the event. Hence why slow and steady steps to take us to a place of action and moving forwards also moves us away from self-doubt and fear and towards a place of empowerment and confidence.
You got this!!
