We’re rapidly approaching the end of January already and I’m guessing there’s a teensy chance that any good intentions or new resolutions set at the start of the month might be slowly eroding, or clean blown out of the water, by the demands of daily life.
Perhaps you set some goals and planned it all out, but something always seems to come up when you’re about to take action. What’s a girl to do?
Often when this happens, it’s because whatever you decided to act on didn’t have a compelling enough reason to get cracking and stick at it. So you want to release those extra pounds you gained over Christmas? But it’s raining outside so you don’t wanna go for a run! Helleeeeew, it’s January in England, don’t you think that might be a bit of an obstacle to your desired result? If it’s raining on your weight-loss parade, you’ve got to have something that lights you up and keeps you warm inside so it won’t matter what’s going on outside.
If the reason you want to do something is bigger than anything that could put you off, then it’s far easier to work around any obstacles that pop up because your ‘why’ has more weight. Is your ‘but…’ bigger than your ‘why’? Yeah, I get it. Now let’s get it!
- What makes this so important to you?
There’s a reason why you chose this goal or set this intention. If you’re doing it because someone told you to, you’re unlikely to get very far. What’s its significance to you? What does it mean to your life?
2. Make a picture.
What’s your life going to look like in 6 months if you don’t get this sorted? In 12 months? 5 years? 10 years? Really spend some time focusing on this. We might not always notice what our actions are costing us on a daily basis because it creeps up on us, so it’s easier to avoid the pain of doing something now and forget about the pain it could cause in the future. For the best chance of success, the level of pain you associate with what’ll happen in the long term needs to be higher than the level of pain you perceive in the short term.
3. Look at the evidence.
The rational mind wants proof. You set this intention or goal to solve a problem. What has this problem cost you up until now? Think of all the times in the past when the price of it was high: financially, emotionally, in your health, your relationships, your environment, your level of fulfillment… anything you can come up with. Are you prepared to keep paying the price? Can you keep up with future repayments?!
If you can give your ‘why’ enough weight, your ‘but’ will be overpowered every time.
What do you do to stick to your goals? Let me know and comment below!