How many times have you heard about some new exercise, read something you wanted to try out in a book, learned something in a class or heard about a great new way to do something and right there and then said to yourself; “I’m doing this!”
Now, of those times you’ve tried something – how many times did you either a) not get started, b) try it out for a few days and then give up, c) make a good effort towards it for a month or more only to decide it wasn’t working and give up or d) you’re still doing it today because it was wonderful?
My guess is that ‘D’ has very few projects associated with it, and instead the majority fall into the first three categories. Most people tend to think something sounds good, looks good, and feels good when someone else is doing it. Once they try to integrate it into their daily lives either the ‘newness’ wears off quickly and it may becomes a hassle to continue doing it, or they’re not seeing the results quick enough so they give it up in search of something that will work faster and better for them.
Generally we see that a lot of these types of decisions and outcomes occur during either the holiday seasons, early summer, or around the New Year. So what can you do when you’ve tried and it’s just not working for you? And how can you continue to make progress towards your desires in-spite of either slow results or a waning interest?
Dreams and goals are a great thing to have, in-fact using your imagination to create your world and your feelings to help keep you on the path can be a powerful way to get the things in your life that you desire. Where we tend to run awry is when we allow our ego-needs to take over, and ignore the soul-needs we also have. Finding a balance between the two will go a long way up towards helping you find both the motivation and inspiration to keep moving during the times when things become the toughest.
Once you’ve already started and can feel the motivation start to drop, it’s important to keep not only the goal front and center in your mind, but also to keep the reason this goal is worthwhile in front of you at all times. The goal by itself is a way to measure and keep track of what you’re heading towards, however the reason you’re doing it carries a much stronger punch when it comes down to getting yourself motivated to take the action.
And what about those times when you absolutely know without a doubt that what you’re doing will either not get you where you want to be, or is not going to get you there in the timeframe you desire. Here you’ve got several options. Obviously it’s not a great idea to keep doing something you know isn’t working, but sometimes it’s the routine that’s most important to help keep you on track. It may even be a good idea to keep moving forward with your current activity until you find the one that will replace it, in this way you keep the habit of doing something formed or developing, and just interchange the activities with one’s that are a better fit as you need to.
Now, I’m definitely not one to promote continuing to climb a ladder to nowhere, so it’s very important that as soon as you know it’s not working, to immediately take the steps necessary to get yourself onto the right path as quickly as possible without interrupting your routine and more importantly, take action before you loose interest!
By far one of the best ways to ensure your success at any venture or undertaking is to take the time up front to make sure that it’s something that truly makes sense for you. Sometimes watching the lady on TV with the rock hard abs, or the guru with the answer to your life can seem easy to attain and feasible in just a short amount of time; however that’s before you really try it on for yourself. Close your eyes and see if you can imagine yourself doing this, try to feel what it might feel like when you’re at this end result and then make the call. If you can’t see yourself doing it, well then don’t waste your time or resources. Get to know who you are and what you came here to do and then build your life around those activities that will move you forward towards the direction of your dreams