"Life is a marathon, not a sprint!"
So, the summer started...I made a plan to exercise and lose those eternal 5kgs. I planned to meditate regularly too. Then I needed to travel, then the kids came, then there were guests.... you know how it is! Needless to say, I didn't do any of the above.... what happened?! I hadn't made a specific plan and a step by step strategy to achieve my goals!
I LEARNED THAT INTENTIONS ARE NEVER ENOUGH!
Every once in a while, life forces us to take stock, sometimes gentle reminders and at other times a hard knock on the head! Until this happened for me the reality of my life went something like this...
Manic rushing through my day had become a norm. I wanted everything NOW; health now, success now, happiness and love now! Not surprising then that I was approaching my goals and life changes in much the same way as well. Patience was hard to come by and I felt that crippling feeling that if I hadn't achieved a goal yet it must be because I wasn't working hard enough, or fast enough, or I was lazy and undisciplined! In my impatience for results, I was trying to change too many parts of myself leaving me feeling even more frustrated.
I realized I wasn't taking the first step because my dreams, desires, and goals seemed so overwhelming, so insurmountable that I tended to give up even before I started!
I knew I needed to change my strategy...NOW! I needed to live the axiom, "Life is a marathon, not a sprint."
This philosophy can be applied anywhere - in business, educational goal, weight loss, habits or building relationships. Learning to take baby steps may be a simple yet most effective strategy...learning to build on small victories; making one positive choice after another.
The reason this works is that we are able to see tangible progress quickly and are encouraged to move on to our next mini goal.
But why do we all get stuck?
I think the most important is that we don't have a simple, actionable system to use. The second important one is that we are afraid of putting ourselves out there simply because we're afraid.... scared of failing and of being criticised for doing so. Both erode confidence and we hold back in discouragement and we quit!
Every time we fail we trust ourselves a little less. We also fail to remember the transition we've made from crawling to being toddlers so we've forgotten that we took baby steps as we grew up.
Another big hurdle is the messages we get from the media.... this society that sells instant gratification by sensationalizing famous people as achieving overnight successes. In reality they have all got there by taking countless baby steps!
So, if you want to change your life, start slow! Starting slowly raises your odds of finishing your task. The Japanese have a word for it, Kaizen, which literally means 'continuous change'... doing it gradually. Incremental improvement results in quality, balance and satisfaction.
Ultimately, winning is a habit, but so is losing!
Do a little a lot, instead of a lot a little!
Focus on progress, not perfection.... direction is more important than speed.
My suggestion?
Take small actions each day.
Visualise yourself achieving your goal. Ask yourself one question, "what's the one thing I could do better today?"
And don't forget to reward yourself!
That's how babies do it!!
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