It’s Not Easy, But It’s Worth It!

There are many obstacles to achieving our goals, from not really knowing what it is we want to achieve (a lack of real clarity on the outcome) to fear of failure or even success!  I have written about  many of the obstacles we may face in previous posts (just check out my link on obstacles, here) and today I’m going to expand further and take a look at what it really means to put in the effort to achieving our goals.  Before we start though, let me just say that if you’re on the cusp of starting out on your goal(s), you may find this post somewhat challenging or even an obstacle to starting!  Of course, I hope that’s not the case and that you find some value in the words that follow below.

Without doubt if you set out to achieve one or multiple goals, you are going to have to call on as-yet untapped reserves of energy.  This need for energy will be twofold because not only are you going to need the energy to carry out the actions associated with your goals but you’re also going to have to continue, to a greater of lesser extent, living your current life.  Just because you now have a greater purpose does not mean that you can suddenly shrug off all the other commitments you have!  You will still have to do the school run, wash the car, pay the bills, go to work, clean windows, walk the dog, care for or visit relatives etc etc.

Of course, when we begin to falter on our goals, these are the “excuses” which will surface; the reasons why we can’t possibly continue on to attain our goals, and it’s why it’s important to acknowledge them now.  You are going to need a much higher level of energy than you’ve hitherto manifested.  Somehow you will need to find this energy source so that you can just keep going when the rest of the party who started out with you withers and gives up.

Looking to the more positive side however, working on your goals, at least at the beginning will fill you with enthusiasm which in itself will provide an additional source of energy, but this is likely to be shortlived.

So if our enthusiasm is likely to wane after a time and our ‘ordinary’ life keeps prodding away at us demanding our time and energy, then what can we do?

Acknowledging that there will be an ongoing barrage of attacks from everything that we were reminds us that we need to make and then maintain a commitment to our goals.  We need to feel a compelling passion for the achievement of our goals, the outcome needs to be the thing that keeps pulling us towards itself.  If this isn’t happening for you, then do you truly want the outcome you’re working towards?  Maybe the goal is wrong or maybe it’s too small…or too big (at this stage).  In any event, the goal must be compelling in order to engage your action muscles even when you feel you just don’t want to make the effort.

In other words, you are going to need resilience.  You are going to have to build enough resilience so that when every fibre of your being is trying to stop you continuing, you get up and get moving anyway.  I know that you’ve already experienced this tug o’ war between the things you know you should be doing and the thing that’s keeping you glued to the sofa – we all have.  But, put simply, resilience is just keeping on keeping on despite every personal emotional saboteur and external distraction that comes your way.

We also need to consider the idea of single mindedness:  carrying out our tasks to the exclusion of all others.  You may think this is an unreasonable demand, and I’d agree with you.  After all, I’ve already mentioned above that whether we like it or not, our life goes on regardless of whether we’re working on our goals or not.  So, how can we possibly be single minded?  I prefer to think of this as the need to keep our goals in mind at all times so that when the opportunity arises to do something…anything on our goals, we can utilise that chance.  The idea that we will have huge chunks of dedicated time to throw at our goals is flawed, but that’s not to say that we don’t have enough time…we do!  It’s just that the time we need doesn’t all arrive at the same time.  Instead we have to train ourselves to utilise the little pockets of time which appear throughout our day.  The 30 minute train or bus journey (we can read, write, listen, reply etc), while the bath is running – that’s 10-15 minutes of strength training.  The unexpectedly cancelled meeting or dental appointment… we must learn to re-purpose time releases and use up little bits of time which we would otherwise miss.  We must be vigilant and prepared for the daily opportunities that come our way.

And finally, we must be ruthless!  Ruthless with the time wasters, ruthless with the busy little tasks that are plentiful but add little value to our lives, ruthless with our moods so that we learn to tolerate less and less those moods that would take us off course, like the…I can’t be bothered variety!

So no, it’s not easy, but you can do it!  It’s worth it and you are worthy.  I’m going to leave you with the words of Les Brown:

Kick it up a notch! In order to reach your goals, pay off your bills, get unstuck or get rid of that toxic relationship, it will require a commitment on your part to kick it up a notch. It will take more work, more diligence and a greater commitment to create a life that you can be proud of and feel good about. Kick it up a notch!!

Focus on recharging your batteries, and clearing out all of the things in your life that no longer fit or do not represent who you are. Move with a sense of urgency to create a space that allows you to become centered, grounded and connected with your mental, emotional and spiritual power. Kick it up a notch! You have GREATNESS within you!

So are you still ready to get moving?!  I hope so!  The challenge is yours to take and I applaud you for any and all steps you take!  Why not leave a comment and let us know your difficulties and how you’ve overcome them!

Photo: paraflyer