I’ve heard so many people saying that 2023 was a rough year and they couldn’t wait for it to be over.
The trouble with that is how we perceive it. We find ourselves in situations, but how we react in those situations and the stress we feel is what we take into the new year with us. It’s like having something smelling on your hands and it contaminating everything that you touch. Unless you get rid of the stuff on your hands, everything will keep smelling.
Similarly, unless you change the way you think and do things, you’ll remain stuck in the loop.
Enter resolutions! The tough love plans we make to get us out of the rut we’ve somehow gotten ourselves into.
We say to ourselves we’re going to the gym more often. We start by getting a membership and maybe get ourselves to the gym once or twice, but soon life starts getting in the way, and the next thing you know, it’s October, and you are frustrated with yourself because you’re exhausted, your body is failing, and your mind is overwhelmed.
Absolutely, think of a resolution; it’s your goal, after all. But don’t get stuck on the bigger picture. Break it down and ask yourself:
“What are the smallest possible steps I need to take?”
These steps need to be simple, easy, and easy to repeat.
You don’t decide to run a marathon and then the next day attempt that marathon.
You plan, you prepare, and you practice.
You start by running 1 kilometer, then 2, then 3, and you keep repeating until you’re ready. AND THEN you run the marathon.
What do you do if you find yourself not even able to start running?
You take a smaller step.
During our training, our instructor told a story of finding a woman walking with a stone in her hand. He asked her what she was doing. She told him she wanted to run a marathon but struggled to motivate herself. So, she got a stone and every day she would start from a specific point and walk 100 steps and put the stone down. She would then walk the 100 steps back. The next day she would walk the same 100 steps, pick up the stone she left, and walk another 100 steps more. She would leave the stone there and walk back to the beginning. Every day she would repeat this, and very soon she was running. A few months later she was indeed running the marathon.
Simple, easy, easy to repeat.
The value is in doing the small steps every day and checking in with yourself while you are repeating. By focusing on the smaller steps and working through what is happening with you while you are in the middle of these steps, you are able to see what is working and what is not, and you can make the adjustments and tweaks needed to ensure your success.
So, take those 2024 resolutions and set yourself up for success by taking a realistic bite, something that has you saying:
“That’s easy, I can do it” – Then DO IT and repeat.
If you need some help discovering what your next steps are, book a free Discovery session with me here https://calendly.com/marildawiegand/discovery-session
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