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Veteran’s Day came and went. I enjoyed a quick weekend trip where I was able to visit a dear friend and his family, rest, eat a ton and reflect. I savored each moment of the long weekend, and then I panicked. It’s already November! I started the year with all of these goals, and as of now, I still have a ton of things left to do. So many that it would be an impossibility at this point in the game to check everything off by the end of 2016.
I started feeling so guilty. “I must be the laziest, undisciplined person in the world.” I beat myself up pretty badly, and then I paused. When leaders are expecting greatness from their followers, do they berate them? Or do they encourage and inspire them? Through my reflection, I decided that it would be more productive to practice self-love instead of focusing on all of my faults and imperfections.
If you are in the same boat, here are a few steps to help you maximize the time that you still have in 2016.
1. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Stop telling yourself that you are a failure and a loser. We all fall short of our own expectations sometimes, but beating yourself up isn’t going to change anything. Before you start dishing out punishments, forgive yourself. In order to fuel your own focus and determination to get things done, you have to be positive, and pounding yourself into the ground isn’t going to get you any further ahead. Your self-love and esteem can’t be based on your accomplishments. If you are lacking discipline be honest with yourself, but try to be kind to yourself in the process. Consider yourself as a piece of tarnished silver; If you want to sparkle again you don’t beat yourself with a hammer, you use polish to remove the tarnish.
2. Get organized. Instead of having a long list of goals that you want to accomplish, prioritize your goals and focus on them one by one. Identify and document the steps necessary to reach each goal. Assign time frames for each step involved in achieving your goal. If you break each goal down, you create a path for yourself that will allow you to make real progress.
3. Enlist help. If are not disciplined enough to stay on track to achieving your goals, ask someone that you trust to hold you accountable. Often when we involve someone else there is a greater sense of pressure to be productive and disciplined. While we can sometimes live with letting ourselves down, we are inclined to not want to let other people down. Additionally, when you find yourself needing encouragement to stay on track, your source of accountability can help.
4. Manage your expectations. It is easy to feel overwhelmed and like you can’t achieve everything that you want. But you can. Take things one step at a time. Rome was not built in a day. Set yourself up for success by setting realistic goals in reasonable time frames. This is your journey so approach it in a way that makes sense for you.
5. Celebrate the things that you HAVE done. While I started to panic about my pending list of goals, I totally forgot that this year I got a new job and moved to a different city. I disregarded the fact that I co-hosted an event and video series as well as had multiple speaking engagements. Just because you aren’t where you want to be doesn’t mean that you aren’t in a good place.It also doesn’t mean that you haven’t made progress. Don’t lose sight of all of the cool things that you did accomplish this year.
Instead of feeling like you are running out of time, recognize that you have a few months left in 2016 to make an impact. Don’t waste the time that you have by worrying about the time that you no longer have. Go in the direction of your dreams and stop looking backwards. You’ve got this!
Angela Irwin (www.angelairwin.com) is a lover of life and light seeker. She published “One Choice Choose Happiness” which is a 30 day guide to help you choose happiness. She and her friends at Induo Events (www.induoevents.com) began the #MeetMeAtHappy movement which was created to unite people that are passionate about living happier lives. They are in the middle of the 30 day journey and it is still time for you to join the movement. Follow them on Facebook at @AngelaVictoria and @INDUOEvents for more information.
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