Did you once have a roaring desire to accomplish your goals but in recent times have found it hard to keep up that unquenchable passion that had you hitting the mark time and again? Has that blistering flame of persistence faded like a candle out in the winter cold, and the fear of failure and procrastination taken its place? Well, take heart in the knowledge that you are just one of a million others around the world who started with the tremendous resolve of an elephant but ended up with the determination of a Caribbean sloth. So don't beat yourself up too much over it instead purpose to do something about it.
Family emergencies, work, and other day-to-day distractions might have pulled you over on the journey to your success, but there are only detours on the road to realization. Once you shake them loose, you'll be back to cruising on the highway of your dreams in no time.
How to Put Things RightThe first step to regaining your focus is accepting that you have veered off-course a little. There's nothing to be ashamed of, and it's never too late salvage a seemingly sinking ship as with just a little effort you can grab your goals out from the grasp of impossibility and still achieve what it is you set out to do. For that to happen, keep in mind the following:
1) Forgive yourself
Self-disappointment sometimes proves our greatest krypton more than the actual failure itself. When things aren't going our way and accomplishing our goals seems as hard as climbing Mount Everest, we tend to throw in the towel. If you fell prey to the call of giving up, don't fixate too much on it. Forgive yourself
so that you can shift your gaze from an unsuccessful past to the potential of a future where you blow your goals out of the water.
2) It's time to renew your vowsAre you no longer excited about accomplishing those goals you couldn't wait to get started on a while back? Does it seem like you're now dragging yourself through to the finish line instead of enjoying the run there? If so, you need to go back to the drawing board of your goals to find out whether they've lost meaning along the way and how you can spruce them up in line with changing life situations to make them more appealing.
3) One step at a time is the way to goAfter you've steered yourself back on track, you may find that you're behind on your objectives. In which case, don't try to do much in a bid to make up for lost time. Concentrate on one task at a time and if that means you have to readjust your schedule, then so be it. Before you can learn to run again, jog, and before you can do that, learn how to walk first. However, if you can handle more on your plate without being overwhelmed, then, by all means, go for it. For instance, if your goal was to complete your mortgage in two instead of four years and you can comfortably afford to double your monthly installments to catch up to your deadline, then do so.
4) Be positive
Aside from cultivating productive habits necessary to achieve your goals, you also need to pat yourself on the back for what you've done so far. Moreover, it's crucial to mentally renew your determination with each morning light in some way. Looking through other peoples' success stories can do that for you as can meditation and yoga
. Alternatively, you can incorporate morning runs into your routine where you have a sit-down with your thoughts to do some mental housekeeping.
Things might not have gone according to plan in the past, but the future is in your hands to mold as you see fit. Clean out the cobwebs that had obscured your dreams to regain that vision of where you aim to be in the next couple of weeks or months. Let that light guide you like a magnet pulling at a nail in a wooden maze until you finally reach the summit of your desires. Sure it's not going to be a walk in the park, but anything in life worth doing is never easy.
Fern Gorin
Owner/Founder Life Purpose Institute
Life Coach Certification & Career Coach Certification
Fern Gorin was one of the first to pioneer the Life Coach Training field, starting her company in 1984. Life coaches trained by Fern's company, have helped over 1 million people worldwide. Graduates of the Life Purpose Institute ICF accredited program, go through a life-changing process intended to not only teach practical ways to help people through life changes but to also transform lives.