Have you ever had an exciting goal but felt completely unable to move forward with your plans? Sometimes fear, self-doubt, or less than good mental health can hi-jack our plans before we really get them moving.
Recently, I’ve taken a few big steps towards getting to where I want to be. I’ve made strides in health, home, career, and heart and the strides feel good but for whatever reason, sometimes a step forward feels like 3 steps back. And if I’m honest I get discouraged. The self-doubt that I’d managed to push aside seems to find its way back.
Jake and I just started listening to a book called Atomic Habits by James Clear. It’s the #1 New York Times Bestseller and so far, it’s good. Within the first few minutes of the audiobook, James Clear introduces the premise of the book. To illustrate a point he shares about bamboo and how it develops an extensive root system for 4-5 years before you see the bamboo shoots which grow 90 feet in 6 weeks. If this were church I’d be nodding my head saying “Wellll” or “amen!” because the man’s got a point. We build and develop before we bloom. Before we ‘bear fruit’ there’s all of this formative stuff that happens day to day. So that by the time we finally do bloom we know what to do with it. I just sometimes don’t enjoy the process – but it’s necessary and I’ve gotta get through it.
So here are some important reminders for you and for future me while we’re taking steps forward.
- You will get to where you’re trying to go. Write the vision, make it plain and do what you’ve set out to do. Take it step by step.
- A task completed less than perfectly is still a task completed. Give yourself some grace. Every day won’t be a A+ day every task won’t be completed perfectly but oftentimes, finished is better than perfect.
- Stay flexible. If everything always went according to plan then where is the excitement in life? Sometimes, life throws a wrench in our plans – even the best-laid ones. You have to be okay with adjustments when they are needed and remember to keep moving.
- You’re made for this. That dream you’ve had for years, the passion project, that business idea, dream job, the internship you’ve been waiting, hoping, and praying for. There’s a reason you just can’t shake it. Someway, somehow you are made for it. Something inside of you is built to do that thing well. Nurture that passion, take the opportunities and see where it leads you. You may change someone’s life by just going for it.
- The time is passing anyway. Do you really want to have the same dream next year but with no progress made or lessons learned? Get started.
- Enjoy the journey. The journey is the fascinating part of any biography. Folks don’t read memoirs to hear the beginning and end, they read them for the juicy stuff in the middle. They read them to see the obstacles that were overcome, the minor inconveniences that led to major outcomes, the everyday mundane thing that ended up creating a beautiful life… all that stuff in the middle is important and so special so enjoy the journey to wherever you’re going. Romanticize it if you must. This is your story, you can make every chapter really beautiful. Even the tough ones.
- Failure and mistakes are important for growth. Don’t be afraid to fail. Do the things and when you screw up, do them better the next time.
- Believe you will. There’s this trend going around about being delusional and how it has led people to success. I don’t know if I want to equate believing in yourself with being delusional quite yet. However, when everything seems to be pointing to ‘babe, it’s not gonna happen’ keep forging forward. Make adjustments as needed but keep going – believe you will especially when you don’t want to believe you can.
We got this. be lovely.
Til next time,
J
Jubilee Renee 