Month: January 2021

In my last blog I asked you how your resolutions and intentions were panning out for you, and I’m still interested to know – are you still moving forward with your goals? Do you still feel excited and motivated? I hope so!

So, let’s keep that going, shall we?

Common Pitfalls

Of course, there are some common pitfalls we need to avoid when we’re trying to implement our resolutions. We all know that and we’re probably all guilty of having fallen prey to these common mistakes. So how do we avoid them?

A super common pitfall is losing sight of WHY you want to achieve that particular goal. You need to remind yourself regularly why your goal is important to you and how it will feel having achieved it in order to keep your sense of purpose steady.  

How about if you set a goal that is impossible to measure? Often this is simply a case of rephrasing. So, if your goal is to ‘make more money’, how are you going to measure your daily or weekly results? It’s pretty intangible. Instead, try, ‘I will focus on more revenue generating tasks’, that way you can actually plan those tasks and a clear road to the outcome you want. It’s measurable and achievable.

Starting from a place of negativity is also going to make it impossible for you to stay on track. Our brains believe what we tell them, so how are you meant to achieve your goal if you’re telling yourself you’re not good enough? If you already think you’re failing, you’re setting yourself up for future failure. So, instead, be kind to yourself. Be grateful for where you are on your journey and get pumped for where you’re headed. And remember, it is a journey. You are good enough; you do deserve it and you can achieve it.   

And this one is sure to make your life harder than it needs to be – having more than one resolution. It’s tempting to list down all the things we want to achieve and try to set everything in motion in one fell swoop, kidding ourselves that the sense of motivation we feel at this moment in time will continue on. We all have plenty of things we want to achieve but trying to start everything in one go will put so much pressure on. It’ll also make it harder for you to maintain focus. So, focus on one thing. One goal.

How to trick our brain into action

So now you have your one goal and you’re avoiding those pitfalls, how are you going to maintain your focus and momentum on a daily basis? I’ll tell you how, small habits.

Creating habits is a sure-fire way to increase the likelihood of success. When you create a habit, you’re removing the ‘decision making’ part of the process. You simply DO. Think about brushing your teeth every day. It’s likely you have a specific time and way of doing this each day – do you sit and ponder whether you should do it or feel a sense of procrastination? No, you just do it. And that’s the level of habit you’re gunning for when it comes to your daily routine.

Research shows that it’s easier for people to replace a habit with another habit or to attach a habit to an already existing habit.

For this to work, you need to be realistic about what habit you’re creating. Make sure the task is achievable, firstly. And take into consideration any extenuating factors that may mean you can’t perform this habit as a part of your daily routine. Once you’ve nailed this, you can start to blend your new habit into your routine.

What’s more, once this habit has formed, you can start to incorporate another new habit if you want to. Another goal you have. And over time, you will be able to blend small habits which are taking you towards your goals into your daily routine, bypassing the procrastination and overwhelm, making it increasingly likely you’re moving forwards consistently on the road to success!

Proven tips to step into simple abundance

Repeat after me – one thing at a time.

In order to get the best from yourself and enhance the rate of success, you need clarity and focus. Pulling yourself off in different directions will not help you get to where you need to be.

This doesn’t mean you can’t have more than one goal you’re working towards; it means you need to have clear processes and a structure in place to ensure your focus remains on one thing at any given time.

I’m a big fan of the Pomodoro Technique, something I’ve covered in a previous blog post. This technique is great as it eliminates context switching within the timeframe you’re working on each individual task. Which means you maintain focus. One thing at a time.

Here’s to creating simple abundance for 2021!

I’m a big fan of January and the renewed energy, focus, and motivation that seems to accompany it. People often prefer to start new ventures at the beginning of a week, or month, so it makes sense that people LOVE to focus on their goals and start as they mean to go on when January comes around. New year, new me, right?

How’s it going now?

So now that January is more than ½ way through, I want to know – how’s it all going for you? Have you maintained that momentum or lost your stride? Did you start off feeling super energetic, determined, and disciplined but now that’s waned, or have you still got that driving force behind you, pushing you forward?

The fact is, it’s hard to keep momentum when we’re fuelled by rejuvenated excitement and good intentions alone. As the novelty begins to wear thin, so too does our motivation and that sense of ‘oomph’ we had at the start becomes more of a ‘humph’.

I’m guessing those of you who are still going strong have some tricks up your sleeve – i.e., actual systems in place that enable you to maintain focus, clarity, and remain accountable to your vision. Am I right?  

Tips & Advice

Last year, amongst other topics, I wrote about time management and how routine sets you free, how to develop a rhythm that works for you, how to create focus, and how to simplify your life (without working harder), so for some solid advice and awesome techniques to keep you consistently working towards your goals, you should check out my previous blog posts – you won’t regret it, especially if you’re struggling right now.

One of the things that often impedes progress, is overwhelm. Now I want to be clear here, the overwhelm comes from looking too far ahead at all the things you need to do in order to reach your goal rather than concentrating on the task in hand. There’s a huge difference between this and actually visualizing your goal, what that feels like etc.

So, with that in mind, if you want to keep moving towards success and abundance – the trick is to bring the future into the NOW!

Take some time to feel out where you are right now. Now, imagine you’ve already achieved your goal. You’ve accomplished all that you needed to in order to get that success you wanted. What does it feel like? What does it look like? What’s different? Is it wonderful? Do you feel joy? You tell me…

And in doing this daily, you will feel that sense of purpose, what drives you, why you want it and what it’s going to be like when you get it.

It’s so important to have clear reminders every day, so that our paths don’t get fogged up and our goals become lost behind the murkiness of daily life. Clarity, focus, vision. 

In my next blog we’re going to be looking at some more practical strategies to move the resolution needle ahead and stay on track.