The year has just begun and already some of us may feel incredible weight not to fail. Before giving up on your 2018 resolutions, try extending your timeline.
Some of us make grand plans to do everything differently or to transform into a brand new person for the new year only to get burnt-out or give up too soon. We expect to see results as soon as possible and to get there we must dive into a diet, a new hobby or a new business with specific plans to follow every day or week, all before we have even tried it once. We become more focused on the idea and the planning than experiencing the reality of it. Give yourself the whole year to create incremental change rather than expecting drastic changes to stick overnight.
When we slow down, we can pay attention – to our senses, our response and our personal challenges. Without the pressure of a deadline, we can work through them one by one without impatience. When you work on yourself more slowly and more mindfully, you have the opportunity to recognize signals for the next step that arise from the one before. If you are rushing to meet the original pre-defined goal, you will miss the enlightening learning along the way, and that’s the good stuff!
This year try choosing year-long goals for self-improvement that can be practiced little by little, leaving flexibility to modify as you go. Start to focus on the quality of each step you are taking rather than meeting a specific end result. Sometimes to achieve this, you actually need to let go instead of add on, like letting go of unrealistic expectations and unnecessary pressure.
If you’re making conscious decisions with your whole heart, each thing you do should provide healthy growth. Make sure to recognize each baby step and each new layer of awareness that you receive through the process. You will be gaining much more than you could ever plan if you become aware of and honor the incremental growth just as much as meeting the end result.
Cheers to a continuation of your journey, learning & growing little by little, poco a poco in 2018.
Photo credit: Gaelle Marcel
