When
you start living more mindfully the question you might be pondering upon: ‘if
you’re living mindfully, doesn’t that mean you’ll never achieve anything?’.
The short
answer is, not at all.
The key is to create mindful goals and as well as being focused on achieving those goals, remembering to enjoy the here and now.
Here are
five simple strategies that work best for me.
1. Align
your goals with your values and strengths
Sometimes
we go after the wrong goals. We choose things that matter to other people or
goals that require strengths that we simply don’t have.
Dont ignore the little niggles and don't go along with anyone's vision but yours.
The question to ask is -- is what I do making me happy and am I using my strengths?
When you come back to your values of inner harmony and creativity you will discover what works for you what isn't.
This will free you up to focus on the strengths that you already have and on the ones you are actually interested in developing.
Make sure
you know your strengths and your values and choose goals that are really right
for you.
2. Break
your goals down into actionable steps
Once you’ve
chosen the right goals, writing them out as SMART goals (specific, measurable,
achievable, realistic and time-framed) is important but
goals are nothing without action steps.
Choose one
small thing you can do today.
Start by
thinking about one thing that you can do immediately to move you in the
direction of one of your goals – and do it.
Revisit your top three goals every
morning and identify one small action step for each of them every day.
Remember, don’t talk about the actions – do them.
3. Don’t
sacrifice today for tomorrow
Living
mindfully means enjoying the journey as much as the destination.
Try to avoid
the ‘I’ll be happy when…’ game and be careful not to judge yourself harshly as
you go about achieving your goals.
Remember to
look for the things that are already wonderful in your life that you could miss
if you’re solely focused on the future. It’s important not to wait until
another day to choose happiness.
4. Hang in
there
One of the
most common mistakes people make with goal setting is to give up too soon. I
know when I started out in my business, I set some lofty goals and then felt
pretty deflated when I didn’t achieve them in my ideal time frames.
Step back
and double-check that your goals are realistic. If they are, review your action
steps.
Are you doing the right things or can you try something different?
Rather than
beating yourself up – spend some time every day focusing on what is going well
to keep your energy positive.
5. Get some
support
Reach out
and ask for help – you don’t need to do everything on your own.
At
different times we need different kinds of support. If your energy levels are low, talk to a naturopath.
If you need to create more calm in your life, change your relationship with stress and food maybe I can help. Here is more.
You may not
need professional assistance – reach out to a friend and let them know you need
a hand. People love to help, sometimes we just need to remember to ask.
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