We all know it is good to exercise at least a few times a week as well as to eat healthily. We all know journaling helps with well-being as well as meditation and yoga. We all know cultivating good friendships makes our lives more fulfilling and happier. Then why do so few of us prioritize these great life habits?
Discomfort and Change
What happens to our vision of “an amazing life” after our initial excitement about these great ideas fades? What happens to our dreams and aspirations? Usually, these disappear as quickly as they come into being.
Usually, we go back to our lives that don’t feel fulfilling and we continue to feel stuck in old habits even as we complain about the way we live. Here’s the truth: Change is not easy, and it is often uncomfortable.
It takes commitment to change. It also takes a community.
Accepting Help
Recognizing the need for change is the first step – a lot of people are able to do this much.
The next step is to find the support we need. In other words, we need to be humble and ask for help. I see a lot of people struggle with this step. Either they don’t feel brave enough to ask for help or they feel ashamed of it and sometimes they don’t believe they can achieve their goals.
Self-Doubt and Perfectionism
Self-doubt is just as destructive as perfectionism. Self-doubt is fear-based and for as long as we are lost in fear, we cannot take the steps necessary to move forward with our lives.
Perfectionism is driven in high gear, ambition on steroids! Perfectionism is its own enemy. The more “perfect” we try to be, the more mistakes we tend to make or we feel paralyzed again with self-doubt because nothing we do is “good enough.”
If we can keep an eye on both self-doubt and perfectionism instead of giving in to them, if we can receive the right support and prioritize our commitment to change our lives, I believe anything is possible.
What Do You Want to Prioritize?
Make a list and see what you wish to prioritize in your life. This is for sure: We can’t get good at ten things at once. We must choose some things over others. Be selective. Choose carefully what you want to focus on.
Then think about earlier times in your life when you had big goals and aspirations and reflect on what happened. Did you achieve your goals? What helped you? Did you get stuck? What helped you get unstuck? If you gave up, think about why that happened.
Learn from the past.
Taking on too much is just as counterproductive as taking on too little. When we take on too much, there is too much pressure on us. We feel crushed by expectations – this is an unhealthy challenge.
When we take on too little, we don’t feel challenged enough – this becomes boring very quickly and we lose interest. Find your balance and get to work.
You’ve got this.
