I once used to have so many goals on the go that it overwhelmed me.
Being an Ideas Woman, it’s taken some time to curb this part of my personality and limit myself to three big goals a year.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to be ambitious and to try and achieve as much as you can. But, as I learnt, when you take on too much, you end up stretching yourself too thin and becoming burnt out super quickly!
I’ve seen clients experience this too. They’re so overwhelmed by the many goals they’ve identified that they end up working on none of them. Falling behind leads to further loss of motivation for the original big picture view.
Evaluate your choices
Sometimes, it’s fear that’s driving you to take on a lot.
The first thing to do is to acknowledge that fear has a hold of you. Now sit with it and see if you can decipher if there is a certain outcome that’s frightening you. Success? Failure? I like to journal on the topic to get my thoughts out and see if any patterns emerge.
Once you’ve had the heart to heart with yourself about the source of the fear. A way of conquering it is to chip away at your goal, breaking it down into baby steps so you don’t even notice that you’re facing your fear head-on.
Another exercise is to observe how a goal feels in your body. Does it energise you? Does it make you feel expansive? Or contracted and small?
Sometimes we think a goal is important to us but really it’s on our plate for the wrong reasons or its time has simply expired. If there’s something that’s been on your list for a while now, check back in and ask yourself, is this important to me? Is it contributing to the vision of my future life?
Ploughing ahead on something that is no longer relevant to us not only wastes your time and distracts you from truly important things but slowly wears you down. It’s often a useful exercise to take a moment and check that you’re doing things for the right reason and that you’re being fulfilled by what things you do focus on. Time is simply our greatest resource. Don’t waste it!
As I mentioned before, scaling things back and limiting your focus is the key to staying motivated. Trust me, being able to get through your day without feeling stressed and pressed for time goes a long way in helping you actually achieve your goals.
Think about your to-do list. Is it filled with endless tasks that seem impossible to tackle or is it filled with small steps that light the way towards achievement?
Motivation
Breaking a big goal into smaller steps ensures that you stay motivated to chip away at that goal on a consistent basis. Smaller steps are much easier to accomplish and will keep you motivated to achieve the larger end goal.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, take the time to get clear on your priority goals and ensure that your schedule reflects these priorities.
Talk soon,
Christie
