If you follow me on instagram you’re probably sick of hearing me talk about how great I think 2018 is going to be or is. But it’s something I’m almost convinced of. My year didn’t necessarily start off super spectacular, but life is only 10% what happens to you and 90% what you do with what happens to you. I’ve chosen to measure my success this year based on what I’m learning and how I’m trying to apply it, rather then how much I actually accomplish. That might sound a little odd, but if you never take the time to learn a new way of doing something you won’t ever make progress… let me explain.
“If you want something you’ve never had, you have to do things you’ve never done.”
I’ve been making a lot of changes in the past 18 months to simplify my life and be more productive. One thing I’m doing this year that I haven’t done in years past is using the Cultivate What Matters Powersheets. These have been a game changer for me because sometimes I get so caught up in the big picture, that I don’t approach my goals in the most methodical way. Using these has helped me, in my personal life as well as my business, be able to break down my goals for the year in a way that doesn’t allow me to become overwhelmed and helps me utilize my time most effectively. In all honesty, I didn’t even realize I had this problem until a few months ago. I started my year super motivated and ready to get stuff done, but in April when I did my first “refresh” for spring I was really disappointed in myself because I barely had anything check off. There were external circumstances that contributed to things not getting done (car wreck/surgery), but I took a step back to reevaluate what was going on and I realized that I was pretty much setting myself up to fail. I had picked REALLY broad goals for the year… like growing my business or creating better habits. And I was expecting myself to move mountains and accomplish everything in one month. I knew I had to change somethings.
First off, I needed to give myself some grace. No one plans to have their car totaled, or to be told you have to have surgery, or for the diagnosis you’ve been waiting 4 years to get to be WAY more serious then anything your doctor prepared you for, and then having to spend the next 3 months of your life recovering from said surgery/completing rehabilitation. You CANNOT plan for any of that nor can you necessarily bounce back from that.
Secondly, I needed to be realistic. I’m all for challenging myself, but the goals I was putting before myself were completely unattainable. No one wakes up one day and has it all together. In fact I think it would be fair to say that no one ever has it 100% together. I have the same 168 hours per week as everyone else, and you can only do so much in those hours. My only responsibility is to use those hours as effectively as I can. And it takes time to learn/setup the best systems for yourself.
So this past month I tried something completely different. I only put things on my Tending list that I knew I was going to be able to accomplish or make significant headway on. The individual goals were smaller, but still vital to the big goals for the year. Some of the goals were as simple as connecting my bank account to Venmo so I didn’t have to pay the 25 cent fee for transferring to my debit card or getting a notebook and writing out daily to-do lists. My daily goals were simple habits I’m trying to cultivate (make my bed every morning, make sure my bathroom is tidied up before I go to bed, etc.)
AND IT WORKED.
I got more done last month then I have all year! And by being honest and realistic with myself, setting myself up to succeed, and actually succeeding- I’ve created momentum that makes me motivated to get up every morning and actually get things done. Because now- I believe I can do it.
So if you’re struggling to get things done and you feel like you’re a failure because you aren’t making the progress you want- Remember you can start over. Sit down, get some coffee (or wine 😉 ), be honest with yourself, accept where you are, and just keep trying.
Cheering you on!
Jacqueline
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