Resistance is a beast…let’s tame it!

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Oh my goodness! I’ve been feeling a little thing called RESISTANCE when it comes to writing! It’s a beast. It’s also so cold outside right now in Minnesota that we can’t really even go outside to get exercise or sunshine so I’m feeling the winter blahs and my kids are stir crazy too. So when we’re experiencing resistance what are we supposed to do? 

CALM DOWN

This might sound simplistic, but seriously think about the reason that you want to write or achieve your goal and remind yourself of your big why. Are you like me and your mind comes up with all of these ideas and grand goals and then it gets way too big and scary in your mind? Making your dreams and goals big and scary is a great way to create resistance. What I’m learning is that I need to break those dreams down into manageable steps so my goal doesn’t freak me out. When you have big goals and dreams that will take months or years and lots of work to achieve, you can’t get too inside your head. So right now, my goal is to just write. Yes, I still have the goal of trying to get two blog posts out each month, but I’m also learning a ton surrounding this topic of habits. Is it ok that I’m giving myself grace to take my time and get these posts out when I think they’re ready? For me, the answer to that question is yes.  I keep writing and it’s all on one document. It looks like one giant brainstorming session and my brain is just trying to work through it all and figure out what I’m thinking and what I actually want to say through it all. 

LET YOURSELF GO THROUGH THE NATURAL STEPS

Here’s what I’m thinking…A basketball player doesn’t become accomplished in the sport overnight. NBA players probably start playing when they’re young and build their skills over many years. When they get older, they probably lift weights and improve their endurance so they can get through a basketball game without passing out. 

Do you ever let your brain think so far into the future that you see the NBA player equivalent to your goal and think that’s where you should be RIGHT NOW?! You feel like you have to catch up and you feel so behind. You might even feel paralized to even start. You’re not going to become a NBA superstar overnight just because you suddenly decide that you’re going to become a basketball player. 

My point: Whatever your goal, there is a natural progression and your brain needs you to break down your goal into manageable steps so it can be SUSTAINABLE and MANAGEABLE. 

BALANCE

It’s really popular right now to set huge goals and then to go all-in to the detriment of your health. I think humans are pretty complicated and that we need to ease into goals so that we can still be kind to ourselves and make sure we’re still taking care of ourselves. If you’re waking up at 4am to achieve your goals, that’s great, but are you asleep by 8pm the night before so you get a full night of sleep? If we aren’t taking care of ourselves but are achieving our goals, is that really success? I’m not sure. What do you think? I think it’s good to set just a few initial goals to get yourself moving in the right direction. I’m going to end this first blog post here, but there is much more yet to come…