It's almost too late to shout "Happy New Year To You",,,, but I do sincerely wish you all the warmest of blessings for a healthy, peaceful and content 2022.....!!
So, 2022, here we are!!!
We all have goals and dreams, and I'm sure lots of you made New Year resolutions with total conviction,,,,, but it can be difficult to stay focused and stick with them.
Each week, I hear from people who say things like, “I start with good intentions, but I can't seem to maintain my consistency for a long period of time.”
Or, they will say, “I struggle with mental endurance. I get started but I can’t seem to follow through and stay focused for very long.”
Or the very common one is, "I don't have the time to carry on with my goal"
Don't worry - if these excuses resonate with you; you're not on your own. I can be just as guilty of this as anyone else!! Or at least I used to be,, I am so much better these days because I am realistic with my goal settings and expectations. But about five years ago, I was following the same habitual routine,,, I would start one project, work on it for a little bit, then lose focus and try something else and then I'll lose focus on my new goal and try something else. And on and on. When everything was said and done, I’d stopped and started so many times that I never really made much progress.
Maybe you have felt this way too.
One day, I was talking to a badminton coach who had worked with hundreds of athletes over her long professional career, including some national and international ranked players and Olympians. We began talking about the process of improvement.
“What’s the difference between the top players and everyone else?” I asked.
“What do the really successful players do that most don’t?”
She mentioned the factors you might expect: genetics, luck, talent. But then she said :
“At some point it comes down to who can handle the boredom of training every day, doing the same practise shots over and over and over again.”
Her answer surprised me because it’s a different way of thinking about work ethic. People talk about getting “motivated” to work on their goals. Whether it’s business, sports, art health or personal development; you hear people say things like, “It all comes down to passion.” Or, “You have to really want it.” As a result, many of us get depressed when we lose focus or motivation because we think that successful people have some bottomless reserve of passion, and we obviously don't , or we obviously don't want it enough. But this coach was saying that really successful people feel the same lack of motivation as everyone else. The difference is that they still find a way to show up despite the feelings of boredom. According to her, it’s this ability to do the work when it’s not easy or glamorous that separates the top performers from everyone else. That's the difference between professionals and amateurs; people who succeed and those who don't.
Working When Work Isn’t Easy
Anyone can work hard when they feel motivated.
When I was a ballet dancer (many moons ago!!), I loved going to rehearsals when we had shows or competitions coming up. Who wouldn’t? My teacher is happy, my fellow ballet dancers were all buzzing and excited; and you felt like you could beat anyone and dance the best all the time!! As a a small business owner now, , I love working when my clients are rolling in, succeeding, working hard, feeling and seeing the benefits, and things are going well.
Getting results has a way of propelling you forward.
But what about when you’re bored? What about when the work isn’t easy? What about when it feels like nobody is paying attention or you’re not getting the results you want?
Are you willing to work through that silence?
It's the ability to keep going when things aren't easy that makes the difference and the success.......
It’s Not the Event, It’s the Process
All too often, we think our goals are all about the result.
We see success as an event that can be achieved and completed.
But in actual fact, our focus should be on the process and not just the end-goal.
Here are some common examples…
Many people see health as an event: “If I just lose a stone, then I’ll be looking good.”
Many people see entrepreneurship as an event: “If we could get our business on the FSTE , then we’d be set.”
Many people see a happy life as an event: "If I just turn up to my yoga class, or do a meditation when I remember, I will be calm"
Many people see art as an event: “If I could just get my work featured in a bigger gallery, then I’d have the credibility I need.”
Those are just a few of the many ways that we categorise success as a single event.
But if you look at the people who are consistently achieving their goals and inner peace, you start to realise that it’s not the events or the results that make them different. It’s their commitment to the process. They fall in love with the daily practise, not the individual event. They 'live' their practise and not just 'tick-it-off' the list.
What's funny, of course, is that this focus on the process is what will allow you to enjoy the results anyway…!!
If you want to be in the best shape of your life, then losing a stone might be necessary. But the only way to reach that result is to fall in love with the process of eating healthy and exercising consistently.
If you want to feel inner peace in your life, then falling in love with those 5 minutes of your daily meditation will lead you to recognising that inner calm in the way you deal with your every day life.
If you want to become significantly better at anything, you have to fall in love with the process of doing it. You have to fall in love with building the identity of someone who does the work rather than merely dreaming about the results that you want.
In other words…
Fall in love with boredom.
Fall in love with repetition and practise.
Fall in love with the process of what you do and let the results take care of themselves.
If you would like to try something new, something different that could lead to a improved version of yourself; then click on the button below and have a look at what's available with Mind-Posture-Soul this year