You know how there are five stages of grief? When you’re grieving you have to go through denial, anger, bargaining and depression before arriving at acceptance. Well, I think that when we fully commit to pursuing a goal that terrifies us, we have to go up a similar mental ladder. As soon as we decide to go after something that we equal parts want and are terrified of, all of the fear that has been stopping us comes up. Only this time, we decide to work through it in order to achieve our goals.
If you’ve recently taken a leap of faith and are pursuing a new dream, congrats! Know that it’s completely normal for the fear of failure, procrastination and other fun things to present themselves. Only this time you can expect it, work through it and get to the other side.
Ten benefits of going after your goals 100%:
All of your insecurities come up
This doesn’t sound like a benefit at first glance, but hear me out. It’s actually the perfect opportunity to figure out what your fears actually are, so that you can begin to build strategies around them.
When you decide to pursue a dream that has scared you for ages, it’s only natural that your mind will try to protect you. Back in the Stone Ages, if we were scared of something, it almost always meant that we should run the other way. Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! These days most of the time all that we’re running from are our feelings of anxiety, sweaty palms, and… the possibility of growth. So, when you really commit to something, get ready for your brain to start throwing all of the reasons why you’re not good enough, smart enough, etc.
The difference is that this time since you’ve really committed, you’ve also committed to working through these insecurities. Some techniques that have really helped me are creating affirmations, focusing on the effort rather than the outcome, and just enjoying the creative process. Once you decide that your goal is something you need to work towards, excuses and fears become obstacles rather than roadblocks.
You start putting yourself first
If you have a hard time putting yourself first and are always doing things for others before you do anything for yourself, you’ll resonate with this point.
As soon as I decided that my goals were non-negotiable, I started doing crazy things, like waking up at 7 AM on a Sunday to work on this blog post. Have I mentioned I’m not a morning person?
My point is, when something becomes non-negotiable, you start making time instead of telling yourself you don’t have it. And while it’s great to help other people with their projects, yours are a priority. So, if you only have time to work on your own goals amongst the hundred other things that you have to do, that’s okay. It doesn’t make you selfish, it just means that you’re taking care of your own future and putting yourself first.
You stop procrastinating
Procrastination is just another form of fear. When we feel overwhelmed by the amount of stuff on our to-do lists, we tend to put things off until the very last second. This just accumulates in stress and anxiety, and not doing things to the best of our ability. When you decide to really go after a goal and recognize that fear is just part of the journey, you start to actually enjoy the process. When you enjoy doing the work it takes to get you to where you want to go, you begin to look forward to getting things done.
Set hard deadlines for yourself, and schedule time in your calendar to work on tasks. Having a friend, or a group of people rooting for you is also a great way to keep you accountable. And since you’re committed to your goals, excuses will be a thing of the past.
Your negative habits are revealed
When you have dedicated yourself to a goal, you’ll become aware of how your negative habits are getting in the way of your progress. Whether you have a habit of spiraling into negative self-talk, or hitting the snooze button 20 times, you’ll recognize that these habits are keeping you from moving forward. Eventually, you’ll sleep in late and not have the time to do everything you planned, or your negative spiral will stop you from taking action. When you become conscious of the bad habits you’re in, you can start to build better ones. Which brings me to my next point.
You begin implementing healthy new habits
Knowing where you’re falling short when it comes to the habits you have is the perfect starting point for making new ones. If you have a tendency to procrastinate, you know that you’ll have to begin to notice when you’re doing it. If you hit the snooze button for hours after you intended to wake up, you know you’ll have to find new ways of making sure you get out of bed.
New habits allow for your lifestyle to shift. With these changes, you become more productive and start to love your track record of staying accountable.
Excitement for your goals comes back
At this point, you know what your fears are and you have addressed them. You have begun to put yourself first, and have managed your time accordingly. You no longer procrastinate and you have new habits that help keep you on track. You’ve never been so productive, and you’re starting to see results.
You start to feel excited about what is possible and what you’re capable of. You have fully committed to a goal and your life has begun to change in a positive way. Keep going!
You start feeling more inspired
When you free up the mental space it takes to doubt yourself and to be afraid, there’s suddenly so much more room to be inspired. In my experience, I started focusing more on how I could make something happen, instead of all of the reasons I couldn’t.
As a result, when working on my goals, I had more ideas, more fun, was more productive and generally enjoyed life a whole lot more.
You flex your bravery muscles
As you begin to look for reasons you can rather than reasons you can’t, you become so much more brave. Your goal isn’t necessarily to be successful, and your new mantra becomes “I’m willing to try.”
If you can let go of seeing anything less than a very strict view of success as failure, a world of possibility opens up. One of the ways I’ve done this is to start focusing on the person I want to be, instead of the results I want to have. Tell yourself “I am someone who goes after their goals,” and “I am someone who is willing to try.” This allows you to mentally attach your successes to the person you’re being while pursuing an outcome, rather than whether or not you actually achieve that outcome.
You start believing anything is possible
When you allow yourself to let go of any limiting beliefs you might have in favour of believing in your goals, you start to see that anything is possible. You recognize that you’re a person in the world just like everyone else, so there’s no reason that you can’t achieve anything another person has, as long as you’re willing to put in the work for it.
You start believing in yourself.
You’ve done the mindset work, you’ve changed your habits, and you’ve made progress. You start to see that you’re just as capable as anyone else out there, and you’re allowed to go after what you want. You recognize that your goals are achievable, and you believe in your ability to figure things out along the way.
Did you recently start going after a new goal? What has your experience been so far? Let me know in the comments below!
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